Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.)

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a school-based curriculum facilitated by law-enforcement officers. The G.R.E.A.T. program consists of four components--a middle school curriculum, an elementary school curriculum, a summer program, and a families training component. The core, required portion of the program is the middle school curriculum, which seeks to reduce gang activity, delinquent behavior, and violence by teaching students the consequences of gang involvement and by teaching them life skills and problem-solving techniques.

The objectives of the G.R.E.A.T program are to reduce gang activity, teach students about the negative consequences of gang involvement, and develop positive relations between students and law enforcement officials.

Several studies have been completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The results of one such study indicate that four years after program completion, students who had been assigned to G.R.E.A.T. reported more positive social attitudes and behaviors on 25 of the 29 outcome measures (5 of the measures were significant at the .05 level). Students in the G.R.E.A.T. program reported lower levels of risk-seeking and victimization, more positive attitudes toward police, more negative attitudes toward gangs, and more friends involved in prosocial activities than students in the control group. No significant differences, however, were found between the groups for gang membership, drug use, person delinquency, or status delinquency.

Another study found that student attitudes at posttest reflected greater gang resistance than at pretest for both treatment and control groups, signifying no significant changes based on student participation and on nonparticipation in the GREAT intervention.