Gang expert: You’re on the right track

A U.S. gang expert says the strategy behind a newly re-introduced anti-gang initiative in Bermuda is an effective way to undermine gang lifestyle and block the pipeline of potential gang recruits.

Arthur Powell, a life coach and gang expert who was formerly an associate of the Atlanta-based gang ‘I Refuse Posse’, says any programme helps youth establish a healthy relationship with police does a crucial service to any community where gangs are a problem.

“A lot of youth grow to dislike law enforcement based on what they are taught,” said Powell, who now works as a youth mentor and anti-violence specialist.

The younger police start warning youths about the dangers of joining gangs, the better, says Powell.

“Most youth that join gangs don’t really understand the consequences that come with joining,” says Powell. “The lifestyle is promoted in the media, by people who our youth consider role models. Any program that offers our youth support, education and alternatives to joining a gang is a good program, because some think joining is the only thing you can do.”

The programme — called Gang Resistance Education and Training, or GREAT — is designed to intervene in the years that immediately precede the typical ages for gang initiation and other anti-social behaviour. 

It’s been implemented in Canada, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the American cities of Miami, Boston, Chicago and Phoenix.

Here, GREAT started with Victor Scott P5 students earlier this month. It’s now being offered at Somerset and West End Primary Schools. The idea is to have the programme in eight primary schools by the end of term, along with a middle school pilot, and to stem delinquency and youth violence by having police officers lead classroom experiences that are intended to build a rapport between the students and law enforcement authorities. 

The programme, says Minister of National Security Michael H. Dunkley, also aims to “leverage the knowledge and experience of these professionals in dealing with the consequences of violence, delinquency and gang involvement.” 

Last autumn, Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva said there were as many as 300 involved in gangs in Bermuda “a couple of years ago”. 

Mr Dunkley deflected a question about the size of the island’s gang problem, saying “We would prefer to stay away from a number because we can never be exact. It’s hard to say how large it is. We know there’s a number of gangs that stretch from one end of the island to the other. I think we made significant impact of taking people away from them, over the last couple years and this programme — we hope — will continue to reduce those numbers.”

Four police officers were sent to Brockton, Massachusetts for training for the initiative, a trip that cost $13,628.

It is not Bermuda’s first experience with the programme. It ran from 1998 until 2003, but was cut because of a funding shortfall; police needed to commit resources to the frontline fight against guns, gangs, drugs and violence, according to Vernon S. Wears, the policy and project coordinator for the Ministry of National Security.