Table of Contents
Contents
To Our Stakeholders 1
Safe Communities Task Force Profile 2
By the Numbers 4
Activities 6
Looking Ahead 9
Contact Information 10
Safe Communities Task Force Profile
To Our Stakeholders
At year-end 2016, the Safe Communities Task Force gives special thanks for the collaborative funding commitment from the City of Vancouver, Clark County, and the Evergreen and Vancouver Public Schools. Half of this funding goes to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington to provide gang prevention and intervention services to gang impacted kids in our community. This program is the first of its kind in Clark County and thanks to the great partnership with the Boys and Girls Club and the tireless efforts of its staff we are providing relevant services to the kids who need them most in our community. Special appreciation goes out to all the members of the Youth Engagement Team, who bring their individual expertise to a bi-monthly gang-intervention meeting in order to help each of our Outreach Workers case manage the youth they are working with.
Thank you to the individual members of our Executive Committee and Steering Committee who have shown their commitment through participation in quarterly and monthly meetings and providing guidance and feedback in planning and execution of the Safe Communities Task Force Strategic Plan.
In 2016, the Steering Committee decided to change the Task Force mission statement to reflect more of what we wanted for our community rather than focus on what we are trying to prevent. The new mission statement is:
The Safe Communities Task Force exists to positively affect the youth and their families who have been impacted by violence in order to create a safe and healthy community.
We do this by promoting opportunities for youth and families to experience being an integral and essential part of the community.
A thank you is also in order for all of the dedicated juvenile justice staff, school administrators, counselors, teachers, social service providers, police officers, school resource officers, district resource officers, community members, business owners, faith-based leaders, and coaches in our community who play an integral part as a positive non-parental adult role model in the lives of the gang impacted youth in our community.
The monthly community meeting attendees deserve special thanks for their continued support of our efforts and their compassion for the youth we serve and their constant willingness to help out in any way they can. These meetings always remind me of what an amazing community we live in.
Moving into 2017, one of our main focuses will be to strengthen parental involvement with the youth we are serving. We will do this by coordinating monthly dinners to honor the achievements of the young people we are working with and providing a place for families to learn more about their community and form bonds with other community members.
Thank you for your continued support,
Josh Beaman, Safe Communities Task Force Coordinator
Safe Communities Task Force Profile
Our Mission and History
The Safe Communities Task Force exists to positively affect the youth and their families who have been impacted by violence in order to create a safe and healthy community. We do this by promoting opportunities for youth and families to experience being an integral and essential part of the community. This mission began in 2008 when concerned citizens realized that area youth were increasingly joining gangs, but social services, schools and other agencies had no coordinated response. With a budget of zero, these citizens formed the Safe Communities Task Force and began looking for solutions.
In 2010, the Safe Communities Task Force received funding through the Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Grant Program to implement full-time coordination of this project as well as complete a thorough assessment of Clark County’s gang problem. The assessment was completed in 2012, and is accessible online at www.safecommunitiestaskforce.org. And while grant funding for full-time coordination has since expired, an inter-local agreement between Clark County, the City of Vancouver, Evergreen and Vancouver Public Schools has provided new stability to the project. With this support, the Safe Communities Task Force will continue raising awareness among parents, community leaders, and other concerned citizens about gangs and related issues; provide continual assessment of local youth violence and gang activity; and coordinate local services to better serve youth who are gang-involved or at high risk of future involvement.
The Safe Communities Task Force chose to use the OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) Comprehensive Gang Model as its blueprint for implementation. The model focuses on five core strategies: Community Mobilization, Opportunities Provision, Social Intervention, Suppression, and Organizational Change and Development.
In March of 2014, a contract was awarded to the Boys Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington to implement a Gang Prevention and Intervention Program in Clark County. Prevention services began in April 2014 and intervention case management services began in May 2014. The program addresses the Social Intervention strategy of the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model and is the first of its kind in Clark County to serve gang affected youth. At year-end 2014, the program was serving 19 gang affected youth with the goal to reach 50 youth by the end of 2015. On the prevention side of the program by year-end 2014, the program was serving 60 elementary and sixth grade youth between two Boys & Girls Club sites.
