BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE harsh realities of gang violence and other criminal activities resonated in the minds of primary school students who recently received a special visit from an individual familiar with the effects of gang violence.
Late last month, Operation Future visited one of the island’s primary schools in the company of former Canadian criminal defence attorney Dan McMullen.
Mullen, who now resides in Nevis, gave a power point presentation to the students of the Tucker Clark Primary School and today (Oct. 9) at the Irish Town Primary School on the history of gangs and the process of evolution they have undergone since their inception.
He paid particular attention to the life of co-founder of a popular gang known as the Crips, Stanley ‘Tookie’ Williams, who, later in his existence, confessed of the shock and horror he felt when he realised what his actions had led to.
“Twenty-five years ago, when I created the Crips youth gang with Raymond Lee Washington (who was later murdered) in South Central Los Angeles, I never imagined Crips membership would one day spread throughout California, would spread to much of the rest of the nation and to cities in South Africa, where Crips copycat gangs were formed. I also didn’t expect the Crips to end up ruining the lives of so many young people, especially young black men who have hurt other young black men,” Williams expressed.
The Crips’ co-founder, who expressed that he is troubled by the Crips legacy, apologised “to all…the children of America and South Africa, who must cope every day with dangerous street gangs. I no longer participate in the so-called gangster lifestyle, and I deeply regret that I ever did…I pray that one day my apology will be accepted. I also pray that your suffering, caused by gang violence, will soon come to an end as more gang members wake up and stop hurting themselves and others.”
Founder and Leader of the Operation, Constable Lauston Percival, in an exclusive interview with SKNVibes explained that this aspect of the Operation is in keeping with his organisation’s proactive approach to the fight against crime.
“One of the reasons why that was done is because he would have firsthand knowledge about the gangs because of where he used to work and what he used to do. He would have seen the full effects of gangs, he would have had the experience of dealing with them.
“We are focusing on the younger ones because at least five years down the road we expect to see the rewards. We are at the high schools also but we feel that the primary schools children are far more vulnerable than the older ones. So, while we are still dealing with both sets of children, we are taking this different approach with the younger ones. We have to really get to them while they are at this tender age and explain to them that becoming involved in gangs does more harm than good.
Percival explained that he expects to take this and similar messages to other primary schools in the Federation as the Operation seeks to encourage the youths to choose a path, which takes them into a respectable adulthood.
