FY 2009 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 coordinates 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 city of Newark Police Department will use fiscal year 2009 G.R.E.A.T. funds to implement the elementary and middle school components. There are three major gangs identified within the student population, and violence that occurs in the city often overflows into the schools where gang-on-gang rivalries are prevalent. Through the grant, it is estimated 1,160 students will receive the structured curricula, with an emphasis placed on reaching the highest-risk youth. G.R.E.A.T. officers will spend additional time on campus interacting with students during recess and lunch breaks to further the positive law enforcement relationship between police and youth, providing a platform to discuss other issues students face on a day-to-day basis.

CA/NCF