The Safe Communities Task Force brought new members onto both the Executive Committee and the Steering Committee during 2014. In 2015, the Steering Committee used the OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model’s planning process to put together a formal strategic plan to address the areas of opportunity identified from the community assessment completed in 2012. Moving into 2016, the Steering Committee’s main focus was to implement the strategic plan and evaluate our progress.
Our Members
More than 100 individuals and organizations support the work of the Safe Communities Task Force, including Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington, Clark County Department of Community Services, Clark County Juvenile Court, City of Vancouver, Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver Public Schools, Evergreen Public Schools, YWCA Clark County, Police Activities League, Latino Community Resource Group, Partners in Careers, Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Clark County Department of Health, Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, Maplewood Neighborhood Association, and the Fourth Plain Neighborhood Association.
Our Executive Committee includes Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins, Vancouver Chief of Police James McElvain, City of Vancouver Councilmen Bart Hansen and Ty Stober, Vancouver Public Schools Director of Operations Mick Hoffman, Evergreen Public Schools Superintendent John Deeder, Clark County Department of Health Director Alan Melnick, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington Executive Director Elise Menashe, Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council Executive Director Jeanne Bennett, Key Properties Services Vice President Craig Lyons, Go Connect Executive Director David Bilby, Partners in Careers Executive Director Sharon Pesut, and Police Activities League Executive Director Jenny Thompson. This group meets quarterly to provide leadership and guidance on policy suggestions and has been instrumental in securing resources for the Safe Communities Task Force.
Our Steering Committee is comprised of 14 community leaders, they include Evergreen Public Schools Safety Manager Shane Gardner, Clark County Juvenile Court Connections Unit Manager Eric Gilman, Vancouver Public Schools Director of Security and Athletics Al Alcantar, Ogden Neighborhood resident Kathy Huss, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington Program Manager Erica Nicewonger, Washington State University-Vancouver professor Clay Mosher, YWCA Sexual Assault Program Director Laurie Schacht, Clark County Sheriff’s Department Alex Schoening, Clark County Juvenile Court Probation Officer Nick Potter, Vancouver Police Department Lieutenant Troy Price, Partners in Careers Executive Director Sharon Pesut, Police Activities League Executive Director Jenny Thompson and Safe Communities Task Force Program Coordinator Josh Beaman. This group is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Safe Communities Task Force, advising the Program Coordinator, and is often directly involved in the implementation of task force activities.
By the Numbers
Figure 1: City of Vancouver and Clark County Gang-Involved EPR (Electronic Police Reporting) Records 2005-2016
Courtesy of Vancouver Police Department
Gang-Involved EPR Records / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 / 2016Gang-Involved Case Reports / 102 / 140 / 208 / 298 / 281 / 264 / 328 / 432 / 189 / 222 / 50 / 39
Gang Crime Offenses / 161 / 216 / 474 / 598 / 467 / 445 / 599 / 708 / 374 / 341 / 68 / 120
Warrants / 20 / 48 / 58 / 57 / 138 / 126 / 33 / 75 / 26 / 30 / 7 / 9
Info Reports / 5 / 12 / 38 / 59 / 91 / 74 / 72 / 168 / 25 / 12 / 0 / 4
Weapons Involved (offenses) / 60 / 74 / 197 / 187 / 133 / 101 / 173 / 235 / 149 / 118 / 13 / 21
Cases involving weapons / 27 / 25 / 53 / 56 / 53 / 48 / 58 / 98 / 39 / 54 / 6 / 15
Graffiti / 108 / 230 / 277 / 296 / 41 / 52 / 80 / 53 / 164 / 84 / 0 / 15
*Note: APRIL 10, 2015 A NEW rms SYSTEM WAS IMPLEMENTED FOR vANCOUVER pOLICE DEPARTMENT. tHE INFORMATION ABOVE FOR PRIOR YEARS SHOULD NOT BE COMPARED TO DATA REPORTED AFTER THIS DATE. pREVIOUS YEARS, 2005-2014 ARE MULTIPLE AGENCY STATS FOR CLARK cOUNTY (CLARK COUNTY sHERIFF’S OFFICE, CAMAS, WASHOUGAL, AND VANCOUVER). in november of 2016 Clark County Sheriff’s Office, camas, battleground, ridgefield, washougal, and washington state University pd moved to a separate rms system which means some cases are counted differently than in previous years.
