The Wraparound approach for youth gang intervention: impacts on negative police contacts

Gang violence is a pressing concern for public safety in British Columbia, Canada. Gang-related violence is driven in large part by profits arising from illicit drug trafficking enterprises (CFSEU-BC, 2021); conflicts typically involve entrenched individuals who engage in cycles of retaliatory violence. The Surrey WRAParound Program uses an intensive case management approach and was implemented as a partnership between the school district, police, and the City of Surrey in 2008 in response to increased gang activity and youth crime (Public Safety Canada, 2012). Using a stratified random sample of 151 youths admitted to the program between 2017 and 2020, the current study examines program impact on negative police contacts. A retrospective, longitudinal, single group design was implemented using generalized estimating equations to assess police outcomes data over a series of eight 6-month waves. The main findings suggest equivocal effects of the WRAP program. Participants showed a significant upwards trajectory of police contacts throughout the 24 months prior to program admission. Following WRAP entry, offending remained at a statistically equivalent rate for 18 months compared to the six months pre-entry (i.e., there was no notable decrease or increase), until increasing in the period 18–24 months following admission. Subgroup analyses focused on violent and weapons offenses, as well as dichotomized groups based on gender, ethnicity, age, SES, and language spoken at home. Results are discussed with respect to the effectiveness of the Wraparound approach, future research, and alternative interpretations of the findings.