The Police Activities League is a youth crime prevention program first instituted in the 1930’s, which relies on a variety of athletic and recreational activities to cement a bond between police officers and youth. The program keeps “at-risk” kids off the street and gives them a variety of ways to become more involved with their community.

The statistics behind why programs like PAL are so necessary are astonishing:

1. Typically, kids are getting involved with gangs between the ages of 15-22 yrs of age. Kids ages 12-14 are more likely to get involved with tagging (graffiti) type gangs, otherwise known as crews.

2. Tagging crews or gangs are sometimes the start of some kids’ involvement with the gang life. For the most part approx 70% of kids in tagging crews, don't consider themselves as gang members.

3. The percentage of inner city kids that will know or be related to someone in a street gang is 65-75%. About 25-35% of them will have some type of involvement or affiliation with a gang.

4. Kids coming from broken families are more susceptible to gang involvement or affiliation, but there is no set mold.

5. About 80-85% of kids involved in gangs are doing time or have been in the system (i.e. arrested for crimes and spent time at juvenile hall). Gang membership always equals involvement in some type of illegal activity. Membership requires a high level of commitment and involvement to promote or sustain the gang through illegal activities.

6. About 40-50% of these kids are involved with violent crimes, depending on gang rivalries and trends. (One gang member in another gang’s territory, one member killed or injured by another opposing gang usually equals retaliation causing a “war.”)

7. Most inner city kids know about programs like P.A.L. but are too afraid to contact outreach programs for help. Inner city families also don't know these programs for the most part are free/no cost to them. More public promotion of the success of these programs like P.A.L. would allow us to show there is an alternate route to take, instead of gangs.

8. About 70-80% of inner city kids that are involved in P.A.L. and other related programs have become better in school, excelled in sports, and obtained higher levels of learning and education giving them a better outlook on their future and on life.

9. Only 1 in 10 inner kids that are involved in a gang will ever get out of the gang completely. This also depends on the age at the time of entering the gang and time involved with the gang.