The City of Alexandria is committed to preventing gang activity and youth violence in our community. The Gang Prevention Unit leads these efforts by coordinating staff, community members, city agencies, law enforcement, and youth and families. Through collaboration, outreach, and education, the Unit works to prevent gang involvement, provide intervention services, and support a safe, resilient community.

Gangs consist of three or more individuals who use a common identifier and act together to carry out criminal objectives. They primarily target young people who lack protective factors in their families and communities. In other words, gangs often prey upon the vulnerable.

To address these issues, the Alexandria City Council established the Alexandria Gang Prevention Community Task Force (AGPCTF), bringing together community representatives, nonprofit organizations, schools, and other partners to collaborate on gang prevention. The AGPCTF held its initial meeting on May 18, 2005, and serves as a forum for community engagement, information sharing, and collective action to prevent gang involvement among youth.

The Task Force works closely with the City’s staff group on gangs to share information, identify trends, coordinate resources, and strengthen prevention and intervention efforts across the community. Together, they support a comprehensive approach to gang suppression, intervention, and prevention.

The Staff Group on Gangs (SGG) consists of representatives from City departments and agencies who coordinate the City’s strategic response to gang-related issues. This staff group focuses on policy development, interagency coordination, and the implementation of suppression, intervention, and prevention strategies.

Working in tandem with the AGPCTF, the staff group ensures that City agencies and community partners are aligned in their efforts, providing a coordinated, comprehensive approach to gang prevention.

The Gang Prevention Coordinator oversees both the staff group and the community task force. Responsibilities include:

• Coordinating referrals and case management for youth receiving gang prevention and intervention services
• Delivering presentations on gang awareness and prevention to schools, community organizations, and other groups, with support from the Gang Prevention Unit
• Ensuring collaboration and information-sharing between the staff group and the community task force

In concert with the AGPCTF’s initiatives, resources are available to help those in need of gang prevention and intervention. Additionally, information and resources from neighboring jurisdictions can be found here.

If you represent an organization in the City of Alexandria and are interested in receiving training or additional prevention resources, please complete this form. Please note that training requests are subject to resource availability, scheduling, and other factors, and are not guaranteed. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

To report graffiti, call the Alexandria Police Department’s non-emergency number at 703.746.4444 or report to Alex311 for removal. 

For more information on the services listed below and other gang prevention initiatives, please email Luke Daniele at luke.daniele@alexandriava.gov.

You can help keep your neighborhood safe by anonymously reporting gang-related or violent concerns, suspicious activity, or other community safety issues. Submit a report here. All submissions are reviewed by the Department of Community Justice Services (DCJS) to support gang prevention and community safety efforts.

Alexandria Beyond the Classroom (ALX Beyond) released a Youth Program Locator that highlights programs for children in the City of Alexandria. Youth participation in expanded learning and out-of-school time (OST) programs is a protective factor against youth delinquency and violence. By using the locator, youth, families, community members, and supporters can discover programs of interest and connect with providers.

 Human Trafficking of Children-in-the United States: A Fact Sheet for Schools

 Human trafficking is a serious federal crime with penalties of up to imprisonment for life. Federal law defines "severe         forms of trafficking in persons” as: "(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or               coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (B) the recruitment,         harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or           coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." 

• An unknown number of U.S. citizens and legal residents are trafficked within the country for sexual servitude and forced labor. Contrary to a common assumption, human trafficking is not just a problem in other countries. Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. territories. Victims of human trafficking can be children or adults, male or female, U.S. citizens or foreign nationals. In January 2015, the Department of Education released a new guide for educators on ways to identify and help prevent child trafficking in schools. Human Trafficking in America's Schools is a free guide for school staff that includes information about risk factors, recruitment, and how to identify trafficking; what to do if you suspect trafficking, including sample school protocols and policies; and other resources and potential partnership opportunities. The Department has also partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and President Lincoln's Cottage, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to sponsor a youth campaign focused on raising awareness about preventing human trafficking. 
• The Big Lie: Unmasking the Truth Behind Gangs  (in English)   (in Spanish)
  As a follow-up to the success of Virginia's first anti-gang video, The Wrong Family, the Office of the Attorney General identified a need to create a video for youth. The Big Lie was produced in collaboration with law enforcement and psychologists to expose the dark reality of gangs preying upon children through lies and manipulation. The video is a frank, unscripted documentary and presents an extraordinary opportunity for pre- and early teens to learn about the false promises gang members make to lure them into their ranks. The video features gang members, law enforcement, and children who speak directly to the audience about gang recruiting methods, specific ways kids can avoid joining a gang, and most importantly, lifestyle choices to help them stay away from gangs.   
• The Children, Youth and Family Services Hub includes information about childcare, childcare provider training, children's mental health services, drug and alcohol prevention and treatment, pregnancy prevention, youth development, college preparation, child abuse and neglect, foster care and more.
• Did You Know? 
  Important information about gang crimes, properties used in gang crimes, and other gang related matters.