The Gang Resistance Education And Training Research Paper

The Gang Resistance Education And Training - Research Paper Example Through the above survey, the gang members were found to be 774,000 while active gangs were estimated to 27,900 (Crime in America 2010). The need for the intervention of the State for confronting the expansion of crime in USA has become emergent. The Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (G.R.E.A.T) has been introduced for helping towards the control of ‘delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership for children’ (G.R.E.A.T 2012). In order to be more effective, the program has developed a series of partnerships with organizations at state levels, so that the parts of the program used in each state are aligned with the local ethics and social rules (G.R.E.A.T 2012). In this way, the terms of the program are easier understood. Moreover, such approach urges local people to participate in the program’s realization and monitoring; local support has been proved vital to the success of the program (Peterson et al. 2012). The potentials of US authorities to promote such programs are established in Title 42 of the US Code. According to the relevant article (section 13921), the Attorney General is given the order to establish ‘not less than 50 Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) projects’ (section 13921, title 42, US Code). The funding of each one of these projects is defined at $800,000, as a minimum (section 13921, title 42, US Code). It is clear that the specific program reflects the willingness of the US government to control the expansion of crimes across the country. It has been considered that focusing on prevention rather than on the punishment of crime would be a more effective approach to achieve the above target, a target that seems to have been achieved if taking into consideration the figures related to the program’s performance. The G.R.E.A.T program is school-based, focusing on learning in regard to the potential effects of violence and criminal behavior (G.R.E.A.T program 2012). In the context of