Goodbye Miami, hello LA

This week has been great!!! I have really enjoyed myself and been soooo busy. I did abit of sight seeing and saw the Stars houses on Star Island here, Carmen Electra was sunbathing in her garden which was cool!! On Tuesday i visited an organisation called Panzou Project which is an organisation for Haitian gang members to get help and support for issue relating to education, job skills and training, conflict resolution and family support. They also employ ex gang members to help in the organisation. One such member runs the Screen Printing. He makes t-shirts for the organisation as well as for local business and this is becoming quite a successful part of the organisation. Panzou are also hoping to rent another office next to where they are already based and turn it into a music studio which would be a real asset to the community as many of the young people that use that organisation enjoy making music but do not currently have anywhere to use this talent.

This week i have also visited the Miami Dade Police Head Quarters and met with one of the Lieutenants of the Gang Unit. That was very interesting to meet up with him and talk about all the different areas in Miami that are affected by gangs and gang violence. He has a task force of 6 officers, a Sergent and a Lieutenant that work in the county to identify and combat the gang issues in Miami. I was then fortunate enough to be able to go on a ride along with one of the detectives in the Gang Task Force. I was in my element, we went all over Miami and he showed me where all the gang members hang out and where they make their deals of guns and drugs. When we were driving down the street even though we were in an unmarked vehicle they knew the car and were shouting 'PO PO' as we drove down the street to warn others that police were in the area. It was fascinating!! It was also very sad to see the level of poverty in some of these areas and it was easy to see why some of the young people who live in these areas felt that they had no way out.

On my last day in Miami i went back to the Juvenile Assessment Centre for a Gang Awareness Training session and to meet others in the field of gangs in Miami. It was great to meet other members of the Gang Unit Task Force and hear their point of view on the subject. It appears to me that Miami does have a gang problem but it is not like the problems experienced in New York, LA and Chicago. Here they are very much on top of the situation and do alot of undercover work and make good links with informants who provide them with alot of useful information.This Task Force have regular meetings to discuss the current trends and who the main guys to keep an eye out for are so they are aware of the risks when they are approaching a situation and know what types of weapons these individuals are carrying, as guns here are very easy to come by.

I have found Miami a very interesting place to be. I very much enjoyed visiting all the different agencies that work with gangs in this area and i was surprised and very pleased at how open they were at having me visit their organisation at such short notice. Everyone has been very helpful and welcoming and has shared much information with me that has been very interesting.

I am off to LA in the morning, the last stop on my tour. I cant believe the time has gone by so quick, i have loved every minute of it though and am looking forward to seeing how different LA is compared to New York and Miami.