Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative:
Fall River Strategic Approach to Reduce Gang Engagement
With funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, CJI works as the local action research partner with the City of Fall River's Community Safety Initiative (CSI). CJI staff work closely with Fall River partners to use data to help guide and assess collaborative efforts to reduce youth gang violence. The project includes gathering and analyzing a variety of data to help refine the problem definition and intervention strategies; providing ongoing feedback to assess progress and guide improvements; and preparing a case study evaluation of the initiative.
As a sub-committee of the Fall River's Youth CHOICES Collaborative, the Fall River Shannon CSI is composed of community organizations, city agencies, and local law enforcement dedicated to addressing gang and youth violence in the City of Fall River. Utilizing a collaborative and comprehensive approach, the group actively addresses prevention, intervention, and gang suppression strategies to attempt to address all components of gang involvement and youth violence. The collaborative works to develop and implement strategies, programs, and policies that address the reasons why youth join gangs and commit violence and promote a more peaceful community.
The Fall River Shannon CSI uses a youth development approach that focuses on developmental outcomes, such as becoming employable or building intellectual ability; achievement outcomes, such as graduating from high school/GED program or getting a job; and problem-free (prevention) outcomes, such as being alcohol and drug-free or not engaging in violent behavior. The Fall River Shannon CSI promotes this approach to the overall community in an effort to emphasize how positive youth outcomes will make Fall River a stronger community; without losing sight of the importance of active gang suppression.
Included in the reported measurable outcomes are:
- Suppression - identified youth list, warrant sweeps, and law enforcement activities
- Social Intervention - street outreach worker activities, out-of-school activities, and violence/gang prevention activities
- Opportunities - educational activities and job placement activities
- Community Mobilization - collaboration, events, and media outreach
- Organizational Change and Development - steering committee and youth surveys
Fall River CSI Partners include:
Find Fall River resources and additional information at:
View more photos from the third annual Peace by Piece Summit
Courtesy of David S. Weed, Psy.D., Healthy City Fall River
