Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Prince George Citizen Contact: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350 Author: Frank Peebles POLICE GOING INTO SCHOOLS TO WARN ABOUT GANGS Teachers at Duchess Park secondary wanted first look at the presentation their students will soon be receiving about the gang activity in Prince George. RCMP Const. Lesley Smith recently launched the public presentation, and the focus is on high school students. She was pleased that the teachers, as a group, wanted the knowledge right up front. "This is the first time delivering the presentation to just teachers, and the first time at Duchess," said Smith. A number of Grade 8 and 9 classes at DPSS are scheduled to see it in February. "We've already had a few youth come forward to us since we started doing these presentations," Smith told about 20 teachers and administrators at DPSS. The first was done only in December, after months of planning and designing the powerpoint presentation entitled Prince George Gangs: The Truth Behind the Promises. "The information we've got in here is specifically about Prince George gangs and what they are doing here." It is graphic in nature. Photos of real gang beatings, stabbings and finger removal are shown. Girls face that if they fall prey to gangs they will have to perform sexual favours on command, boys face the spectre of torture and mutilation if they don't do exactly as they are ordered. Local gangs trick good kids into situations where they feel they have no choice but to comply, and then they are literally owned by organized criminals. Smith has more than a dozen all-local, real life gang stories to explain to kids what happens once you are in the gang world, even if you're just hanging out with connected people. The stories all involve heinous pain inflicted on people over petty issues. All these stories are true and have gone through the courts in Prince George. The three she chose for the DPSS teachers all occurred in their student catchment area within the last 16 months. The presentation lays out a list of promises gangs make to prospective members. It lays out the little jobs and big offers at the start, and where it quickly leads once you take a few hesitant steps towards a gang - even before you know it is even a gang you're involved with. It also shines a few rays of hope: that law enforcement is fighting back, that teens are resisting gangs here, that there are signs to look for and alternatives to choose. "It seems the police are aware, they know the major gang players, so the inevitable question is, why aren't they being arrested?," one teacher asked. "They are," Smith responded, saying on a recent stint she did with the drug unit they were executing two to three search warrants a week on known crackshacks and drug-associated properties, and arrests were frequent, in spite of gang members who have expensive lawyers and layers of concocted alibis. "As (drug unit commander Sgt.) Raj Sidhu said, we are chipping away at the iceberg." DPSS principal Sherry Thibault jumped in then to clarify that the school's position was to report any and all gang-related activity immediately, if it becomes known to school staff. "Every time we get a tip, we call it in. It keeps adding pressure," she said. "We have phoned police in the past about things going on in the school, and the response time is quite lengthy. What language should we be using on the phone to let police know that something urgent is going on?," another teacher asked. Smith explained how in-progress threats got priority, for obvious reasons, over harassment events of the past, although both would be responded to. If something is underway like a dealer selling drugs or thugs in the school to intimidate someone, that would be nearer the top of any police call-out list. The staff and Smith all talked then about an incident only days before in which police sent a number of members to DPSS to make sure a perceived drug-related incident was averted. "This presentation for our staff is a great place to start," said Thibault. "Informing staff I think is a phenomenal thing for our students, because the message will be getting out in all our classrooms. The things Lesley is telling them we will understand and be reinforcing. Knowledge is power and we want to empower our youth. The more information they have, the better the choices they are going to make for themselves. This is another important tool in the student tool kit." Thibault said students indeed do disclose information about drug dealing and gang recruiting to their teachers. "They do, they share, especially when they're scared," she said. "This presentation will help draw that out more, and respond to it better when it does happen." Smith said the District Parent Advisory Council was also hosting the gang presentation at one of their meetings, so more than classrooms are getting the message. To discuss the presentation or possibly having Smith come present the information for your group, call the Community Policing office at 250-561-3366. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin