YOUTH VIOLENCE: A COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSE ONE CITY'S SUCCESS STORY.
September 1996
23 pages

                        YOUTH VIOLENCE:
                   A COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSE
                    ONE CITY'S SUCCESS STORY
                                
                       Table of Contents

I.      YOUTH VIOLENCE: NATIONAL TRENDS  (Page 6)

II.     BOSTON'S COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY--PREVENTION,
        INTERVENTION, AND ENFORCEMENT (Page 6-7)

III.    ENFORCEMENT ORIENTED PROGRAMS (Page 7-10)

     A.         A Coordinated Strategy--Boston Police Youth Violence 

                Strike Force (YVSF)

     B.         Police And Probation Working In the Community
                --Operation Night Light

     C.         Tough Action Against Gangs--Operation Cease Fire

     D.         Targeting Gun Violence--The Boston Gun Project

IV.     INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ORIENTED PROGRAMS
        (Page 10-19)

     A.         Problem Solving Through Partnerships--Safe
		    Neighborhood Initiative

          1.    Partnerships To Involve The Community In Solving   
               Crimes--Safe Neighborhood Initiative Tip Line

          2.    Partnerships To Reduce The Effects Of Domestic
	          Violence And Child Abuse- -The Child Witness to
                Violence Project

          3.    Partnerships To Reduce The Effects Of Domestic
                Violence And Child Abuse--Improving The Court's 
                Response
     
          4.    Partnerships To Address Issues Of Diversity--The
                Vietnamese-Police Collaborative To Reduce Crime  
                Victimization

          5.    Partnerships To Establish Community Priorities--   
                Community Prosecutions

          6.    Partnerships To Prevent Violence--The Boston
                Violence Prevention Program

          7.    Partnerships With The Business Community--Summer of
                Opportunity

          8.    Partnership In The Boston Coalition--Business,
                Religious, Media, And Law Enforcement Working Together

          9.    Partnership In The Legal Community--The Boston Bar 
                Association

          10.   Partnership And Leadership In The Religious
                Community--The Ten Point Coalition

          11.   Partnerships To Reduce Crime And Improve Public
                Housing--Operation Safe Home 

     B.         The Comprehensive Communities Program

          1.    CCP's Strategic Planning And Community Mobilization

          2.    CCP's Youth Service Providers Network 

          3.    CCP's Alternatives to Incarceration Network

V.   PREVENTION ORIENTED SCHOOL PROGRAMS (Page 19-22)

     A.   Boston Community Centers

     B.   Community Schools

     C.   Safe Schools

     D.   School to Work Program

     E.   The Louis D. Brown Peace Curriculum

     F.   Children's Hospital Fenway Collaborative

     G.   Barron Assessment and Counseling Center

     H.   Creative Conflict Resolution Programs

     I.   Startsharp

     J.   Student Conflict Resolution Experts (SCORE)

     K.   Community Based Justice Program in the Boston Schools

VI.  MIDDLESEX COUNTY (Page 22)

VII.    A FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE--COMMUNITY JUSTICE
        (Page 22-23)
     
September 3, 1996

To Community Leaders Across America:

     As I travel across the country, I am asked time and again about
the problem of youth violence, and what we can do about it. 
Communities throughout the nation are working together to address
youth violence, and searching for examples of what works so that
they can apply new and successful strategies in their towns.  I have
been very fortunate to meet with mayors, police chiefs, community
activists, parents, and youth across America who are taking positive
steps to create safer neighborhoods and brighter futures.

     I recently visited the Boston area to see firsthand how
community leaders there, in both the public and private sectors, are
implementing a number of initiatives designed to reduce youth
violence and create safer communities with opportunities for young
people.  I am impressed by their efforts.

     The foundation of Boston's approach has been to build
coalitions and partnerships among police, prosecutors, probation
officers, corrections officials, youth and social service personnel,
school officials, judges, health professionals, parents, and the
young people of Boston.  These partnerships allow organizations and
individuals to better share information, keep track of at-risk youth
and violent youth offenders in their community, and coordinate
resources to help those youth as part of an ongoing, individualized
intervention strategy.  Through increased information-sharing and
coordination, the criminal justice system can take tough action
against the relatively few youth engaged in violence or other
dangerous behavior, while allowing its other partners to provide
opportunities for the majority of children who are seeking to build
happy and productive futures.  

     We are already seeing some signs of success across the country. 
Last year, the national juvenile violent crime arrest rate and the
juvenile murder arrest rate decreased for the first time in seven
years.  While these signs are promising, we must not let up and must
work together to enhance our efforts.

     This pamphlet attempts to describe some of the efforts one
community--Boston, Massachusetts--has undertaken to successfully
combat youth violence.  We may not have learned of all of the
positive efforts underway in the Greater Boston area, but it is my
hope that these representative examples will help other communities
identify what they might do to stand against youth violence.  I look
forward to hearing of your efforts, and to working with you to
reduce youth violence in America.

