Back in September, when i was still researching for this trip to find out what resources would be available to me should i be successful with my application to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, i stumbled across the New York Gang Investigators Association (NYGIA www.nygia.org ). They were running a conference in Syracuse for people all over the state of New York to come together, share information and discuss current trends of gang members in the State. I decided to email the President of the Association, Mr Garcia to find out some more information and see if it would be possible to attend if i was successful in my Fellowship as i thought it would be a great place to start to get a good overview of what is happening with gangs in New York. We keep in email contact throughout the next few months until i actually attended the conference.
I was so nervous on my first day, i had nothing to worry about though because everyone was so friendly and welcoming. I think my English accent helped with that!! There were people attending from all different areas of Youth Justice such as Police, Probation, Department of Corrections, Prison staff and Schools Police Officers. It did take me a couple of days to get used to the Police that attended the conference carrying guns as they walked around! Throughout the 4 days though i managed to speak to nearly all of the around 100 people that attended.
The content of the conference included providing information about the Bloods and the Crips, information on how to manage gangs in prison, a brief overview of gangs in general and how to identify a gang member, all of which was all valuable information for me. On the last day of the conference we received certificates of attendance and there was an opportunity to complete a one day Basic Gang Specialist Certification Course which i will be attending tomorrow.
Throughout the conference I got talking to a few individuals from various disciplines of Law Enforcement and they offered to show me around their area of work. I am now hoping to visit Sing Sing Maximum Security Correctional Facility next week and as hoping to go out with one of the Investigators around Brooklyn to show me where the gangs hang around.
I have been totally overwhelmed by how welcoming everyone has been here and how willing they are to help me in my research. I have collected many business cards from people here and am hoping to keep in contact with them. I think that this has been an excellent start to my Fellowship and would like to thank NYGIA for having me.
About Me
- Donna Marsh on Gangs
- My name is Donna Marsh and I currently work as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in a Prison working mainly with young offenders with mental health problems. I have worked with young people for the past 7 years and find this client group very interesting. With the rise of knife and gun crime in England, I have many dealings with gang members and find it fascinating to find out why young people join gangs and engage in this kind of gang activity. Due to this, I have also been involved in the making of a DVD to raise awareness of knife crime in the UK in conjunction with the prison and a local school, this has been distributed to schools and Young Offenders Institutes across the country.
My journey
They love the accent over here! I get it all the time.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are on for a really good thing in NY and you are going to learn a hell of a lot. I really do wish I had the chance to do something like this. You are one lucky lady! Just don't get a 'cap in yo ass!' :)