THE 'GROWING AGAINST GANGS' PROGRAMME


The Lambeth Summer Projects Trust is best known for providing diversionary summer activities for young people but over the past couple of years it has had a lead role in the development of a new education and prevention initiative linked to the issues surrounding ‘youth gang culture'.

The idea stemmed from a visit in November 2007 made by the Trust's Chair, Nick Mason, and Administrator, John Street, at the invitation of the San Francisco Police Department to liaise on youth engagement programmes. They observed classroom presentations by Police Officers of the US Federal ‘Gang Resistance Education and Training' (G.R.E.A.T) Programme. It was decided that the LSPT would work towards introducing a programme based on the G.R.E.A.T programme blueprint.

The G.R.E.A.T programme is a broad based prevention programme, taught by specially trained deliverers and supported by numerous Police Departments in the US. The G.R.E.A.T lessons focus on providing life skills to pupils to help them avoid involvement in delinquent or anti-social behaviour, violence or gang membership and ‘signposts' them towards positive activities. The G.R.E.A.T programme offers a continuum of components for young people and their families, which is also aimed at creating positive relationships amongst police, young people and families to create a safer community. It has been delivered to 3.9 million young people in over 2500 US schools.

Nick Mason carried out a follow up visit in February 2008 accompanied by LSPT Deputy Chair, Alastair Reid, and police officers from Lambeth during which they gained a working insight of the G.R.E.A.T Programme and established further links with the San Francisco and Sacramento Police Departments. As a result, an officer exchange programme took place which enabled 2 officers from the Lambeth Safer Schools Partnership to attend an intensive G.R.E.A.T training course and 2 Sacramento officers to gain experience by working alongside London officers on the Summer Projects during July 2008.

After negotiation with the US Department of Justice and National Youth Gang Centre, Nick Mason secured an agreement in principle for co-operation in the development of a similar programme for the UK.

Also at this time a close working relationship developed between the Lambeth police task force and Vauxhall City Farm. The task force was conducting home visits on gang members, to inform and support parents of those children in gangs and to offer and develop diversionary activities for gang members. A pilot was developed, funded and supported by the MPS and utilised the specialised staff and facilities of the farm to successfully divert a young gang member.

The task force and LSPT, through Inspector Allen Davis and Nick Mason, then formed a partnership to develop an innovative anti-gang education project suitable for delivery in Lambeth and beyond. As a pilot, youth Workers delivered a shortened version of G.R.E.A.T. to young people at the Vauxhall City Farm during the 2008 Summer Projects. The GAG Growing against Gangs programme is now up and running involving Year 6 pupils from a number of primary schools and will shortly be piloted with Yeas also being looked at for introduction by a number of other police services.

LSPT is indebted to the following:



• Vauxhall City Farm for hosting all the development work, meetings, pilots, and

for their continued support;

• Inspector Allen Davis and the Lambeth North task force;
• Clapham Town Safer Neighbourhood Team;
• The Head Teachers and staff of the schools in the pilot programme;
• Nick Mason for the time that he has given in securing an agreement for LSPT to be

the UK agents for the GAG programme and forming the partnership that has

enabled the programme to come to fruition.