Gang Resistance Is Paramount (GRIP), originally Alternatives to Gang Membership, began in 1982 in an attempt to curb gang membership and discourage future gang involvement in Paramount, Calif. The program’s objectives are to educate students about the dangers of gangs, discourage the city’s youth from joining gangs, educate the students’ parents about the signs of gang involvement, and provide parents with the resources that will help them eliminate gang activities in their homes and neighborhoods. GRIP staff are familiar with gang activity, but avoided gang involvement. Most of them community members who live or have lived in Paramount. Their training is updated continually, and the program has had low turnover.
GRIP has five elements:
The most recent GRIP evaluation used a nonrandomized posttest design. An anonymous survey was administered to 735 ninth graders in Paramount before the start of GRIP lessons. The survey asked the students if they had previously participated in the GRIP program and what their experience was with gang activity. It also asked them to read a series of statements pertaining to gangs and then asked if they agreed, disagreed, or were undecided about each one. There were 505 students who had participated in GRIP in the second, fifth, or both grades; 209 students ended up in the control group saying they had never participated, while 21 students did not answer the question. Seventy-eight percent of the sample is Latino, 10 percent African-American, 2 percent Asian-American, 1 percent white, and 8 percent answered “other” (mostly citing Hispanic or Puerto Rican as their ethnicity).
The evaluation showed that only 6 percent of ninth graders who had participated in GRIP reported being involved in gang activity compared with 9 percent of youths in the control group. Of the males who reportedly participated in gang activity 52 percent had participated in GRIP, whereas 71 percent of the females had participated in the program. This shows that females may not relate to the curriculum as much as males.
The biggest difference between the groups manifested in perceptions of drugs and alcohol in gang life: 72 percent of GRIP participants felt that it was a significant part, while only 57 percent of nonparticipants felt this was so. Overall both groups displayed levels of antigang sentiment when it came to questions about safety, tattoos, graffiti, and violence. Both groups also responded favorably to the importance of high school, not getting arrested, making sure family members did not join a gang, and not hanging out with or dressing like gang members. The majority of each group realized that family and friends would be affected if they joined a gang and reported that they would not join a gang if their friends did.
Arnette, June Lane, and Marjorie C. Walsleben. 1998. “Combating Fear and Restoring Safety in Schools.” Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Solis, Angelica, Wendy Schwartz, and Tamika Hinton. 2003. “Gang Resistance Is Paramount (GRIP) Program Evaluation: Final Report Oct. 1, 2003.” Los Angeles, Calif.: University of Southern California, USC Center for Economic Development.
Tony Ostos, Manager
Gang Resistance Is Paramount Program
16400 Colorado Avenue
Paramount, CA 90723
Phone: (562) 220-2120
Fax: (562) 630-2713
E-mail: tostos@paramountcity.com
Web site: http://www.paramountcity.com
Tony Ostos, Manager
Gang Resistance Is Paramount Program
16400 Colorado Avenue
Paramount, CA 90723
Phone: (562) 220-2120
Fax: (562) 630-2713
E-mail: tostos@paramountcity.com
Web site: http://www.paramountcity.com