By Charlene Tebbutt

Researchers discuss youth involvement in street gangs at P.A. meeting

Aug 3, 2018 | 10:00 AM

Researchers working to develop a strategy to deal with street gangs in the province were in Prince Albert this week, talking to local youths to get their opinions on intervention and prevention of gang activity.

Robert Henry, assistant professor in the sociology department at the University of Calgary, is researching gangs as part of the Saskatchewan Provincial Gang Strategy. Henry is working in consultation with STR8 UP, a non-profit organization that helps people leave gang life behind. Henry met with staff and youths at Won Ska Cultural Public School in Prince Albert Thursday as part of his consultations, and researchers have been travelling across the province to hear from people in various communities about the issue.

Henry said communities all have different issues when it comes to gangs, so it’s important to understand what is happening locally in order to move forward in each town or city. The Prince Albert workshop was the last stop for the research group before submitting a report on the issue to the provincial government.

“There’s a lot of adult involvement, but the youth really seem to be pulling away,” Henry told paNOW. “We need to have the youth involved to begin to understand what is effective prevention [and] intervention from a youth perspective.”

Henry said the point of the meeting was not to hear from members of street gangs, but to hear from front-line workers and residents on solutions. That included looking at the level of actual street gang activity in the province, which is different than groups involving bullying, tagging, or just groups of kids sticking together for protection, he noted.

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“We’re looking at what’s happening in the community and having the community begin to define what they want to see happen,” he said.

Henry said the report and recommendations will be “living document” which can be adapted as needs change or more information becomes available. He said there isn’t a lot of current data on street gangs to say if the situation is getting worse or better in communities in Saskatchewan.

“I don’t think anybody knows how bad it is anywhere, and that’s the problem,” he said.

Henry said the report will be submitted to the province by Aug. 31.

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt