Harris County Constable Precinct 7 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.

Harris County Constable Precinct 7 will use G.R.E.A.T. funds to provide gang resistance instruction to 4,500 elementary and middle school students and their families, with the goal of improving the manner in which students resolve conflict, improving students' comfort level in talking to law enforcement, and encouraging youth to avoid gang activity. The G.R.E.A.T. program will be taught in schools located in Precinct 7 by a 3-member officer team focusing on communications skills, anger management, empathy, conflict resolution, goal setting, and sound decision making. The officers will be exposed to students from the 4th through 8th grades allowing them the opportunity to see the same students for several consecutive years, building a rapport with each student, and allowing the officer time to monitor any changes in their behavioral patterns. The G.R.E.A.T. families component will be taught at school sites to engage parents and children and to foster positive family relationships. The curriculum consists of six evening sessions conducted by a G.R.E.A.T. trained family facilitator on topics that include communication, family life skills, role models, family relationships, and the influence of electronics and technology on the family. Precinct 7 will also collaborate with the faith-based community to administer a summer program emphasizing the G.R.E.A.T. core values at two locations.

CA/NCF