Sincerely,

Janet Reno

YOUTH VIOLENCE:  A COMMUNITY-BASED RESPONSE ONE CITY'S SUCCESS STORY

I.   YOUTH VIOLENCE: NATIONAL TRENDS 

     Until recently, the rate of youth violence has been climbing. 
For example, between 1984 and 1993, the rate of homicides committed
by juveniles skyrocketed 169%.  The fastest increase in the rate of
juvenile violent crime is occurring among very young juveniles -- 10
to 12 year-olds.  Demographic experts tell us that if juvenile crime
rates for persons 10 to 17 continue to increase with expected youth
population increases, the year 2010 will see the number of
juvenile-committed violent crimes increase by nearly 15 percent.

     However, these projections do not have to be America's destiny. 
Over the past two years, there has been a decline in the rates of
both murders committed by youth and youth violence in general. 
While the juvenile violent crime arrest rate increased 62% between
1987 and 1993, it decreased 2.9% in 1995, the first decline in seven
years.  The decrease in the juvenile murder arrest rate is even more
significant, declining 15.2% in 1995--the largest one year decrease
in more than ten years.  Since 1993, the juvenile murder arrest rate
has dropped an incredible 22.8%.

     As the problem of juvenile violence has grown, so has our
understanding of the problem and some possible solutions.  A small
percentage of youth are responsible for the bulk of violent juvenile
crime; most violent crimes committed by youth are committed against
other juveniles; and many involve handguns and/or drug use. 
Violence is a learned behavior and children neglected, left alone,
or uncared for, without appropriate role models, often do not learn
right from wrong.  Children who suffer abuse at the hands of family
violence often learn that violence is natural, even expected.

     Fortunately there is evidence that at-risk youth, if reached
early enough, can be saved from a life of violence.  The challenge
facing America is to take what is known about youth violence and
apply it now to reach at-risk youth before they take their first
step into the world of crime, and to deal firmly with those who are
already in trouble.

II.  BOSTON'S COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY--PREVENTION,          
INTERVENTION, AND ENFORCEMENT

     Boston's initiatives rely on community organizations,
individuals, and the business community, as well as contributions
from federal, state, and local government.  The Departments of
Justice, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and
Health and Human Services all are supporting Boston's efforts. 
Portions of Boston have been designated a HUD Empowerment
Zone/Enterprise Community as well as a Department of Justice Weed
and Seed Initiative locale.  Youth by youth, person by person, block
by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, and city by city, America
can and will solve the youth violence problem.  Individual and
community commitment and cooperation, leveraged with federal, state,
and local resources, are critical to our success.

     Boston has assembled a comprehensive strategy to prevent lives
of crime for the vast majority of youth who are good kids, intervene
into the lives of young people who have had initial trouble with
authorities, and take tough fair action against those who commit
violent crimes.  The good news is that Boston's three-pronged
strategy is paying dividends:

     *      The number of juvenile homicides dropped some 80%      
            citywide from 1990 to 1995.
     *      Between 1993 and 1995, the juvenile violent crime arrest 
            rate for aggravated assault and battery with a firearm  
            decreased 65%.
     *      The number of violent crime incidents in one of Boston's 
            toughest neighborhoods, Dorchester, went down from 1,583 
            in 1991 to 1,224 in 1995.
     *      Year to date in 1996 (January 1 through mid-August)    
            Boston has had no firearm homicides of juveniles (defined  
           by Massachusetts law).
     *      Violent crime in the public schools fell more than 20  
            percent in school year 1995-1996 as compared with the    
            previous year.  

     The projects outlined below describe some of the enforcement,
prevention and intervention efforts which have helped to produce
these results. 

III. ENFORCEMENT ORIENTED PROGRAMS

     A.     A Coordinated Strategy--Boston Police Youth Violence   
         Strike Force (YVSF)

     The Youth Violence Strike Force (YVSF) is one of the primary
enforcement strategies that Boston is pursuing to combat youth
violence.  The YVSF is a multi-agency coordinated task force made up
of 45 full time Boston Police Officers and 15 officers from outside
agencies. The membership of the YVSF includes the Massachusetts
State Police, The Department of Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), police departments from neighboring
jurisdictions, Massachusetts Corrections, Probation, Parole and
Division of Youth Service (juvenile corrections) officers, and other
agencies as appropriate. It works closely with the Suffolk County
District Attorney's and state Attorney General's offices, and
participates in the Department of Justice's Anti-Violent Crime
Initiative (AVCI) led locally by the United States Attorney. 

     The YVSF, which has focused on areas of the city where
youth-related violence is prevalent, made 1358 arrests in 1995 and
689 arrests in 1996 through July 31.  The YVSF investigates youth
crimes, arrests those responsible, and breaks up the environment for
crime.  One important accomplishment of the YVSF was the creation of
a comprehensive computer data base, which has allowed tough
enforcement efforts against the leaders of gangs, and positive
intervention in the lives of those who are at-risk of becoming
hard-core gang members. 

