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• <br /> 20. <br /> Administration (1994), these efforts resulted in a 24% reduction in criminal <br /> incidents in the thirteen week period following the initiation of programs. <br /> City Streets/ At-risk Youth Division, Phoenix. Arizona <br /> The City Streets/At-risk Youth Division of Phoenix centralized <br /> department youth programming into one entity in order to provide for better <br /> coordination among a multitude of programs. Phoenix recreational programs <br /> have had a measurable effect on youth crime. According to the Phoenix <br /> Police Department, the number of telephone complaints reporting juvenile <br /> criminal behavior decreased by 52% when evening recreational programs were <br /> • implemented (St. Paul City Council Research, 1995). With over 170,000 <br /> participants and an average cost of 60 cents per participant, the program is <br /> also considered a bargain (Trust for the Public Land, 1994). <br /> According to Cynthia Peters, administrator for the At-risk Youth Division <br /> (interview, 1995), one unique and effective program initiated by the division--the <br /> X Tattoo Program--grew out of a serious gang problem in the city. A 1990 <br /> study estimated that 3,800 children in the Phoenix area belonged to one of <br /> more than 140 gangs. The X Tattoo Program, a pilot project of the Phoenix <br /> Parks, Recreation and Library department, provides for laser removal of gang- <br /> oriented tattoos, which can pose a problem with employers and put former gang <br /> members at risk for reprisals from enemy gangs. The program also provides <br /> gang refusal training and career counselling to participants. So far, 75 youth <br /> have entered the program, and 60 are on a waiting list. <br />