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Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Community Safety and Crime Prevention
Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs
The Inter-ministry Committee on Youth Violence and Crime, in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Centre, is implementing a four-year provincial strategy to prevent youth gang violence and crime with partners including educational professionals, law enforcement officers, government officials, community partners, and youth themselves. The strategy was developed in 2006, in response to incidents of gang violence witnessed by communities across B.C., and is coordinated through the ministry's Policing and Community Safety Branch, Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division – see About Us.
Communities participating in the strategy were selected based on their level of need and risk and have since formed local Community Action and Assessment Networks (CAANs). These networks are creating community action plans and pro-social programs to prevent youth from becoming involved in gangs or to help them leave gangs.
- MOSAIC in partnership with the South Asian Community Coalition Against Youth Violence
- Surrey School District
- Kamloops School District
- Touchstone Family Association (Richmond)
- Vancouver Aboriginal Community Policing Centre Society
- Abbotsford Community Services
- Vancouver School District
- Prince George in partnership with the Justice Education Society
To learn more about what the Government of B.C. is doing to prevent and address the issue of gang violence and crime see Preventing Youth Involvement in Gangs [PDF].
The Promising Practices for Addressing Youth Involvement in Gangs [PDF] (Totten Report – April 2008) provides an overview of the prevalence of gangs in B.C. and Canada, and clear guidelines on evidence-based practices. This report was funded as part of the four-year prevention strategy.
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