Introduction: Each year in the United States, more than one million violent crimes are committed. Of these million violent crimes, an average of forty-eight percent were associated with gangs or individual gang members. (FBI) The gangs that produce these high rates of violent crime are not concentrated in a single area but rather distributed throughout the heart of cities across the country. Furthermore, these gangs do not stagnate, but increase in number each year by continually enticing young men belonging to minorities to join their ranks. Many jurisdictions in the United States spend millions of dollars to respond to gang crime in real time, but most of these jurisdictions find that responding does not effectively reduce the rate of violent crime. (USDOJ) Much research has been done in the area of ​​gang prevention to prevent further violent crimes. As a result of this research, evidence showed that efforts to prevent gang violence should be targeted at youth in areas where gang-related violent crime is high. . As a result, many national programs have sprung up in inner cities, providing after-school programs for inner-city youth as well as educational efforts to prevent them from joining gangs. For these programs to operate effectively, they need funding. Although there are currently grants available for gang prevention programs, they only provide about half of the funds needed to support these programs (OJJDP). Furthermore, much of the funding intended for gang prevention is instead spent on suppression and intervention programs deemed unworthy. Therefore, Congress should eliminate funding for law enforcement and intervention programs and increase funding for after-school programs in cities... middle of paper ...... crime and delinquency prevention. “Youth Gang Programs and Strategies.” United States Department of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, March 4, 2011. Web. February 28, 2014. Rothman, Emily F., Carol Ireland, Lori Curry, Allyson Baughman, and Donald Thompson. “The Violence Prevention and Intervention (VIP) Team: Results of an Action Research Evaluation.” Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action 4.3 (2010): 169. Muse Project . Internet. February 28, 2014. “They are poisoning our streets with drugs, violence and all kinds of crime.” FBI, March 19, 2010. “USDOJ: FBCI: Youth Prevention.” at risk and gangs. » USDOJ: FBCI: Prevention of at-risk youth and gangs. Web, February 28, 2014. “Why do some young people become violent and carry guns?” NIJ. National Institute of Justice, April 24, 2012. Web March 1.. 2014.