Was Money Spent on Tacoma's Gang Assessment Wasted? Or Necessary?

We read an item in The News Tribune this week that caused us pause. Under the “Blue Byline” column heading, Brian O’Neil expressed his take on the recently completed survey of gang activity in Tacoma. O’Neil’s reaction? To paraphrase, “tell me something I don’t know.” To quote him directly, “Duh.”

That’s probably not an uncommon response. And neither is his grumbling about the fact that there are other ways he would rather see the $50,000 spent than on a study. But there’s more to the situation than that. It’s not simply that the study was needed to tell Tacoma where our problems with gangs are, although some helpful insights were gained. Those insights will help the City prioritize where it allocates its resources to maximize impact.

Another often overlooked value of this kind of study is that it is necessary for the City to apply for grants and other funding sources to tackle the problem. This is one of those “takes money to make money” situations. As was pointed out in the City Council study session where the initial findings of the study were presented, applications for federal funding require statistics like those produced by the study. You won’t get federal grand money without this kind of data.

O’Neil expresses confusion (whether feigned for effect or genuine) over why the City would choose to spend money on such a study:

In light of this, the city council’s decision to spend the city’s scarce resources on an independent study is a real head-scratcher. …go ask your cops what the problem is. Invite your youth group coordinators to offer solutions. Invite social services and school administrators into the discussion.

With so many integrated anti-gang programs around the country, and with the involvement of all the key players, a solid plan is sure to form. Now all you need is a little money.

Where’s that $50,000 when you need it?

There’s no denying that $50,000 seems like a significant chunk of change – even in times when the City isn’t scraping under the metaphoric sofa cushions to make ends meet on a budget gap. But the grants that can be applied for with the data produced by this study can yield awards on the order of hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars. We like O’Neil’s common sense, roll up your sleeves and talk to the guys in the trenches approach – that kind of effort, and the volumes of knowledge the men and women who work with gangs every day have to share will be an invaluable core to any effort to combat gangs. But since we haven’t solved the problem on our own yet, it seems fair to say that we might need a little more support.

Read O’Neil’s full article from The News Tribune.

Find more details in information presented at the February 28th City Council Study Session.