This is part one of two on the Department of Justice's webcast “Preventing Gangs in Our Communities.” Corrections.com will cover part two of this series next month.

As clashes between Brazilian prison gangs and corrections officers escalated to frightening death tolls last week, U.S. officials faced their own gang activity problems with a renewed vigor.

The Department of Justice offered its support with a gang prevention webcast, hoping to prevent activity before it starts. While corrections typically focuses on handling gang activity behind bars, state legislators and District Attorney's are working for more intense gang prevention and prisoner re-entry programs, and increased family participation.

“In corrections, gang activity only escalates. If you go to prison with a gang mindset, you will sharpen your skills behind bars. People, in general, do not realize how many gangs are in prison and how many gangs run out of prisons. An essential part of stopping that gang activity is reducing the number of people who participate in gangs to begin with,” Officer Thomas Jackson, a participant in the DOJ's webcast, says exclusively to Corrections.com.

During the webcast held last week, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales called on federal, state and local law enforcement to join together to reduce gang activity. It was also mentioned that each state will now have anti-gang coordinators. District Attorneys also will hold gang prevention meetings to discuss issues most prevalent to each state.

Panelists expressed a need for special gang member re-entry programs. According to Southern Alabama U.S. District Attorney Debra Rhodes, many corrections agencies and communities should utilize effective re-entry programs and ensure that gang members do not exit prison without a proper support system.

“When a gang member is re-entering a community, it is very important that they reconnect to that community,” Rhodes said. “They must have the resources they need to have a crime-free life. For example, they need a job and a place to live. Those things form a connection back to the community.”

Rhodes also emphasized that gang members exiting corrections facilities need to be aware of how their post-release lifestyle can affect them.

“These gang members need to know that if they continue to offend, they are going to face certain sentences and those sentences will just keep getting higher and higher. On the other hand, if they choose to re-connect with the community and take advantage of the resources available to them, they can have a different kind of life.”

Statistics are not favorable for gang members exiting jails and prisons nationwide, though.
 
“There is a high chance of recidivism,” says Rhodes, “and the rate is highest during the first year, which is the reason for re-entry programs. The point when a person is re-entering the community is the most important time to try to connect with them.”

Webcast panelists also discussed what communities can do to prevent youngsters from participating in gangs. Many suggestions included increasing parent involvement, raising community awareness about gang activity, and utilizing community resources to keep kids busy.

“We need kids to know that gangs are not a replacement for families,” says Jackson. “Gangs don't love you, gangs don't care about you. They are not there for you; they are there for themselves. The more we can express this message to children, the less likely they are to participate in gang activity.”

DOJ webcast panelists included: Nashville, Tennessee Officer Thomas Jackson; Arizona State University Criminology and Criminal Justice Professor Dr. Scott Decker; U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama Debra Rhodes; and the President and CEO of Westside Community Ministries Reverend Melvin Jackson.

Click here for a full transcript of the DOJ webcast