History and Early Outcomes of the

Gang Intervention Partnership (GIP)

Summary of 2006 Evaluation

During 1999 to 2003, the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights and Shaw were in the midst of
Latino gang warfare. The violent deaths of several young people and non-fatal retaliatory
shootings shocked neighborhood residents and put the community on edge. In response to these
disturbing events, law enforcement officials, representatives of community agencies, and
concerned citizens came together to discuss how to stem the tide of youth violence. As a result of
these discussions, in August 2003 MPD’s Chief Charles Ramsey, in partnership with the
Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative (CH/SFSC) and its partners, established
the Gang Intervention Partnership (GIP). GIP is designed to provide a comprehensive, holistic
approach to reducing youth violence in the Columbia Heights / Shaw neighborhoods. By 2001
GIP consisted of multiple community partners, neighborhood schools, public agencies and a
special MPD Fusion Intelligence Unit.

GIP’s primary goal has been, to eliminate or significantly reduce gang-related homicides and
other forms of gang-related violence in the Columbia Heights / Shaw neighborhoods. Specific
targets also include the reduction of gang-membership and prevention of the formation of new
gangs; reduction of gang-related suspensions in targeted schools; and increased involvement of
at-risk youth in recreational and other productive activities. GIP’s program strategy includes
implementing intensive and targeted police work and building strong police/community
partnerships; providing targeted outreach to gang-related youth and their family members;
educating parents and community members; and improving and expanding access to services
critical to gang diversion and family strengthening.

GIP’s success is credited to its ability to effectively incorporate the strengths of all partners and
supporters into its core strategy. Partners provide support in the areas of youth development,
youth outreach, wrap-around social services, law enforcement, community capacity building and
education. This network, involving prevention and intervention initiatives, alongside intelligence
gathering and enforcement efforts, has resulted in significant penetration into gang networks in
the District of Columbia. The partnership with law enforcement and community-based
organizations rests on relationships extending from front line staff to management and directors.
This approach has allowed the GIP to sustain communication and commitment from each
organizational partner. The CH/SFSC has played a key role in the sustainability of the
partnership. CH/SFSC convenes weekly partnership meetings, coordinates and centralizes
partnership information (including funding support), coordinates prevention and intervention
strategies, co-convenes (with law enforcement) critical incident/emergency meetings and
provides comprehensive family support as needed in each case.

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GIP’s law enforcement and prosecution partners build rapport with known gang members, share
intelligence with partners (release, reentry, placements, adjudication and conditions of release),
respond to gang involved incidents of violence, participate and compliment intervention efforts
conducted through community partners, and carryout presentation on the GIP model.

Community partners support the overall GIP strategy by performing outreach to gang involved
youth, building relationships with many gangs, providing intelligence to law enforcement
partners, carrying out prevention and intervention strategies, responding to critical incidents,
ongoing community education campaigns, and providing social services and family support. In
order to reduce chronic suspension and truancy among gang-involved youth, GIP has built strong
relationships with five area schools. The relationship has resulted in a 56% decline of gang-
related violent incidents at Bell Multicultural High School (from 2003-2004 to 2005-2006).

Since the inception of GIP, the CH/SFSC and its partners have sponsored parent leadership
programs, advocacy actions, neighborhood mural designs, and peace rallies, encouraging a sense
of volunteerism and parent involvement in the local legislative process. In the fall of 2005, the
GIP model was used as a best practice model in the development of a similar partnership in the
District of Columbia’s Wards 7 and 8. On February 9, 2007, at the release of the Washington
Office on Latin America’s Report on Youth Gangs in Central America, GIP was presented as an
effective gang prevention and intervention strategy in the United States.

The success of GIP could not have been possible without the commitment and specialized
services of each of the key partner organizations. MPD’s specialized deployment and resource
allocation supported the protection and enforcement part of the GIP strategy. The US Attorney’s
Office responsibly prosecuted violent offenders and provided partners with legal support. The
LAYC and Bell Multicultural High School took the leadership with in-school intervention
strategies and after-school diversion support. The CH/SFSC took responsibility for coordinating
and managing the strategy; this centralized approach has supported the success and sustainability
of GIP.

Although GIP was established as an emergency and temporary group, its benefits were soon
harvested and in the spring of 2004, Chief Ramsey announced GIP’s permanency. Now, law
enforcement partners of GIP learn and respond to critical incidents of violence in record time and
close gang-related cases within 48 hours. The flow of information and approach to working
with the community by police has shifted considerably. Specifically, police officers spend more
time in the schools and work dutifully with community-based organizations through community
education presentations, mediations, and targeted intervention. Officers also visit families in their
homes and participate in family crisis intervention meetings. Proactive efforts have amplified the
level of trust among community-based organizations and enhanced the confidence young people
place in the police.

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