FY 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 township of Belleville, through the police department, will use the grant funds to provide the core and elementary school curriculum to approximately 980 students in an effort to promote the spirit of fellowship, positive interaction, and cooperation with law enforcement. Through the grant, all fourth and fifth grade students in the township will receive the structured lesson plans, taught by a school resource officer who is specially trained in community policing strategies that target youth and their families. The city anticipates that this multi-faceted approach, which includes a strong alliance with the Board of Education, will prevent and reduce gang activity among area youth.

CA/NCF