The Gang-Safe Project

Group Campaign #2

Meredith Long Kari Christensen Grant Merrill Kelsey Briggs Aubrey Steenhoek Kristin Beifuss Gentry Gustin

Research
Background Gangs are becoming more of a threatening issue in the state of Utah. Despite the reputation Utah has as a family-friendly state, the problem of gangs in the state is comparable in sophistication to Chicagos gangs of the 1920s. A recent assessment of the gang problem in Utah took place at a meeting of the Utah Gang Conference. The meeting published a few startling facts to the news to keep people informed of the problem. Gangs now recruit women and are releasing CDs to promote their culture. In addition these gangs have websites, and have graduated from selling pot on street corners to full-blown racketeering. Children, as young as four, have been spotted flashing gang signs and holding automatic weapons. The largest gangs in the state are prominently Hispanic, however Polynesian gangs are steadily increasing. Against the common idea that most gangs fight to defend their turf, the case appears to be different in Utah. They are committed to making money, which makes gang alliances easier to form. Law enforcement officials say that knowledge is power when it comes to combating criminal gangs. According to a Deseret Morning News editorial, If Utah is to maintain its reputation as a family-friendly state of law-abiding citizens, those citizens must show the courage to step forward and turn up the heat on the regions festering gang problems. Local governments and individuals need to shine bright lights and squirt disinfectant into the dark corners where gang activity breeds. It is because of this that a deputy attorney general from the Utah Attorney Generals office has contacted our public relations firm to assist them in waging a communications campaign against gangs in the state of Utah. This strategic plan will

recommend how to inform local citizens of workable alternatives to gang membership as well as teach them to recognize, identify and report gang activity to law enforcement. To be more fully prepared to begin a campaign we need to research where the highest concentrations of gangs are located. Through this information we can know where the greatest problem is. In addition we need to find existing safe places for kids to go after school, such as Boys and Girls Club. These alternatives to gang violence will be a safe haven for individuals that have no parents or guardians at home when they get back from school. Potential key publics for this case are centralized around todays younger generation. We want to focus our efforts on the parents and guardians of young people. Through research we have found that children as young as four have become involved in Utah gangs. This shows us that it is never too early for a parent or guardian to be proactive in their childs life, particularly regarding this issue. In addition we will target individuals from the typical ages of middle school to college students. Potential key intervening publics that can best influence our key publics include the media, school staff and those active in existing after school programs. Situation Analysis Local citizens are unaware of the seriousness of the festering gang problems in the state of Utah. In the past 30 days alone, six shootings have taken place solely between one black gang and one Polynesian gang. The gang concentration appears to be highest in the areas south and west of the Salt Lake Valley as well as in Ogden. Through this research, we now know that although our message needs to be heard throughout Utah, these regions are to be heavily focused on. Through research we also discovered multiple existing after school programs that are safe alternatives to gang violence. There is a Utah Afterschool Network dedicated specifically to

funding such programs to keep Utah children in a safe environment after school. Such programs include the YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs. The main potential difficulty or obstacle to our ability to obtain our clients goal is getting the attention of the kids. Parents can certainly be influential in their childs life, but it is the kids who will ultimately make the decision whether or not to be involved in gang violence. As one of our tactics is to hold assemblies at Utah schools, we must ensure that teachers and administrators stress the importance of attendance. In addition ignorance needs to be diminished in regards to the sophistication of the gangs growing in Utah. Core Problem The majority of ignorant perceptions regarding criminal gangs must be overcome, so membership and violence in gangs will decrease in Utah.

Goal & Objectives

Our goal is to persuade Utahs citizens to participate in stamping out the gang problem in Utah. In order to accomplish this goal, we will establish the following objectives:

Teach local citizens to recognize, identify, and report ongoing gang member activity to law enforcement agencies by getting 300 calls on the Gang-Safe Hotline by March 15, 2012.