     In addition, the Youth Violence Strike Force, in cooperation
with the City of Boston and the Department of Justice, has used
criminal and civil forfeiture laws to help secure the safety of the
community by taking over drug dens and renovating them as new homes. 
Over 150 drug dens have been closed through joint
federal-state-local cooperation, and nearly 50 are being renovated,
including one in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, which will
provide low income elderly housing.
     
     The Youth Violence Strike Force takes tough action every day
against gangs and gang members across Boston.  Yet many of the
strike force officers view their work in prevention as equally
important, and many of these officers help to sponsor numerous
prevention activities in the community. For example, members of the
YVSF have been working in partnership with several law enforcement,
social service, and private institutions to raise funds for a series
of "Kids at Risk" programs provided to youth during the summer. 
These include professionally run camping programs, membership at the
Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA's, and attendance at basketball camp
or the Boston Police's Teen Summer Academy.  

     B.     Police And Probation Working In The Community
            --Operation Night Light

     In Boston, there is also a ground-breaking collaboration
between probation officers and police officers which has expanded
community based efforts.  This program began because innovative
probation officers, who had grown frustrated with sitting at their
desks, wanted to make their communities safer by involving police
officers, parents, and peers in ensuring that young people on
probation do not stray back into trouble.  

     Operation Night Light is a cooperative effort between the YVSF
and the Massachusetts Department of Probation that sends police
officers and probation officers on nightly visits to the homes of
youths on probation to ensure that they are complying with the terms
of their probation.  The probation officers and police officer teams
make regular home, school or work site visits to enforce curfews or
court-designated area restrictions.  These house calls serve
simultaneously to provide for a more interactive relationship
between the probation officer and the probationer, strengthen the
relationships between the police and probation officers, get the
parents involved in the child's probation, and serve notice to other
youths that police and probation officers are serious about their
mission. Communication with the Boston School Department and with
area social agencies is also essential to the success of the
program, as the officers also make it a top priority to discuss
substance abuse prevention and treatment with each probationer.

      Since its implementation, the number of Boston probationers
who comply with their probation orders has increased dramatically. 
One probation officer has commented that from 1990 to 1994, 68 of
his youthful clients had been murdered.  Since 1995, he reports that
3 of his clients have been murdered.  Operation Nightlight, by
involving the community and encouraging responsibility, has proved
to be a dramatic success.

     C.     Tough Action Against Gangs--Operation Cease Fire

     The prevalence of gangs in urban communities and their
increasing presence in rural communities have adversely affected the
quality of life of all Americans.  Sometimes lured into gangs with
the promise of "family", companionship, and safety, gang members
often resort to vicious, destructive behavior.  Police and
prosecutors tell us, however, that it doesn't have to be that way,
and that enforcement and intervention can lead to gang suppression
and prevention.  Under its Anti-Gang Strategy, partially funded by
the Department of Justice, Boston has implemented Operation Cease
Fire, a two part Zero Tolerance strategy in the Roxbury, Dorchester,
Mattapan, and South End neighborhoods of Boston.  

     Boston officials strongly believe that their success is
attributable to identifying, and then strongly enforcing community
priorities.  Further, they meet with gang members to make clear that
community leaders have "zero tolerance" for violence in their city
and neighborhoods, and to lay out in concrete terms the intensive
police attention gangs will experience unless the violence stops. 
Following these community briefings, the "zero tolerance" policy is
enforced.  It may be that graffiti, truancy, noise, or public
drinking statutes are vigorously enforced as a means to stop gang
activity leading to more serious crimes.  The "zero tolerance"
policy is the muscle behind the shared interests that the community
identifies, and Boston police attribute their success to the
community's involvement in establishing and enforcing their quality
of life priorities.

     Operation Cease Fire is another example of the fine cooperation
that exists between all of the interested law enforcement parties in
Boston, including the U.S. Attorney, the Suffolk County District
Attorney, the Boston Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms.  These partners meet weekly to review their
progress and to target any flare-ups where crime may be increasing,
areas that they designate as "hot spots," which deserve particular
attention.     

     D.     Targeting Gun Violence--The Boston Gun Project

     As part of this strategy of focusing on "hot spots," Boston has
implemented an interagency project, in collaboration with the Boston
Police Department, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office,
the U.S. Attorney's Office, ATF, and researchers at the Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University, to focus on the supply
side of gun crimes.  Firearms have played an increasing role in the
rates of crime committed by and against youths across the country. 
In Boston, information about the way youth illegally acquire
firearms is used to shape a crackdown on this "market".  The Boston
Gun Project uses increased emphasis on ATF traces and post-arrest
debriefing to identify the sources of illegal firearms.  

     The work of the Boston Gun Project is integrated into the
overall "Operation Ceasefire" strategy.  In cooperation with other
local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, increased
enforcement efforts are then directed against those who supply or
traffic in illegal firearms, both in-state and interstate.  By using
federal firearms laws, the project makes the market much less
hospitable by strategically removing the most dangerous gang and
drug offenders from the streets, and stemming the flow of firearms
into Massachusetts.  The Boston Gun Project has also cracked down on
felons who are prohibited from owning firearms, and severely
punishes those who put guns into the hands of juveniles and older
gang members.  With the ongoing sharing of information about both
the supply and demand for firearms, the Boston Gun Project is
targeting its resources for maximum impact.

