Anti-gang efforts target San Jose's 6-year olds

California

With violent crime rising in San Jose, officials Tuesday will consider an updated long-term strategy for combating street gangs that includes reaching out to young women and to children as early as first grade.

Mayor Chuck Reed said the Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force's strategic work plan for the next three years is "a call to action for our community." The city council will consider the plan Tuesday evening. [snip]

A trend toward younger gang offenders and victims has prompted the focus on younger kids. The number of gang offenders and victims in the 10- to 14-year-old age group more than doubled from 2005 to 2007, although the biggest numbers remain among those 15 to 19 years old.

The plan update also calls for more gender-specific youth outreach to "meet the distinct developmental needs of female youth," and to hold young offenders more accountable for minor crimes.

"We've got to engage with them earlier so they're not committing five or six offenses between their first offense and the time they see a judge," Reed said...

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