Youth Led Gang Prevention – Choices
The Abbotsford Police Department (APD) would like to commend the students of the Rick Hansen Secondary TV Production and Photography classes for their recent work on a video and posters aimed at steering young people away from gangs and a criminal lifestyle.
The short video is the work of seven students who took on the project after participating in a “Choices” workshop facilitated by the APD and three undergraduate students of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in November. The Choices program is a strength-based approach to the prevention of youth criminality and the workshops focus on character strengths while highlighting the significance of making right choices at life’s turning points. The fundamentals of family, friendship and community are also emphasized. The programs principles emerged from the work by the Acting Together: Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) Project led by Dr. Gira Bhatt of the KPU.
The video depicts a teen in two polarized life settings. One is a life of enjoyment and stability while the other reflects the consequences of poor decision making.
“We are encouraged that after our first workshop these students felt it was important enough to take what they had learned and put it in a format that could be widely shared,” said Youth Squad Sgt. Casey Vinet. “The peer to peer aspect of this work is very valuable and we intend to use this video to facilitate dialogue in future student presentations.”
In addition to the video, four posters created by Photography students will be distributed in schools. The posters and video are intended to create discussion and awareness on making positive choices. The first one is below.
Video link: http://youtu.be/jfEh4UaBoAg