IV.  INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ORIENTED PROGRAMS

     Boston has been vigilant in enforcing federal, state, and local
laws against those youths who have shown substantial disregard for
society's rules.  But Boston attributes much of its success to the
community driven partnerships that have been created to intervene in
the lives of young people who have had some trouble with the law. 
These partnerships prevent lives of crime and encourage constructive
behavior and activities for the overwhelming majority of youth in
Boston who have not been in trouble with the law.

     A.     Problem Solving Through Partnerships--Safe Neighborhood
            Initiative

     A big part of Boston's success is attributable to the
communication among the participants in the criminal justice system
and the community.  At a greater level than ever before, police
officers are sharing information with probation officers and judges;
school principals are joining in strategy sessions with the
Massachusetts Attorney General, the Suffolk County District
Attorney, and the Boston Police Commissioner; and the community is
more involved in the design and evaluation of public and private
programs.  The Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SNI) is one example of
this increased cooperation.  The SNI is a network of problem-
solving partnerships that brings together government agencies,
private, nonprofit service providers and citizens to identify,
prioritize and solve neighborhood and crime related problems in the
Boston area. 

     1.     Partnerships To Involve The Community In Solving
            Crimes--Safe Neighborhood Initiative Tip Line

     Unfortunately, crime flourishes when the community stays silent
as crimes occur.  This phone line, advertised in local newspapers,
is designed to increase the community's ability to respond with a
clear voice when crimes are occurring.  The Safe Neighborhood Tip
Line allows community members to notify the police where they think
suspicious or criminal activities are occurring, where gang members
are congregating, or where other activities that might endanger the
safety of the neighborhood are taking place.  The information
received from these phone calls allow police to identify areas of
known drug, gang, or prostitution activities. 

     2.     Partnerships To Reduce The Effects Of Domestic Violence
            And Child Abuse--The Child Witness to Violence Project

     Children who experience or even witness violence are more prone
to engage in criminally violent behavior because they have learned
that violence is an acceptable means of resolving disputes.  The
Child Witness to Violence Project, a partnership between Boston
police officers in the Dorchester section of Boston and Boston City
Hospital pediatricians, emergency room staff and child
psychiatrists, is studying the effects of violence on children and
attempting to prevent the cycle of violence from occurring. In this
project, police are trained to assess the impact of trauma on child
and family, and to re-stabilize the family system in order to
support the child.  Police are familiarized with services available
in the community and taught to make the appropriate referrals. 
Since its implementation in 1993, the Child Witness to Violence
Project has trained police officers on the effects of children's
exposure to violence and has provided critical services to families
across Boston.

     3.     Partnerships To Reduce The Effects Of Domestic Violence
            And Child Abuse--Improving The Court's Response

     In addition, the Dorchester District Court has established a
partnership to utilize the ChildWitness to Violence Project when the
court is confronted with cases of domestic violence or child abuse. 
Through this program, court judges may require a defendant to
undergo intensive, supervised domestic violence training as part of
their sentence.  The Dorchester District Court has taken an active
role in training court personnel, police officers, prosecutors, and
the public to sensitize participants about the nature of domestic
violence and its impact on the victim and children.  The Court also
has helped to improve communication between the players in the
criminal justice system, and to improve the criminal justice
system's response to domestic violence.
     
     4.     Partnerships To Address Issues Of Diversity--The
            Vietnamese-Police Collaborative To Reduce Crime
            Victimization

     As a nation of immigrants, cities and towns struggle with
issues of racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity, and
work hard to solve and prevent problems among their varying
communities.  Like many other communities, Boston has established a
partnership between its police and one of its growing minority
populations, the Vietnamese community.  The Police Collaborative has
organized a Vietnamese Residents Advisory Council that works with
the police to identify, prioritize and solve problems. 

     5.     Partnerships To Establish Community Priorities
            --Community Prosecutions

     One of the most important aspects of a community based approach
to justice involves the community setting its priorities in the
reduction of crimes.  In Boston, this coordination involves the
Suffolk County District Attorney, the Massachusetts Attorney
General, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Mayor's Office of
Neighborhood Services, the Boston Police Department, and community
residents.  By pooling intelligence and other information, the Safe
Neighborhood Initiative team is able to target those individuals and
situations that are generating the greatest fear and victimization,
and choose the court of appropriate jurisdiction to address the
problem.  This includes using civil law to address chronic
problems--from commercial mechanics doing car repairs in streets to
crack houses operating with the owners looking the other way--that
cannot be handled adequately using the criminal law alone.

