Ideas particular to law enforcement included setting up more drug-awareness programs, increasing funding to educate state and local police officers about gangs and gang graffiti, and establishing community policing in areas perceived to be vulnerable to gang development. Various speakers also suggested that a statewide network be established to track gangs and gang activities. Community residents also emphasized the need for law enforcement officers to develop good relationships and communication with youth in an attempt to prevent them from getting involved in gangs and illegal activities. While traveling the state to conduct public hearings, members of the Attorney Generals' Youth Gang Task Force discovered that there is a lack of information and awareness among parents, schools, churches, institutions, civic groups, politicians and community leaders about the issue of youth gangs and youth violence. This deficiency of information is compounded by the absence of a strategy to address issues surrounding gang activity and youth violence.
Many communities have youth services or gang prevention programs available.
However, there is no plan to form a network or coordinate efforts that would allow for existing programs to be strengthened or identify the need for new programs. The Youth Gang Task Force finds that there must be increased education and heightened awareness about gangs and violence in order to work towards peaceful solutions. Along with education, there must be organization both on a state and local level in order to effectively and efficiently address the growing problem of youth violence. The availability of the Youth Gang Task Force as a resource and the formation of the Attorney General's Youth Gang Clearinghouse may provide much of the needed organization on a statewide level. The Youth Gang Task Force has already been instrumental in opening lines of communication within communities across the state and the Youth Gang Clearinghouse has been successful in creating a repository of information regarding gangs and youth violence.