Fiscal Year 2008 G.R.E.A.T. Program

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 curricula help students develop values and practice behaviors that will help them avoid destructive activities. G.R.E.A.T. program staff coordinate project activities with federal, regional, state, and local agencies, as well as individuals from community and civic groups. The goal of the program is to train criminal justice professionals to deliver a school-based curriculum that teaches life-skills competencies, gang awareness, and violence-avoidance techniques.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLPD) will utilize fiscal year 2008 G.R.E.A.T. funds to provide the elementary, middle school, summer, and families components to approximately 2,120 students and 10 families. Schools to receive program curricula will be based upon SLPD's inherent knowledge of the concentrations of gang risk factors in the neighborhood that includes high crime, poverty, and unemployment rates. Goals will be aligned with academic achievement and school safety through regular meetings with school staff. This will ensure that G.R.E.A.T. meets the expectations of each location served and will not disrupt academic priorities. Participation in the program will be promoted at parent assembly meetings, community events, an SLPD G.R.E.A.T. website, and news letter, which will also reinforce lessons learned and promote collaborative efforts by providing links to the gang prevention efforts offered by partnering agencies. In addition, a system to evaluate individual and program success will be developed by cross-referencing G.R.E.A.T. graduates with documented gang listings, juvenile bookings, police intelligence files, and other crime data statistics.

CA/NCF