     6.     Partnerships To Prevent Violence--The Boston Violence
            Prevention Program

      Violence in a community affects everyone in many different
ways.  The Boston Violence Prevention Program (BVPP), a part of the
Safe Neighborhood Initiative since 1990, approaches violence as a
public health problem as well as an issue for the criminal justice
system. Therefore, BVPP has developed a number of projects to treat
injured adolescents by intervening in the cycle of violence.  Health
care workers participate in a multidisciplinary Victim Care Services
team to reach youth who have been injured in intentional violence
while they are still receiving treatment at Boston City Hospital. 
The program includes a review and assessment of the incident with
the patient, as well as education regarding violence and homicide. 
The project also involves a review of the patient's conflict
resolution strategies, the introduction of conflict resolution
skills, referrals to appropriate community and hospital-based
agencies, and review of strategies for staying safe upon discharge. 

     The BVPP is also involved in many other areas of prevention. 
On the education front, BVPP educators provide violence prevention
training to service providers, other professionals, interested
individuals, community- based groups and organizations.  As a
facilitator of networking, the BVPP has developed networking
activities including a monthly networking breakfast of area
professionals, publication of a monthly newsletter, and involvement
in an anti-violence advertising campaign.  These efforts have indeed
been successful.  An evaluation of the pilot program in Roxbury and
South Boston has shown positive effects on the knowledge, attitudes,
and behaviors of the adolescents living in those two neighborhoods. 

     7.     Partnerships With The Business Community--Summer of
            Opportunity

     Another important piece to Boston's success has been the
willingness of the business community to become involved at the
community level in addressing crime and the circumstances which
foster criminal activity.  Businesses have a direct stake in
reducing crime and in ensuring that the young people of today will
become the talented employees and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.  The
Summer of Opportunity is a partnership among the Boston Police
Department Youth Violence Strike Force, John Hancock Financial
Services, and Northeastern University designed to engage at risk
youth in a host of summer activities beneficial to their social,
academic and professional aspirations.  These youths are 15 to 17
years old who have been recommended for the program by police
officers who have learned of the youths through contacts in schools,
churches, or community.  Many of the young people have already been
involved with the criminal justice system.  The 46-week long program
has been funded for three years through a $150,000 annual grant from
John Hancock Financial Services.

     The young people who successfully complete a training program
which incorporates mentorships, job readiness, leadership and life
skills training, are placed in part-time jobs in places such as John
Hancock, the Greater Boston YMCA and the Franklin Park Zoo.  The
youth must be enrolled in either a school or an alternative
education program and must maintain passing grades, maintain a
relationship with their mentors, not be arrested, and if they are
under court order, not violate their probation.

     The program has been successful, with some of the youths now
enrolled in college, and others successfully participating in
athletics or maintaining part-time jobs while attending high school. 
Yet the Summer of Opportunity is just one example of the business
community's involvement. 

     8.     Partnership In The Boston Coalition--Business,
            Religious, Media, And Law Enforcement Working Together

     The Boston Coalition, founded in 1990 to combat drugs and
violence in Boston, represents over 350 civic, business, and
community leaders, working with law enforcement to reduce violence,
fight substance abuse, and assist the criminal justice system.  As
examples of its work, the Boston Coalition has successfully
established a drug diversion court which recently completed its
first year of alternative programs, counseling and testing for drug
offenders; the Coalition is supporting a series of training
conferences and classes for youth streetworkers so that all such
workers have a basic competency in their very challenging field of
work with disadvantaged youth; and the religious community task
force has trained clergy on issues of domestic violence.

     9.     Partnership In The Legal Community--The Boston Bar
            Association

     The local Bar Association is also active on issues of violence
and its prevention, through mentoring and educational programs in
Boston's public high schools; a summer jobs program for youth in
legal settings; and its recent co-sponsorship of a conference on gun
violence, with law enforcement agencies, and local media.    

     10.    Partnership And Leadership In The Religious Community
            --The Ten Point Coalition

     The religious community plays an important role in helping to
heal communities from the effects of violence.  Therefore, it is
appropriate that the religious community in the Boston area has
decided to take on a bigger role in the prevention of violence.  The
Ten Point Coalition is an ecumenical group of clergy and lay leaders
working to mobilize the religious community around issues affecting
urban youth--especially those at risk to engage in violence, drug
abuse, and other destructive behavior.  The Coalition's main
activities are facilitating collaboration between churches with
programs in place and helping to train those willing to reach out.
As part of their efforts, the Ten Point Coalition aims to:

     *      Establish church sponsored "Adopt-a-Gang" programs,
            where inner-city churches would serve as drop-in centers
            providing sanctuary for troubled youth.
     *      Initiate and support neighborhood crime-watch programs
            within local church neighborhoods.
     *      Establish working relationships between local churches
		and community-based health centers to provide counseling
            for families during times of crisis.
     *      Establish rape crisis drop-in centers and services for
            battered women in churches, and counseling programs for
            abusive men, particularly teenagers and young adults.
     