Boys & Girls Club Gang Prevention/Intervention Program Goals and Outcomes 2016
Qtr./Program / Serve a minimum of 100 youth(50 Prevention & 50 Intervention) / Increased engagement in pro-social activities / Increased engagement in intervention services / Decreased rates of delinquent behavior / Improved academic performance
Q1/Prevention / 80 youth total at two sites / 77% participated 2+ times/week / 16% of youth received assistance w/ food, clothing, tutoring, etc. / 11% of youth had a behavior issue at club in the past quarter / School district data not yet available
Q1/Intervention / 44 youth total / 64% maintained or increased engagement / 48% of youth accessed referrals for basic needs / Law enforcement data not yet available / 50% of youth improved academic performance
Q2/Prevention / 72 youth total at two sites / 71% participated 2+ times/week / 19% of youth received assistance w/ food, clothing, tutoring, etc. / 18% of youth had a behavior issue at club in the past quarter / School district data not yet available
Q2/Intervention / 49 youth total / 84% maintained or increased engagement / 45% of youth accessed referrals for basic needs / Law enforcement data not yet available / 31% of youth improved academic performance
Q3/Prevention / 60 youth total at two sites / 38% participated 2+ times/week / 23% of youth received assistance w/ food, clothing, tutoring, etc. / 12% of youth had a behavior issue at club in the past quarter / School district data not yet available
Q3/Intervention / 49 youth total / 69% maintained or increased engagement / 43% of youth accessed referrals for basic needs / Law enforcement data not yet available / 20% of youth improved academic performance
Q4/Prevention / 50 youth total at two sites / 70% participated 2+ times/week / 38% of youth received assistance w/ food, clothing, tutoring, etc. / 0 youth had a behavior issue at club in the past quarter / School district data not yet available
Q4/Intervention / 44 youth total / 64% maintained or increased engagement / 43% of youth accessed referrals for basic needs / Law enforcement data not yet available / 48% of youth improved academic performance
Activities
monthly community meetings
The Safe Communities Task Force continued to coordinate monthly community meetings in 2016, with an average attendance of 26 people per month. The format of the community meetings was changed to offer educational workshops and quarterly cultural workshops rather than information about local organizations, which seemed to be a welcome change. These meetings still provide citizens with an opportunity to learn from law enforcement about the latest youth violence and gang trends in the county from representatives from the Safe Streets Task Force and the opportunity for networking and sharing what great things are happening in their community. Some of the workshops for 2016 included: Micronesian Culture, Adverse Childhood Experiences Research, How Clark County is Using ACES, Latino Culture, Motivational Interviewing, Russian Culture, and Self Care for Social Workers.
weekly Support group
In October of 2009 a gang involved young man in conjunction with a juvenile probation counselor developed a curriculum to be used as an intervention with gang involved young men. The focus of the curriculum was to address responsibility, values, and community. In November of that year the young man began facilitating a once a week meeting with eight young men from his gang set. Initially the project was slated to last six weeks, once a week for three hours a session. One and a half hours would be spent in discussion and the last hour and a half would be spent participating in recreational activities or working on homework. Discussion topics included (but were not limited to): defining values, deconstructing music lyrics, impact of gang violence on community, understanding sorrow, and interactions with authority. At the conclusion of the six week period, the young man received feedback from the participants that they noticed their decision- making had changed in regard to some of their weekly interactions at home and in the community. Because they felt a sense of responsibility to the group as a whole, they found they were avoiding trouble in order to be able to attend. The group requested continuing the weekly meetings in order to support each other in healthier ways. To honor the history of this group, we continue to offer a weekly support group for clients of the Boys & Girls Club Youth Engagement Team intervention program.