Identify workable alternatives to gang membership in the state by increasing enrollment in after school activities by 20% by March 1, 2012.

Visit 20 high schools in Utah, January through April, and have an ex-gang member speak to the kids about the dangers of gangs.

Have 200+ in attendance at our Stamp-Out Conference for parents on February 11, 2012.

Key Publics and Messages

There are four key public groups we wish to focus on. Our goal is to reach the publics that are immediately and possibly affected by gang activity, by spreading awareness and immobilizing the community to stamp out the gang problem in Utah. The first group we would like to reach is parents and guardians of children, teenagers and young adults. Many parents do not understand just how prominent gang activity is, especially in Utah. There are also many parents who are aware of gang activity, but do not know what to do to keep their kids from joining them. This issue would concern parents because they do not want their children being involved in gang activity, so it is our goal to reach them with the right message and ideas to help educate them on signs of gang involvement and ways to avoid it. The message we would like to send to parents with children who are in the age groups most prone to gang involvement is that signs of gang activity can be easy to identify and avoid if they keep their children involved in after-school activities and positive environments. The way we will do this is by holding conferences and workshops where parents can learn how to identify gang related activity. The second public we are targeting is middle school students. The pre-teen years are often the ones in which children really begin to develop their personalities, likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc. Therefore, this is a crucial age for children to be educated about gangs and the

dangers of being in a gang. Middle school students will be concerned about this issue because it directly affects them. The message we want to send to them is that the clothing and symbols they choose to wear affect their personality and attitude. Many pre-teens do not understand the impact that their clothing has on themselves and others. We also want to communicate the importance of surrounding themselves with good friends who will participate in wholesome activities. Children, as they grow older, begin to look for new ways to occupy their time outside of school. With parents who work and are not home all of the time, children will often find their way to bad situations and sometimes end up being involved in gangs. We will send these messages to middle school students by encouraging parents and schools to involve the children in after-school activities such as clubs and sports. The third public we wish to reach are high school students. This age group is one of our biggest publics that we wish to focus on, due mainly to the fact that, statistically, high school is the period when most individuals join gangs. Teens between the ages of 15-18 have a strong need to belong, and because of this, many of these kids will turn to gangs and their family-like atmosphere in order to fill this need. The message we would like to send to these high school students is that there are other, more fulfilling family-like atmospheres that you can get involved in. In order to do this, we will hold assemblies where ex-gang members will come and talk about the difficulties they have faced and the horrors they have seen and committed due to their gang membership. In addition to this we will promote and endorse after school activities, rec teams, and school teams/clubs in order to keep the kids productive and off the streets. This will also allow the students to feel a sense of belonging and will allow their aggression to be channeled in a positive way. The establishment of Focus groups for troubled teens will be held after school where we will talk to the kids about their future, the messages certain clothing sends, help them

with homework, and help them with college applications to the Universities right for them. By doing this we will be establishing a student with hope in their own future, and will show them that they are important. The fourth public we wish to reach are college-aged individuals, however we realize that by this age, these individuals are either already in gangs or are feeling pressure to conform. The message we wish to relay to this age group is that it is never too late to get out of a gang, but always too soon to join one. We will do this by holding smaller, yet frequent, focus groups in order to allow anonymity. During these focus groups, we plan on inviting ex-gang members to come and talk about their experiences, in order to connect with current gang members in attendance; what they had to do to get in, in order to deter those thinking about joining; and how they got out, in order to help those that wish to escape their current membership. We also wish to emphasis how the choices these college-aged individuals are making can affect them and their future families for the rest of their lives. We will do this by presenting statistics of gang members who die per year, gang members that go to jail per year, and gang members who have had one or more family members die due to their interaction with gangs.

Strategies & Tactics

Strategy One: Through the use of face-to-face communication, mass media, and social media, we will persuade parents and guardians with young adult children in Utah to become aware of gang violence by attending our conferences. We will teach them how to report suspicious activity to the gang hotline and teach them how to prevent their children from getting involved. We will also promote after school activities to prevent gang activity.