     Since May, 1992, the Coalition has sponsored a Friday night
street ministry which offers an opportunity for pastors and lay
people to be trained in working in an urban setting with at-risk
youth. Activities include:  participation in mediation efforts
between gangs, participation in neighborhood crime watches and
patrols, and meetings with youth agency workers. Participants are
encouraged to develop at least two relationships on an on-going
basis with at-risk youth in their local areas.

     11.    Partnerships To Reduce Crime And Improve Public
            Housing--Operation Safe Home 

     There is no place that a person should feel safer than in his
own home.  Unfortunately, however, public housing areas, the homes
of many men, women and children, are often areas of high crime.
Operation Safe Home is an initiative developed by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development to utilize the unique
resources of HUD to reduce violent crime and improve the quality of
life in public housing.  Operation Safe Home regularly assesses the
crime problems facing public housing units within its jurisdiction
and develops strategic plans to address the worst problems.

     Operation Safe Home develops task forces and partnerships among
federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate
drug trafficking and violent crime within public housing
developments.  For example, the U.S. Attorney's Office has invited
HUD's Inspector General to be a direct and full participant in major
drug investigations led by his office, alongside the traditional
enforcement agents from DEA, ATF, and the FBI.   HUD brings unique
resources to these investigations, including intelligence from
public housing authorities, tenant lists and information, access to
apartments and common areas for physical and electronic
surveillance, and additional sources of funding for strategic
investigations.

     HUD also works in partnership to ensure that criminal problems
once addressed do not recur. HUD helps housing developments redesign
structures to eliminate havens for drug dealing, assist in drafting
tenant leases which permit immediate eviction for criminal activity,
increase access to available social services, and provide recreation
and job opportunities.

     HUD also provides funds to the Boston Housing Authority to
support their "Youth on the Rise" program, which has youth workers
in every family development in the City.  The youth workers organize
events, refer high-risk youth to appropriate services, and defuse
many potentially high-risk situations.  They also work closely with
the Boston Streetworkers Program in this regard. 

     B.     The Comprehensive Communities Program

     The Comprehensive Communities Program (CCP) is Boston's
citywide, pro-active approach to improving the quality of life and
reducing crime and fear for the residents of Boston, in partnership
with City government, neighborhood residents and other significant
stakeholders.  Among the CCP public safety strategies are: Boston's
Strategic Planning and Community Mobilization efforts,  the Youth
Services Providers Network, and the Alternatives to Incarceration
Network.

     1.     CCP's Strategic Planning And Community Mobilization    
  Police and area community members are working together to develop
action plans to address community needs.  Their mission is "to work
in partnership to reduce crime and fear, and improve the quality of
life in the targeted neighborhoods."  The over 400 participants are
organized into individual planning teams, which vary from a
city-wide team, district teams, and teams organized by functions,
such as administrative services or investigative services. 

     Each team is made up of a variety of neighborhood residents,
city/governmental officials, law enforcement agencies, the business,
health, education and church communities and others.  The teams
systematically identified key strengths, problems, opportunities and
threats that they face in their efforts to achieve their mission. 
They identified strategic goals and objectives and developed
concrete action plans to reduce crime that reflect the input of the
community.  In partnerships across the city, the plans are now being
implemented. 

     2.     CCP's Youth Service Providers Network 

     The Youth Service Providers Network is a vehicle to better
serve at-risk youth and their families.  The Network is made up of
some of the most successful youth service organizations in the City
of Boston in partnership with the Boston Police in Roxbury, Mattapan
and Dorchester.  The majority of service providers involved serve
clients citywide and specialize in youth problems ranging from
teenage run-a-ways to drop-out prevention, mentoring, job training
and placement, tutoring, and emergency housing.

     The Network has developed a Case Management Referral System
which is used by front line police officers to access critically
needed services for at-risk youth.  This system allows police
officers to serve youth and families through just one phone call to
the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) based at the
stationhouse.  The officer simply calls the Network's LCSW with the
name and phone number of a youth in need of service.  Then the LCSW
reaches out to the youth and the family to develop a plan to access
the Network service-providing agencies. 
In addition, the members of the Network share resources and
information, focus on youth violence issues and come up with
strategies to overcome those issues in order to better serve their
youth and their families individually.  
     Some of the many programs supported through the Youth Service
Providers Network include:

       *      Boston Against Drugs--Community based drug education.
       *      Boston Medical Center--Child Witness to Violence
              Project.
       *      Boston Community Centers--Direct service through
              street corner outreach.
       *      Bridge Over Troubled Water Inc--Since 1970, the Bridge 
              program has been a multiservice program for homeless, 
              runaway and other at-risk youth that sends people out
              into the streets to directly interact and intervene
              with these youth.
       *      Greater Boston One to One--Mentoring training and
              technical assistance, as well as direct assistance
		  through The Pathways Program, which teaches
              entrepreneurship and economic literacy.
       *      Jobs for Youth--Job Readiness, training, and placement
              programs.
       *      The Greater Boston Boys and Girls Club--Recreation,
              tutoring, dropout prevention, crisis counseling and
		  victim service advocates.
       *      United Methodist Urban Services (UMUS) Police in
              Partnership Program--joint training between Boston
		  police officers, church mentors and inner city youth
		  designed to teach problem solving.
       *      Streetworkers Program--One of the many programs
              participating in the work of the YSP Network is the
              Streetworkers Program.  CCP funds the salaries of 2
              Streetworker positions in the Roxbury, Mattapan,
              Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston.  The Streetworkers
              program is designed to reach at-risk youth on the
              streets, including former gang members.  

