NCJ Number
213889
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 68 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 60-63
Date Published
April 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article profiles New Jersey's gang problem and the gang intervention strategies the State has developed, with attention to the supervision of gang members on parole.
Abstract
Two studies released by the New Jersey State Police in 2001 and 2004 found that law enforcement agencies reported an increased gang problem throughout the State. The studies also found increased complexity in gang structure and activities regarding the ages, gender, ethnicity, and firearms of gang members. In 2004 the age range of 37 percent of gang members was between 18 and 24, followed by 29 percent between the ages of 15 and 17. There was one female gang member for every nine male gang members. Although most gang criminal activity involved minor offenses, gangs also committed violent offenses; in both the 2001 and 2004 studies, 17 percent of homicides in the State involved gang members. New Jersey's Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005, which was still in committee as of January 2006, increases criminal justice resources for fighting the gang problem. Gang loitering laws and civil injunctions would allow increased social control of known gang members. A major concern is the large number of gang members currently being released on parole. The New Jersey State Parole Board implemented the Gang Reduction Aggressive Supervision Parole (GRASP) program in 2002 to manage the growing population of street-gang members on parole. This program targets violent gang members and provides them with specialized intensive supervision. These gang members are identified by the State Department of Corrections as members of a Security Threat Group, which is a nationally recognized designation for offenders identified as members of a specified gang. There has not yet been a rigorous scientific evaluation of GRASP. This article recommends such an evaluation. 22 notes