Youth, Gangs and Guns for Montreal Interveners

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Youth, Gangs and Gunsfor Montreal Interveners
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Objectives of the project

• Raise awareness on the issue of firearms misuse
  and youth,
• Increase understanding of risk factors among
  youths,
• Increase knowledge of measures to take once risks
  are identified.

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Objectives of the project in the community

• Encourage youth to think twice before picking up
  a gun,
• Reduce gun crimes, accidents, suicides and
  victimization,
• Increase feeling of safety in the community
• Reduce accessibility to guns among youth at risk
• Incite youth not to join gangs or to leave them
• Increase number of illegal guns returned to
  police

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Project Partners

• Justice Canada
• Police services
• Community organisations (island of Montreal)
• Target at risk neighbourhoods of gang violence

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Activities

• Make a list of all organisations working with
  youth
• Consult interveners on the issue of gangs and
  guns
• Consult youth to explore possible intervention
  strategies
• Consult police officers

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Activities

• Research
• Develop material
• Hold workshops for interveners
• Hold workshop for youth (possible attendance of
  interveners and/or parents)
• Website
• Document project

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Project Findings

• Involved many intervenes
• Developed an understanding of the issues
• Provided tools for interveners
• Developed material in French and English
• Established working partnership with other
  organizations

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Possible Project Findings

• Changed youth perception. Encouraged them to
  think twice before picking up a gun.
• Incited youth not to join or to leave gangs
  through diffusion of available resources
• Increased the number of illegal guns returned to
  police

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Possible long-term results

• Reduce accessibility of guns by youth at risk
• Increase feeling of safety in the community
• Reduce crime, accidents, suicide and
  victimisation by guns

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Lessons Learned

• Real need to look at the issue of guns and youth
  gangs.
• Need to develop an integrated actions strategy on
  the issue of guns and gangs.
• Lack of consensus on the definition of gangs,
  gang members or gang activities.

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Lessons Learned

• Lack of communication and co-operation between
  youth and police
• Gun carrying but not with intend to use it.
  Rather to show power, image, get respect and
  avoid intimidation.
• Music and culture reinforce and stigmatise

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Lessons Learned

• Direct intervention with youth could cause
  problems
• Different perception between girls and boys
• Topic of gangs is better discussed in small
  groups of boys or girls

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Lessons Learned Intervention

• Issue could be introduced in an existing violence
  prevention program
• Issue could be introduced in an intervention
  program for parents
• Intervention could use new technologies such as
  the Internet or social network like Facebook
• Intervention could include resources to keep
  youth busy (eg. arts, sport, etc)

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Lessons Learned Intervention

• It would be appropriate to concentrate the
  approach and tools to specific neighbourhoods
• Gun collection program

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Conclusions

• Next step
• Suggestion- What works in your organization? What
  could be done in your community?
• What existing initiative could integrate the
  issues related to guns
• Resource material
• Contacts