Newark Cops Host 'Gang Resistance' Classes For Local Youth

From Newark PD: Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose announce that the newest class of Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) students will graduate at 10 a.m., Friday, June 16, 2017 at Central High School, 246 18th Avenue.

G.R.E.A.T. offers a classroom curriculum, for fourth and sixth grade students, taught by officers of the Newark Police Division. The program is designed to steer youth away from violence, gang membership and delinquency at an early age.

During the sessions, which run 13-weeks for middle school students and nine weeks for elementary students, participants learn lessons on drugs and bullying, involving role playing and essay-writing.

“The G.R.E.A.T. program is groundbreaking, significant and crucial to the City’s commitment to collaborate with our community to eradicate gang violence and to provide positive influences for our youth,” Mayor Baraka said. “This effort enriches the lives of Newark’s youth and prepares them to be leaders and role models for their schools, neighborhoods and peers.”

“I extend my personal congratulations to each student who successfully completed the G.R.E.A.T. program this year,” Director Ambrose said. “You deserve to be commended for applying yourself to the program and for sharing the information you received with your friends and family members,” he said.

By way of thanks, following a short ceremony and lunch at Central High School, this year’s nearly 2,000 Newark G.R.E.A.T. graduates will all walk to Newark’s CityPlex12 Theater on Springfield Avenue to be treated to a free movie.

Image Courtesy of Newark PD