This is an incredible honor for Hillsborough County's Criminal Justice Office and Code Enforcement Department, as they help make up the 26-agency Task Force. The Florida Attorney General, Bill McCollum, has adapted this model for the state’s Regional Gang Reduction Task Forces.

The CAGI Task Force was recognized for its teamwork, partnerships, and communication that have helped create a sustainable community to stop violent gang activity. The Task Force's anti-gang efforts, which include prevention and intervention; enforcement and prosecution; and helping gang members re-enter society, make up a powerful strategy for fighting gangs and raising gang awareness.

Other primary local partners in this initiative within Hillsborough County include the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Tampa Police Department, along with juvenile/adult probation, jails, foundations, businesses and community based organizations. State partners include the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Department of Corrections. Several federal agencies are also partners including the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, the FBI and ATF. The U.S. Justice Department's Middle District of Florida includes Jacksonville to the North, Orlando in the center of the state, and Tampa south to the Ft. Myers area.

U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton, of the Middle District of Florida, who nominated the CAGI Task Force, said the Task Force demonstrates "the power of partnership which has resulted in positive solutions to the gang problem in the Tampa Bay area."

PSN is a Justice Department initiative to reduce gun and gang crime in the U.S. by networking existing local programs to target these crimes and deter violent gang activity.