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WASHINGTON-Justice Department officials on Monday praised a Richmond faith-based anti-crime program as a national model to fight gang violence.
In a meeting with representatives from the Richmond Police Department and Virginia Attorney General's office, U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey credited Virginia's Gang Reduction and Intervention Program with stunting violence in Southside Richmond, where homicides dropped from 19 in 2005 to two this year.
The program works with groups ranging from the faith-based Richmond Outreach Center to the public library system to reach at-risk teens and provide after-school programs and counseling.
Justice Department officials argued that Richmond's program and similar ones in other cities should continue to receive funding when President-elect Barack Obama takes over next month.
The anti-gang program started in 2004 with a $2.5 million federal grant and now has 400 volunteers from 50 faith-based and community groups working with 4,000 at-risk youths a week.
"You talk about a bang for the buck -- this is the ultimate," said Lt. Harvey Powers of the Richmond Police Department.
Steve McFarland, who directs faith-based and community initiatives at the Justice Department, said, "Nobody's police budget is going to be able to put that many boots on the ground."
Remy Hernandez, 19, who attended the Washington meeting with Richmond Police, said the program has helped bridge a gap between Spanish-speakers and local law enforcement.
An immigrant from the Dominican Republican, Hernandez volunteered to help police after he saw friends lured into Southside gangs.
"It's all about the trust," said Hernandez. "It's the way you approach the person."
President George W. Bush oversaw a major expansion of social service programs run by church and community groups. Obama has expressed support for funding faith-based government programs.
Virginia anti-gang advocates said they have no reason to believe the Richmond program will end next year.
"I can't imagine a new administration changing something that is working," said Esther Welch Anderson, director of the gang program at the Virginia Attorney General's office.
She noted that the anti-gang program survived the transition of three different U.S. attorneys general and two Richmond mayors.
Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, is pushing for more federal spending on such programs that steer youths from joining gangs.
"It's a continuum of services beginning very early and making sure young people at risk are supported throughout their lives," said Scott, who said he has received support for his anti-gang Youth PROMISE Act from advisers to President-elect Barack Obama.
In the past three years, Richmond has dropped from the 5th most dangerous city to the 49th, according to CQ Press.
Major crime dropped 43 percent between 2005 and 2007, according to police statistics for Southside's Broad Rock corridor - the area targeted for gang prevention.
Police are now meeting with community groups to replicate the gang enforcement program in Northside Richmond.
"The list is growing. People are calling and want to be a part of it," Anderson said.
(Contact Neil H. Simon at nsimon@mediageneral.com or (202) 662-7669.)
In a meeting with representatives from the Richmond Police Department and Virginia Attorney General's office, U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey credited Virginia's Gang Reduction and Intervention Program with stunting violence in Southside Richmond, where homicides dropped from 19 in 2005 to two this year.
The program works with groups ranging from the faith-based Richmond Outreach Center to the public library system to reach at-risk teens and provide after-school programs and counseling.
Justice Department officials argued that Richmond's program and similar ones in other cities should continue to receive funding when President-elect Barack Obama takes over next month.
The anti-gang program started in 2004 with a $2.5 million federal grant and now has 400 volunteers from 50 faith-based and community groups working with 4,000 at-risk youths a week.
"You talk about a bang for the buck -- this is the ultimate," said Lt. Harvey Powers of the Richmond Police Department.
Steve McFarland, who directs faith-based and community initiatives at the Justice Department, said, "Nobody's police budget is going to be able to put that many boots on the ground."
Remy Hernandez, 19, who attended the Washington meeting with Richmond Police, said the program has helped bridge a gap between Spanish-speakers and local law enforcement.
An immigrant from the Dominican Republican, Hernandez volunteered to help police after he saw friends lured into Southside gangs.
"It's all about the trust," said Hernandez. "It's the way you approach the person."
President George W. Bush oversaw a major expansion of social service programs run by church and community groups. Obama has expressed support for funding faith-based government programs.
Virginia anti-gang advocates said they have no reason to believe the Richmond program will end next year.
"I can't imagine a new administration changing something that is working," said Esther Welch Anderson, director of the gang program at the Virginia Attorney General's office.
She noted that the anti-gang program survived the transition of three different U.S. attorneys general and two Richmond mayors.
Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, is pushing for more federal spending on such programs that steer youths from joining gangs.
"It's a continuum of services beginning very early and making sure young people at risk are supported throughout their lives," said Scott, who said he has received support for his anti-gang Youth PROMISE Act from advisers to President-elect Barack Obama.
In the past three years, Richmond has dropped from the 5th most dangerous city to the 49th, according to CQ Press.
Major crime dropped 43 percent between 2005 and 2007, according to police statistics for Southside's Broad Rock corridor - the area targeted for gang prevention.
Police are now meeting with community groups to replicate the gang enforcement program in Northside Richmond.
"The list is growing. People are calling and want to be a part of it," Anderson said.
(Contact Neil H. Simon at nsimon@mediageneral.com or (202) 662-7669.)