Attorney General's Gang Reduction Program Expands in Richmond

Date Published: 2009-07-20 10:38:19
By: David Clementson

 

 

Attorney General Bill Mims, Mayor Dwight Jones, Richmond Assistant Police Chief David McCoy, Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Herring Join with Local, State, Federal Partners

 

 

 

RICHMOND, July 20, 2009 - The Richmond Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (G.R.I.P.) today celebrated the expansion of the successful program to the Northside of Richmond. 

 

"Having grown up in Northside Richmond, I am delighted that the Office of the Attorney General, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, is taking a proactive approach to street gangs," Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring said. "Northside is a beautiful, family oriented part of the City, and we intend to keep it that way."

 

G.R.I.P. is a collaborative partnership of local, state and federal agencies, faith-based organizations, non-profit, for-profit, and community groups and residents. This group has worked together in South Richmond over the past several years to provide youth with healthy alternatives to joining gangs and to help lower crime rates and create a safer community. Due to its success, this model has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice as a "Best Practices" program in addressing community gang problems.

 

According to Richmond Police Chief Bryan Norwood, "G.R.I.P. is a proven successful paradigm in the ongoing battle against gangs and gang violence. As one of the four cities selected nationwide to pilot G.R.I.P., Richmond has used it to build a foundation of crime reduction citywide based on the violence reduction in our G.R.I.P. area, with a 16 percent decline in 2007. G.R.I.P. is a community policing tool that has been taken to another level, involving community partners on the local, regional and state levels. G.R.I.P. has helped us get a handle on issues with gangs and can only work to improve any area where it is utilized."

 

The announcement was made at Trinity Baptist Church today, as part of the quarterly meeting of the G.R.I.P. partners.

 

Attorney General Bill Mims said, "In Southside, our office and many partners made a commitment to the community. That commitment was to work to improve the quality of life for its residents, regardless of the challenges in these economically difficult times. We are proud to continue such a strong coalition dedicated to public safety and are pleased to celebrate the expansion of G.R.I.P. into Northside. We look forward to the continued partnership with the City, the Police Department, the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, the Office of the United States Attorney, and all the dedicated G.R.I.P. partners."

Section: Politics,