Approximately 50 "Streetworkers" venture out daily to help direct
at-risk youth to appropriate services.  These Streetworkers are 
funded mainly by the Boston Mayor's
office (although two have been paid for by federal CCP
grants).  In the past five years these Streetworkers
have, through the Youth Services Providers Network,
attended joint training sessions with area police
officers where the two groups learn from and share
information with each other: the police officers teach the 
Streetworkers about local and federal laws and the Streetworkers 
teach the police officers about the workings of the neighborhoods. 
What sets this program apart from other outreach programs is that 
these Streetworkers actually go out to the streets, sometimes even 
into homes, and help direct youth to other services that
can help them. The Streetworkers focus on known gang
members, youth that have been targeted as at-risk and
school truants.  By going into the youth environment,
the Streetworkers can learn how best to help the
individual youth, while reporting to local community
centers about at-risk youth and the overall community
situation. 

     3.   CCP's Alternatives to Incarceration Network

     The Alternatives to Incarceration Network is a broad coalition,
including the Department of Youth Services, Department of Probation,
the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, and the Boston Police
Department.  Community based non-profit agencies include Mass
Halfway House, Make Peace, and the Boston Coalition.  The AITN is a
collaboration which diverts first time and non-violent offenders who
would otherwise be incarcerated.  The diverted youth are subject to
increased monitoring and rehabilitation, including substance abuse
counseling, job skills training and placement, intensive community
monitoring, life skills counseling, and violence prevention
programs.

V.   PREVENTION ORIENTED SCHOOL PROGRAMS

     Good schools are an important part of any long range plan to
reduce youth violence and increase opportunities for the adults of
tomorrow.  Boston has used its schools not only for academic
enrichment, but also as physical locales where counseling, mentoring
and tutoring programs can enrich the lives of Boston youth.  A few
of their initiatives are described below.

       A.     Boston Community Centers

     Boston has established a network of 41 comprehensive community
centers, each run by an independent, non-profit Community Center
Council, with primary funding coming from the City's budget.  Many
of the centers use school buildings after hours.  Boston Community
Centers are Boston's largest single human services provider,
offering youth and families services that include child care, adult
and youth education, youth services, and youth recreation.  Boston
Community Centers are an important contact point for Streetworkers
to find young people in need of prevention or intervention services.
    
       B.     Community Schools

     Funded by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant
to the 1994 Violent Crime Control Act, this program funds a broad
coalition including residents, schools, community based
organizations, health centers, tenant task forces, city agencies and
law enforcement in the South End neighborhood of Boston.  The
mission is to develop a community-focused continuum of prevention
and intervention services for 9-18 year olds in order to prevent
violence and foster a safer community.  Some of the services offered
by the program include safe havens, tutoring, and family
strengthening services.

       C.     Safe Schools

     Funded by the Department of Education, this program is
operating at the two public schools in Boston with the highest
incidents of violence.  It is an effort to provide full-service
schools, complete with health, social services, and enrichment both
during and after school.  Coordination for this program occurs in
conjunction with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office and
the Boston Police Department.

       D.     School to Work Program

     Funded by the Department of Education and the Department of
Labor, these funds help support the Boston School-to-Career Program,
which provides school to work services in every Boston public high
school, including alternative schools.  The program provides
internships, job shadowing and many other employment and education
related services which tie education to the world of work, with a
goal of ensuring that out-of-school youth return to the classroom
and leave the streets, while in-school youth have a smooth
transition to the world of work.
     
     E.   The Louis D. Brown Peace Curriculum

     Despite the decline in youth violence in Boston, there are
unfortunately still victims.  One such person was Louis D. Brown, a
15 year old honor student at West Roxbury High School in Boston, who
was tragically shot down by gang gunfire on his way to an anti-gang
violence Christmas party in 1993.  His parents, in Louis' honor,
have founded The Louis D. Brown Peace Curriculum, which teaches the
value of peace through the life story of Louis, presented in a book
and a biographical video.  This Curriculum, which targets high
school tenth graders from Boston neighborhoods, is a values program
that develops the student's character as well as enhances reading
and writing capabilities. Students not only learn about Louis'
story, but also participate in community field projects and class
discussions, read a selected novel, write essays about their
understanding of peace and their own peace making effort. During the
1995-96 school year, the Curriculum was implemented in 11 of the 17
Boston Public High Schools and over 1,600 students enrolled in the
program.

