Indio Police Department''s 2009 GREAT 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 Indio Police Department (IPD) will use FY 2010 Bureau of Justice Assistance Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program funds to support elementary, middle school and summer components. In collaboration with Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD), the Middle School Component will be offered at one of its higher risk schools, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, and the G.R.E.A.T. Summer Component to be offered at the Indio Teen Center. This is the first time the department will be implementing the G.R.E.A.T. program and anticipates serving an estimated 630 at-risk youth.

At the beginning of each school year, security personnel and school officials identify the known gang/graffiti members and any other at-risk youth who might benefit from the Youth Accountability Program (Y.A.T.) program. The G.R.E.A.T. Summer Component will be hosted at the Indio Youth Teen Center, run by the City of Indio. This state-of-the-art facility offers amenities such as an outdoor basketball court, two large conference rooms, and other modern features.

In addition to delivering G.R.E.A.T. lessons (e.g., Walk in Someone Else's Shoes, Getting Along Without Going Along, and Keeping Your Cool), the youth will participate on a supervised field trip to the Living Desert (a famous local zoo), and a second field trip to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Implementation of G.R.E.A.T. will enhance and support Thomas Jefferson Middle School's mission to provide students a safe academic environment that allows them to develop the skills and knowledge to succeed as independent thinkers. The Indio Police Department will continue to attack its gang problem with a three-prong approach: (1) Prevention, (2) Intervention, and (3) Enforcement. The intent is to use the G.R.E.A.T. Middle School and Summer Component to reduce and or/change the youth's attitudes and behaviors contributing to their current and/or future involvement in gang-related activities, strengthen the ability to prevent and deter youth gang involvement, and foster a greater sense of trust and respect among law enforcement and students.

CA/NCF