Regina takes stock of street gangs

Small children decked out in gang colours, gesturing, sometimes holding guns —  those were some of the images Sgt. Ron Weir was showing to Regina's Crime Prevention Advisory Committee on Monday.

Weir, who's head of the Street Gang Unit for the Regina Police Service, told the city hall committee that some young people are born into a gang lifestyle and children as young as 10 and 11 are starting to represent themselves as gang members. 

He showed the city hall committee gang members' images taken from social networking websites like Facebook.

It's these teens and pre-teens that the community needs to reach, he said.

The courts are full of stories about members of Saskatchewan street gangs being involved in drug dealing, car thefts, break-ins and even murder.

Getting to the children early is the key, Weir said.

"A lot of these youth are good kids...they are good people, even the adults are good people," Weir said. "They just get involved in a lifestyle where, if they had some opportunities, they wouldn't be there."

Weir says Regina needs more things like mentorship programs for young people who are released from custody and after-school programs for at-risk children.

He also said Regina should follow Saskatoon's lead when it comes to gangs, bringing together groups from different agencies and backgrounds to tackle the situation, including First Nations groups.

"We have all our community partners working, in certain ways, of dealing with our gang problems or gang issues here in the city, but we are not all working at the same time or at the same table," he said.

Weir said there are currently between 500 and 600 gang members and affiliates in Regina, many who are still teenagers.

However, the Regina Police Service says the city's gang situation is not as serious as it is in other large Western Canadian cities.

"There is not a gang problem in Regina, but there is certainly an environment that is conducive to that happening," Supt. Rick Bourassa said, who echoed Weir's comments about reaching young people before they get into gangs.

"It's important for people of very young ages to have a connection, have a sense of belonging, to people who will lead them info a more pro-social lifestyle [rather] than an anti-social lifestyle," Bourassa said.