Tactics: 1.News Release 2. Poster hung around school and neighborhood with the gang safety hotline 3. Brochures 4. Radio PSA 5. Facebook 6. Website 7. Gang-Safe Hotline 8. YouTube commercial 9. Stamp Out Conference Strategy Two: Through the use of face-to-face communication, mass media, and social media, we will persuade Middle School students in Utah to become aware of gang violence by attending our school assemblies. We will teach them how to report suspicious activity to the gang hotline and explain the consequences of gang membership. We will also promote after school activities to prevent gang activity. Tactics: 1. News Release 2. Posters hung around neighborhood and school with the gang safety hotline 3. Brochures 4. Radio PSA 5. Facebook 6. Website 7. Gang-Safe Hotline 8. YouTube commercial 9. Stamp Out Assemblies

Strategy Three: Through the use of face-to-face communication, mass media, and social media, we will persuade High School students in Utah to become aware of gang violence by attending our school assemblies. We will teach them how to report suspicious activity to the gang hotline and explain

the consequences of gang membership. We will also promote after school activities to prevent gang activity. Tactics: 1. News Release 2. Posters hung around neighborhood and school with the gang safety hotline 3. Brochures 4. Radio PSA 5. Facebook 6. Website 7. Gang-Safe Hotline 8. YouTube commercial 9. Stamp Out Assemblies Strategy Four: Through the use of face-to-face communication, mass media, and social media, we will persuade College students in Utah to become aware of gang violence by attending our Stamp out Gang conferences. We will teach them how to report suspicious activity to the gang hotline and explain the consequences of gang membership. Tactics: 1. News Release 2. Posters hung around neighborhood and school with the gang safety hotline 3. Brochures 4. Radio PSA 5. Facebook 6. Website 7. Gang-Safe Hotline 8. YouTube commercial 9. Stamp Out Conferences

Calendar and Budget

TACTICS JAN F E B M A R C H A P R I L M A Y J U N E J U L Y A U G S E P O C T N O V D E C QUANITY UNIT COST TOTAL COST

Posters Food Catering Drinks Venue Rental Commercial Radio PSA Websites Volunteer Speakers

* *

1,000 1 Event

$5.00/50 $ 2000

$100.00 $2000

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1000 1

$10.00/20 $3000

$500 $3000

* * * *

1 1

Free Free

About 10

Communication
Key Publics -Parents with young/yo ung adult age children -Middle school students -High school students -College students SelfInterests Security for the community Reduction of crime Maintain the reputation of Utah Primary Messages -Learn how to be aware of gang activity around you and how to prevent involvemen t. -Gangs need to be eliminated to prevent future violence and problems in society. Influentials Media Objectives Strategies Tactics

-300 calls on the Teachers/sc Gang-Safe hool staff Hotline by December Staff at after 15th school parents -Increase enrollment Gang in after members school activities by Parents 20% -Visit 20 high schools in Utah and have exgang member speak -Have 200+ attend our Stamp-Out Conference

Face-toNew Face Release communica tion Poster Mass Media Social Media Brochure Radio PSA Facebook Page Twitter YouTube 5k Run Awareness Concert Website

Evaluation Objective 1 Criteria: 300 calls on the Gang-Safe Hotline by March 15, 2012. Tool: Review the number of calls review the number of calls received. Objective 2 Criteria: Increase enrollment in after school activities by 20% by March 1, 2012. Tool: Review the increase in after school activities enrollment.

Objective 3 Criteria: Visit 20 high schools in Utah and have ex-gang member speak, January - April 2012. Tool: Review the number of successful visits and speeches made to schools. Objective 4 Criteria: Have 200+ in attendance at Stamp-Out Conference on February 11, 2012. Tool: Review the number of people who attend the event.