No COLORS: 100 Ways To Stop Gangs From Taking Away Our Communities

"No community wants to admit it has a gang problem. Yet that denial and the unwillingness to address youth violence as a community problem will have tragic consequences."

Strategic Plan to Reduce Young Adult Violence and Gangs in Newport News, Virginia: P.I.E.R. Strategy

Executive Summary

With its valuable resources—including a rich heritage and long track record of providing a positive quality of life experience for families within the community—Newport News is at a crossroads.

For several years, selected community City leaders, including the Police Chief, Sheriff and the Commonwealth’s Attorney, along with key members of the business community, have been sounding the alarm about the increase in youth crime and gang presence within Newport News.

An Epidemic of Youth Gangs and Violence in Newport News

The evidence provided through statistics from the Newport News Police Department Gang Unit as well as its crime analysis division, reveals an alarming rise and consistent trend in youth and young adult violence to include gang activity within the city. According to reports by Newport News Police in 2010, there are 188 identified gangs with an organized gang affiliation within the city of Newport News.

In addition, 10-19 gangs have been identified in the community with national affiliation. Gang membership in Newport News reportedly increased from 2,164 members (May 2009) to 2,429 (May 2010). In addition, records indicate that there were 115 people shot or killed within the city in 2009 and 112 people shot or killed in 2010.

The Police Department also reports that in 2009 it responded to 1,608 calls for service where allegedly guns had been fired in the community. This number increased to 1,638 calls in 2010.

 In light of the above statistics, it would be evident that gangs, gunfire and fear have become a reality in this city of 190,000 citizens. When public safety records are examined, it is clear that the level of violence that citizens are experiencing is citywide with gang and violence being present in the S.E., Central, and Northern corridors of the community.

In December 2007, the Daily Press reported in its headlines that neighborhoods in Newport News were beginning to worry about the level of violence in the community. In the same headline, an 11 year old was arrested in the community for having a firearm in an elementary school.

This Crisis Has Been Under Analysis Since 2006

The level of violence that was occurring within the community led political, business and community leaders to look at the trend toward escalating violence. Former Mayor Joe Frank acknowledged a concern about the level of violence within the city by requesting that People to People take on the task of looking at the root causes of the violence and some possible solutions.

Under the direction of our current Mayor, McKinley L. Price, DDS and Riverside Health System Vice President Bud Ramey, People to People answered the Mayor’s call.

Throughout the fall of 2007, People to People fanned out into the toughest neighborhoods of Newport News to investigate and to look into the root causes of violence in this City. Former School Board Chair and longtime Southeast resident, Effie Ashe was appointed to lead a special Task Force which held meetings with religious, civic and business leaders throughout the community.

They found a sense of hopelessness in many neighborhoods throughout the City. The results of this effort led People to People to propose the eventual creation of 12 neighborhood centers throughout the City of Newport News. While it was well intended, the scale of the effort became economically challenging with the recession. Thus, primarily due to fiscal restraint, no elected champion for the strategy emerged.

During its pursuit to address community violence, People to People held a number of community meetings where hundreds of Newport News citizens attended and voiced their concerns and suggestions on curbing community violence. While the work was being conducted, and a strong citizen input was being established to look at and address the problem, violence in Newport News continued to escalate.

In March 2008, The Daily Press reported that a 6-year-old boy had been killed in S.E. Newport News while playing with his brother on Garden Drive.  In April 2008, the Daily Press reported four shootings had occurred within the city in a three-hour period. A study compiled by the Newport News Police Department in 2008 indicated that there were 189 street gangs with 1,833 adults and 379 juveniles claiming gang affiliation in the city. A Daily Press headline of May 10, 2008 reported that Riverside Regional Medical Center experienced a 50 percent increase in gun-related violence treated in its trauma center.

Reported homicides in Newport News increased 50 percent between 2008 and 2009. While police statistics may show a slight fluctuation of the number of homicides and gunshot victims, the level of violence and documented number of gangs in Newport News is both consistent and alarming.

Recent modest declines in some crime statistics match up with an overall violent crime decline of 5 percent nationally. While the NNPD is a capable, dedicated and well- managed force, the scope of the problem cannot be addressed by enforcement alone.

Everything is at Stake: Newport News is a City at a Crossroads

This level of violence underscores a clear fact that Newport News is definitely at a crossroads: it can remain a vibrant city that provides a high level of quality of life existence or deteriorate into a city that suffers from an economic downturn caused by the loss of residents, business owners and ordinary citizens who call this city by the water home.

Research clearly indicates that a community’s economic opportunities can be closely aligned with the level of fear of crime and violence as well as social disorganization that leads to it. When corporate leaders decide to locate or expand business opportunities within a specific community, they investigate the overall social welfare of perspective locations.

One such organization that assists corporate leaders on a national level is Location, Inc. of Worcester, Massachusetts, a firm specializing in providing information to corporations and business’ who are selecting potential areas in which to build, move or expand.

Location, Inc. is a leading builder and source of location-based data and risk analysis information for corporate users nationwide. They have recently released on the internet statistics on locating in the City of Newport News. Their report indicates Newport News has a crime rate that is 90 percent higher than any location in Virginia.

The report further indicates that an individual’s chances of becoming a victim of violence or property crime are 1 in 19 in the city of Newport News.

Further, they report that Newport News has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the nation, and that Newport News is not one of safest communities in America.

In addition, several well-known national rap artists have produced songs reflecting the violent nature of the City. Fifty Cent and Snoop Dogg are two musicians who have produced top of the chart songs that depict the violent nature of the Newport News community. One song titled “Bad Newz” released by FAM Records within the last couple of years, specifically called out streets in the City and alluded to out of control gun violence throughout Newport News. This song was played for community leadership during the early stages of the Mayor’s Task Force.

While this view of the community appears to be very dim, many hard working citizens are committed and determined to maintain a quality of life within the community. Newport News’ great heritage and valuable resources make it worthy of a different direction as well as an end to the fear and intimidation that have led to violence.

The Mayor, the City Manager, the Police Chief, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Sheriff, educators, the non-profit executives, the ministry, our business leaders – are all ready to embrace a plan and move forward, attacking the problem with best practices as adopted from around the nation.

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