The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) is a highly collaborative network organized to prevent intervene, and suppress gangs in San Jose. It was established by then Mayor Susan Hammer in 1991. The Task Force also provides a coordinated inter-agency response to gang related incidents which result in serious injury or death. The MGPTF is comprised of city, county, state, community-based organizations, SJPD, faith community, schools, parent groups, and other community stakeholders.

To ensure support and coordination at the highest levels of government and throughout the community, as well as effectiveness in operations, the Task Force operates through two components – a Policy Team and a Technical Team.  The Policy Team is co-chaired by Mayor Chuck Reed and Police Chief Rob Davis. The team consists of government department heads and senior officials, school district leaders, and representatives of key community-based organizations, businesses, and neighborhoods.  This team provides direction for the city’s anti-gang policy, and develops and monitors Memoranda of Understanding with all organizations and agencies engaged in gang prevention and intervention efforts.  The mayor chairs Policy Team meetings, which are open to the public and include time on the agenda for input from citizens and partner organizations.  The mayor’s office and PRNS provide staff support for this Team.

The Technical Team is where ground-level cross-system work gets done, and proposals get developed to take to the Policy Team.  Staff members from PRNS, police officers and representatives of direct service organizations and agencies with special expertise in gangs, as well as school officials with safety responsibilities participate on this Team, which typically meets every two weeks.  Among other functions, the Technical Team regularly reviews and develops updates for the Policy Team regarding the gang climate and dynamics in the city.  This Team is also “charged with the responsibility of assuring the development of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs that work effectively in the neighborhoods.”

One of the Task Force’s key strategic tools is the Bringing Everyone’s Strength Together (B.E.S.T.) funding program.  The city provides B.E.S.T. with general fund monies, to enable yearly grants ranging from $5,000 to $225,000 to 25 or more community organizations, each of which offers specific programs. Each grantee organization must establish its qualifications through response to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and must provide matching funds. 

To provide a sense of scale, B.E.S.T. granted some $30 million in city funds by 2006.  B.E.S.T. has continued to grow, with a 2005-2006 operating budget of $3 million for which contracted agencies provided a 20% minimum match.  Funding at this level allowed B.E.S.T. grantees to hire 110 full-time staff people, who provide services to 4204 “unduplicated customers,” and a total of more than 316,524 hours of service to parents and youth each year.  Even considered alongside tobacco settlement, workforce development and community development funds, B.E.S.T. represents one of the larger children and youth funding sources at the city’s disposal.

B.E.S.T.’s original emphasis on a mix of prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies and tactics – a mix re-calibrated each year -- now also includes programs targeting the improvement of life skills, school and community safety, and educational achievement.  Also, the city and Task Force have maintained the perspective that B.E.S.T. grants are not solely for use in supporting short-term program operations, but also represent investments in capacity building.  One step in this direction has been a move to three-year grants, rather than one year.  In addition, the city provides B.E.S.T. grantees with opportunities to send staff to cross-learning events, performance measurement workshops, and intervention training sessions.