The United States Attorney's Office is committed to reducing gang activity and violence in the Northern District of Indiana through the implementation of an anti-gang initiative strategy. Together with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, many new and regionally unique strategies have been developed and initiated in coordination with these exceptional partnerships. A few of these programs are mentioned below.

Gang Activity Information Network (G.A.I.N.)

The Gang Activity Information Network is a monthly resource distributed to law enforcement agencies in the Northern District that are part of the L.E.C.C. mailing list. The network features open source news and resource material that serves as an educational tool to frequently update law enforcement officials on current gang trends. The network also includes sections on officer safety updates and gang-related legislation that can be used in the Indiana state jurisdiction to prosecute gang members. Copies of past G.A.I.N. newsletters can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

Quarterly District Law Enforcement Gang Meetings

The U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern District of Indiana sponsors quarterly gang intelligence meetings with law enforcement personnel throughout Northern Indiana. These meetings generally consist of gang-related training, intelligence and information sharing sessions and networking. The meetings are rotated throughout the Northern District and are open to federal, state and local law enforcement officers throughout the state. The U.S. Attorney's Office has also sponsored two gang conferences since the initiative began in 2005. The first focused on gang prevention strategies, the second on gang intelligence and strategies for the reduction of gang violence.

G.R.E.A.T. Program

The G.R.E.A.T. Program is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum. The program's primary objective is prevention and is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership.

G.R.E.A.T. lessons focus on providing life skills to students to help them avoid delinquent behavior and violence to solve problems.

Trained, uniformed police officers present the G.R.E.A.T. Program in a classroom setting.  They deliver the 13 week curriculum to middle school students, facilitating a wide range of activities, that result in the necessary life skills, a sense of competency, usefulness and personal empowerment needed to avoid involvement in youth violence and criminal activity.

The program is designed to help middle school students become responsible members of their communities, by setting goals for themselves, resisting pressures, learning how to resolve conflicts and understanding how gangs impact the quality of their life. G.R.E.A.T. culminates with a certificate of graduation, a new philosophical outlook towards police and the tools needed to resist gang pressure.

Community Outreach

The following are materials made available to the community concerning the District's anti-gang initiative. You may click on the PDF icons or images for a downloadable version of the item.

Anti-Gang Poster Series

PDF document

A Parent's Quick Reference Card

PDF document

A Parent's Quick Reference Card - En español

PDF document

Join a Gang and Chill Poster