Gangs
Gang presence and involvement affect student engagement in school, student academic achievement and student and staff safety and attendance. In addition to appropriate coordination with law enforcement authorities, the school’s role in gang prevention and intervention, involves keeping students in school and engaged, fostering attachments to and building relationships among school staff, students and the educational process, and maintaining safe and secure school environments, in an effort to build students’ resilience to the pressures of gangs. The information provided below is intended to aid schools in addressing gang issues and concerns.
Statutes
All References below can be found at the New Jersey Legislature's website:
- N.J.S.A. 2C:30-10, Causing Fear of Unlawful Bodily Violence, Crime of Third Degree; Act of Graffiti, Additional
- N.J.S.A. 2C:33-28, Solicitation, Recruitment to Join Criminal Street Gangs; Crime, Degrees and Sentencing
- N.J.S.A. 2C:33-29, Crime of Gang Criminality; “Criminal Street Gang” Defined; Grading of Offense
- N.J.S.C 2C:153-4.1, Acts of Graffiti
- N.J.S.A.18A:11-7. Findings, declarations relative to school dress codes
- N.J.S.A. 18A:11-9. Prohibition of gang-related apparel
- N.J.S.A. 18A:35-4.26 Instruction in gang violence prevention; required for elementary school students
- N.J.S.C. 52:17B-4.7 Gang education seminars for school administrators
Regulations
The following regulations can be found on the NJDOE Administrative Code page:
- Law Enforcement Operations for Substances, Weapons, and Safety (N.J.A.C. 6A:16-6) under the Programs to Support Student Development Chapter (N.J.A.C. 6A:16) of Administrative Code
- N.J.A.C. 6A:16-5.3 Incident reporting of violence, vandalism and alcohol and other drug abuse
- N.J.A.C. 6A:16-6, Law Enforcement Operations for Alcohol, Other Drugs, Weapons and Safety
- N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7, Student Conduct
- N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1, Code of student conduct
- Best Practices to Address Community Gang Problems, OJJDP
- County Offices of Education (County Executive Superintendents) of the New Jersey Department of Education
- Gang Resistance and Education Training
- MHTTC - Latino Youth Gangs Prevention in the School System
- Memorandum of Agreement between Education and Law Enforcement Officials
- National Alliance of Gang Investigators’ Associations
- New Jersey Gang Awareness Guide
- Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center
Government Agencies
- Federal Bureau of Investigations
- Juvenile Justice Commission, New Jersey
- New Jersey Department of Education, Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning
- New Jersey State Parole Board
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- Office of the Attorney General, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
- Street Gang Bureau, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety