Orange County Sheriff''s Office Gang Resistance, Education, and Training of Fourth and Sixth Grade Public School Students in the Unincorporated Areas of Orange County, Florida

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a life-skills competency program designed to provide students with the skills they need to avoid gang pressure and youth violence. G.R.E.A.T.'s violence prevention curriculum helps students develop values and practice behaviors that will assist them to avoid destructive activities. The G.R.E.A.T. program coordinates with federal, regional, state and local agencies, as well as individuals from community and civic groups. The goal of the G.R.E.A.T. program is to train law enforcement officers in a school-based curriculum in which the officers provide instruction to school-aged children in life skill competencies, gang awareness, and anti-violence techniques. Training in the core G.R.E.A.T. program is provided to officers from any state or local law enforcement agency.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office's approach to the implementation of the G.R.E.A.T Program commences in the third grade with gun safety and continues through the completion of the twelfth grade with programs that compliment each other and reinforce critical life skills through a layered learning process. The programs span traffic safety; drug, bullying and violence abatement; conflict resolution; sports and recreational endeavors, and community service. The after-school programs are utilized in the middle schools with law enforcement officers acting as role models, mentors, tutors, and instructors. The high school programs teach positive interaction with law enforcement, law enforcement training, community service, and driving skills.

CA/NCF