Not on my turf

It happened during a joint meeting Wednesday of the Oklahoma Youth and Gang Violence Coordinating Council and the Oklahoma Gang Intervention Steering Committee.

Some members of a subcommittee looking into possible treatment and intervention alternatives felt that another subcommittee looking into enforcement issues wandered over into their area of expertise.

Because the enforcement subcommittee reported first, some members of the gang steering committee and coordinating council – about 40 in all – thought an exiisting program mentioed in the report was a good idea and should be expanded. Some members of the treatment subcommittee felt that their work looking at various possibilities which required more study was being overlooked.

Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond, said he was concerned of a possible “paralysis by analysis,” saying he didn’t want the committee to get caught up in studying issues and not doing anything. The deadline to file bills for the next legislative session is Dec. 5.

“Don’t get so bogged down in minutia. … Do something,” he said.

Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma City, defended her group’s position, saying the groups aren’t scheduled to disband until 2012.

“This is an opportunity to take the time to get it right,” she said.

Several on the committee indicated they were heartened by results of efforts in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties that were funded by the state Office of Juvenile Affairs. It provides $1.2 million to anti-gangs programs in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties and recently awarded $100,000 to Lawtgon for anti-gang efforts, said Robert E. “Gene” Christian, the agency’s executive director.

The programs target juveniles at the highest risk of gang involvement, such as those formerly held in custody, juveniles living in at-risk neighborhoods and former gang members.

The state program is patterned after the gang model of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Oklahoma has been recognized by the National Youth Gang Center for using the model, Christian said.

“What we need in Oklahoma City may not be what we need in Waurika,” he said. “We talk about a model – the model doesn’t dictate the program. The (local) steering committee comes together and dictates the program.”

At one time several rural communities received funding from the state agency for gang prevention program, but recent funding cutbacks to the Office of Juvenile Affairs ended the financial assistance, Christian said.

Myron Mayberry, with the nonprofit Effective Transitions Inc. of Oklahoma City, one of the groups receiving state funding, said he believed similar programs could work in rural areas, but each program would have to be developed by people in those local communities. An effective steering committee with local control is necessary for a program to be successful, he said.

No action was taken during the joint meeting, which is looking at ways to fight gangs and their influence on Oklahoma’s youth. The two groups will meet together again in December, just before the bill filing deadline.

Leaders of the two groups, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins and Rep. Gus Blackwell, R-Goodwell, said members could come up with recommendations for legislation and funding and still continue to work on developing solutions.

Michael McNutt, Capitol Bureau