BILL NUMBER: AB 526	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dickinson

                        FEBRUARY 15, 2011

   An act to amend Section 13827 of the Penal Code, relating to crime
prevention.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 526, as introduced, Dickinson. Gang and youth violence:
evidence-based practices.
   Existing law establishes the Office of Gang and Youth Violence
Policy to, among other things, identify and evaluate gang and youth
violence suppression, intervention, and prevention programs and
strategies and funding. Existing law requires the Secretary of
Emergency Management to take certain measures to identify and promote
best practices to address gang and youth violence.
   This bill would instead require the secretary to identify and
implement evidence-based practices to address gang and youth
violence. The bill would also require the California Emergency
Management Agency to make recommendations on the most effective role
of the agency in developing a plan to shift state-funded crime
prevention and juvenile justice programs toward evidence-based
practices over a 3-year period.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 13827 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   13827.  (a) There is within the agency, the Office of Gang and
Youth Violence Policy.
   (b) (1) The Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy shall be
responsible for identifying and evaluating state, local, and federal
gang and youth violence suppression, intervention, and prevention
programs and strategies, along with funding for those efforts. The
 director   secretary  shall be responsible
for monitoring, assessing, and coordinating the state's programs,
strategies, and funding that address gang and youth violence in a
manner that maximizes the effectiveness and coordination of those
programs, strategies, and resources. The secretary shall communicate
with local agencies and programs in an effort to  promote the
best   identify and implement evidence-based 
practices for addressing gang and youth violence through suppression,
intervention, and prevention.
   (2) The agency shall develop a comprehensive set of
recommendations to define its mission, role, and responsibilities as
a statewide entity dedicated to reducing violence and the
proliferation of gangs and gang violence in California communities.
   (3) In developing this set of recommendations, the agency shall
collaborate with a wide range of state and local stakeholders,
including, but not limited to, community-based organizations serving
at-risk populations and neighborhoods, law enforcement, educators,
the courts, policy experts and scholars with expertise in the area of
criminal street gangs, and local policymakers.
   (4) The agency, in collaboration with the stakeholders specified
in paragraph (3), shall include in its deliberations the most
effective role for the office with respect to the following:
   (A) The collection and analysis of data on gang membership
statewide and the effectiveness of various gang prevention efforts.
   (B) The development of reliable and accurate sources of data to
measure the scale and characteristics of California's gang problems.
   (C) The development of a clearinghouse for research on gangs,
at-risk youth, and prevention and intervention programs in order to
identify  best practices and evidence-based programming, as
well as unsuccessful   evidence-based  practices,
and in order to promote effective strategies for reducing gang
involvement and gang violence. 
   (D) The development of a plan to shift state-funded crime
prevention and juvenile justice programs toward evidence-based
practices over a three-year period.  
   (D) 
    (E)  Assisting state and local governmental and
nongovernmental entities in developing violence and gang prevention
strategies, including built-in evaluation components. 
   (E) 
    (F)  The development of sustained coordination
mechanisms among state, local, and regional entities. 
   (F) 
    (G)  The identification of available or needed federal,
state, regional, local, and private funding resources. 
   (G) 
    (H)  Providing or otherwise promoting public education
on effective programs, models, and strategies for the control of
violence and serving as a clearinghouse for information on gang
violence prevention issues, programs, resources, and research.

   (H) 
    (I)  Providing or otherwise promoting training and
technical assistance to help build the capacity of organizations,
communities, and local government to develop, implement, and evaluate
gang violence prevention programs. 
   (I) 
    (J)  Providing information and guidance to state and
local governmental and nongovernmental entities on accessing state
and federal resources to prevent gang violence. 
   (J) 
    (K)  Facilitating greater integration between existing
entities with respect to gang prevention efforts.