The Coordinating Council on Gang Prevention is responsible for the coordination and oversight of the county’s preventative and community education efforts to combat the presence and proliferation of gangs.

The council will specifically report to the Board of Supervisors on programs and initiatives which support this effort and develop measurements of success to provide periodic evaluations of this effort.

The council will focus its work in five major areas:

• Continued proactive law enforcement – Ensuring that schools and neighborhoods remain safe at all times.
• Bridging the gap – Identifying and coordinating after-school services for youth, a prime recruitment time for gangs.
• Parental involvement and education – Educating parents on the issues and signs of possible gang recruitment and involvement and resources available to assist both parents and youth.
• Service-provider awareness and engagement – Improving gang awareness, communication and collaboration among service providers, including educators, county agencies, faith-based organizations, community-based groups and others.
• Community awareness and engagement – Improving gang prevention awareness among community partners, including neighborhood associations, homeowners associations, businesses, faith-based organizations, and others.

County Executive Anthony H. Griffin will lead a 23-person council steering committee comprised of representatives from various county agencies, including Police Chief David Rohrer, Fairfax Public Schools Superintendent Jack Dale and the directors of various county agencies, including the Health Department, Department of Family Services, the Department of Community and Recreation Services, the Department of Systems Management for Human Services, and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board among others.

Over 60 individuals, organizations and county agencies have also been identified as initial members of the Coordinating Council on Gang Prevention. These include the towns of Vienna, Herndon and Clifton; the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church; regional shopping malls; the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force; the Partnership for Youth; the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce; former gang members; Inova; George Mason University; Northern Virginia Community College; Reston Interfaith; the NAACP; the Neighborhood Watch program and others.