       F.     Children's Hospital Fenway Collaborative

     A cooperative effort between the Fenway Middle College High
School and Boston's Children's Hospital, the Collaborative is a
school-to-work program focused on preventing school dropouts by
enhancing employment skills and offering career development.  The
program offers 40 juniors and seniors in high school the opportunity
to explore the Health care profession in many different areas
through part-time jobs, internships, and classroom activities.

       G.     Barron Assessment and Counseling Center

     A program funded by the Boston public school system, this
two-part program deals with youth that have brought weapons onto
school property or have been involved in other problem behavior. 
After the youth is disciplined according to school policy, the
parents are notified and the youth is referred to the counseling
center.  At the center, the student receives academic, psychological
and social assessments, as well as crisis intervention. 

       H.     Creative Conflict Resolution Programs

     A number of programs in Boston Public Schools teach conflict
resolution and violence prevention training to teachers, counselors
and school administrators in grades K-12.  The programs offer a
variety of training formats that teach teachers how to model
appropriate behavior in the classroom, conduct skills training for
students, and integrate conflict resolution concepts into the
standard curriculum.  Included in this is the successful
"Streetsmarts" conflict resolution training.   

       I.     Startsharp

     A school-based, educational and recreational program targeting
inner-city youths ages 8-15, Startsharp emphasizes community
involvement to prevent violence, substance abuse, and premature/
unprotected sexual activity. 

       J.     Student Conflict Resolution Experts (SCORE)

     A program sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney
General and receiving funding from the Department of Justice, this
program trains students from 16 high schools and 9 middle schools in
conflict resolution and peer mediation.  Peer mediators are a
representative cross section of the student body, including both
negative and positive student leaders.  These students, with
supervision from the SCORE Coordinator, a full-time staff person who
works at the school, mediate disputes involving a variety of issues
ranging from rumors to gangs. 
     
       K.     Community Based Justice Program in the Boston Schools

     Like the Middlesex program described in the following section,
the Suffolk County District Attorney is implementing a community
based justice strategy in Boston schools to improve the criminal
justice system's response to youth violence.      
VI.  MIDDLESEX COUNTY

     In order to address youth violence in a comprehensive manner,
surrounding jurisdictions as well as urban centers like Boston must
address the issue too.  In this regard, the Boston area offers
another fine example from the efforts of Middlesex County, which
borders Suffolk County (where Boston is located).  In Middlesex
County, many of the same players within and outside the criminal
justice community have come together to explore solutions to youth
violence problems.  The District Attorney in Middlesex County has
developed the Middlesex Community- Based Justice Program, which
brings together community task forces made up of the school
officials, police, prosecutors, probation officers, corrections
officials, and youth-service and social-service professionals who
work with high-risk and adjudicated youth.  The result of this
interagency information-sharing is the ability of the District
Attorney's Office and other child professionals to prioritize cases,
devise individualized intervention strategies, oversee the progress
of each involved child, and if necessary increase sanctions for
those youth who warrant stricter intervention or incarceration.

      In each community participating in the program, a task force
made up of school officials, police, prosecutors, probation
officers, corrections officials, youth-service and social-service
professionals, and in some cases community leaders meets on a
regular basis to share information about identified high-risk youth
whose behavior poses a threat to their schools, neighborhoods, and
communities.  Police officers report on recent criminal events
involving juveniles, school officials report on school-based
disturbances, prosecutors report on the status of court cases
involving identified high-risk youth, and probation, corrections and
other youth-service officials participate by filling in with
case-specific details.  The result of this communication is the
ability of each task force to address the individual context of each
case and come to a clear consensus about what should be done to
address each identified youth's antisocial behavior.  Middlesex
County's efforts move towards a comprehensive system of community
based justice.

VII.   A FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE--COMMUNITY JUSTICE
     
     The key to Boston's success lies in its community-based
partnerships, a number of which are described above.  These programs
are part of a growing awareness that a "community justice" approach
is required.  Community justice is a process of identifying public
safety problems, creating partnerships within the community and
building bridges among all parts of the justice system to address
these problems effectively.  This problem-solving approach moves law
enforcement's focus away from the crime incident and court case, to
the problem they face--what causes it and how can it be addressed. 
The emphasis is no longer exclusively on arrest, prosecution, and
adjudication, but rather on solving the problem in order to prevent
crime before it occurs, to reduce recidivism, and to address the
public safety needs of the community.

     Community justice reorients the focus of justice through
engagement with the community.  Partnerships are required not only
with the community but within the entire range of the criminal
justice system.  Police officers, prosecutors, judges, court staff,
and probation officers must all cooperate and collaborate in ways
that maximize their resources and magnify each individual effort.
The traditional sense of community must be expanded to include
public agencies such as schools, hospitals, and social services, as
well as private businesses and institutions.  Boston and Middlesex
County are well on their way to achieving an integrated
community justice system.

     If you have any questions about the materials in this pamphlet,
please contact the Mayor's Public Safety Cabinet in Boston, Police
Commissioner Paul F. Evans at (617) 343-5096.