2011 Director’s Community Leadership Awards

Richard Wolf accepts the award on behalf of the I Have a Dream Foundation.

The Los Angeles Division is pleased to honor the I Have a Dream Foundation for using education to deter students from participating in crime, drugs, gangs, and violence.

Annually, the I Have a Dream Foundation selects an entire first, second, or third grade class from an underperforming school and makes a commitment to support those students until they graduate from high school.

In 2010 in Pasadena, the foundation celebrated the high school graduation of their first group of students. More than 80 percent of those students graduated, and 35 of them are enrolled in college.

By serving as positive adult role models, foundation volunteers encourage students to avoid gangs, substance abuse, dating violence, and teen pregnancy. Many of the students are the first in their families to graduate from high school or go to college. Through the support of volunteers, students learn that by graduating from high school, they more than double their lifetime earning potential and become a positive role model for younger siblings.

FBI Los Angeles has partnered with the I Have a Dream Foundation to organize a Junior Community Relations Executive Seminar and FBI mentorship program. 

2011 Director’s Community Leadership Awards

The Buffalo Division is pleased to honor Western District of New York Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Joseph M. Tripi. AUSA Tripi is assigned to the National Security Division and is responsible for the prosecution of violent street gangs.

He is known for his tireless efforts to combat gang violence and reduce violent crime. Through his work, AUSA Tripi has developed and maintained a proactive and positive working relationship with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

AUSA Tripi is the lead prosecutor of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s Operation Bullet Proof, which is a multi-agency violent gang investigation. To date, 35 individuals have been indicted as a result of the joint investigation conducted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the New York State Police, and the Buffalo Police Department.

For his work, AUSA Tripi has been honored with the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee. His passion for dismantling violent gangs is supplemented by his understanding and support for community groups that are dedicated to ending gang violence.

Inmate and Prison Gang Leadership

Almost 2,000 males who have been convicted of crimes covering the gamut of criminal activities are institutionalized in the state prison in Johnson County, Tennessee. These inmates, housed in the confines of a few concrete buildings, represent a society that is dissimilar from the free-world society.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the characteristics of an inmate leader. Research data were collected through interviews with 20 prisoners located in the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, Tennessee. Inmate leaders, selected for the study included gang leaders and non-gang leaders. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed for the data analysis. To capture the essence of the interviews, interpretivism was used for the analysis. A holistic view allowed certain overlapping themes to be isolated. Findings were presented thematically as they answered specific research questions.

Past experiences of inmates and the prisonization process gave them a unique and different understanding of leadership. To serve in a leadership role, the inmates determined that the person had to be trustworthy, follow the code of silence, and show respect for fellow inmates in the carceral setting. Gang leaders had a greater focus on coercion and power in their roles as leaders. The controlled prison environment conditioned the inmates to a survival mode. Inmate Larry encapsulated life on the other side of the fence: Prison is what you make it.

Recommendations included researching the leadership traits of juveniles in the correctional system. These data could be useful in re-directing the leadership energies of these youths. A study of leadership traits identified by females in the correctional justice system would provide information on how the traits are shaped by gender, prisonization, or a life with little exposure to leadership role models.

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http://etd-submit.etsu.edu/etd/theses/available/etd-1103103-220112/unrestricted/FortuneS112503f.pdf