OKC gang prevention group keeps kids out of trouble and in school - Daily Oklahoman

Posted: 02 Dec 2010 11:09 PM PST

BY MEGAN ROLLAND, mrolland@opubco.com Oklahoman Comment on this article

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Mentors are needed
For more information about volunteering as a mentor for Family Awareness and Community Teamwork contact Lt. Paco Balderamma at juan.balderrama@okc.gov or 297-1174.

But Smith wasn't arrested.

He was referred to Oklahoma City's gang prevention unit, a group of officers who are winning kids away from crime with their strong personalities, supportive after-school program and a push for education.

Smith started hanging out with the cops in May and said his life already has taken a turn for the better.

"They made a good impact on me, keeping me out of trouble," Smith said before he ate pizza and watched a movie in the Northeast Recreational Center.

The program, officially known as Family Awareness and Community Teamwork, or FACT, was launched in 2007 and has more than 200 youth, with 50 members who spend time in an after-school program run by four officers.

"We get referrals from the people who see it firsthand," said Lt. Paco Balderrama, who supervises the FACT division and truancy programs for the Oklahoma City Police Department.

"Principals, teachers, pastors, friends, family — they refer kids under the age of 18 who are obviously at risk of getting influenced and getting into a gang," he said. "We show up in plain clothes and unmarked cars. We talk to the family. We talk to the kids, and tell them there's a better way, there's a better life. We try to connect the family with whatever resources they need to improve their situation."

The FACT team works closely with churches and civic organizations to support families and students, he said they refer students to after-school programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Police Athletic League for mentors and services.

Balderrama said the department has become increasingly supportive of preventive police work. The program has grown from one to four officers and a supervisor with plans to expand to a community center in southeast Oklahoma City as well.

The unit started in northeast Oklahoma City, where gang reconnaissance indicated there was the most activity that needed to be curbed.

"They are influenced daily by the gang culture, the threat of fear violence if they don't become part of a gang," Balderrama said. "At the same time they are drawn to a gang because they are not getting the attention and love at home that every kid needs."

It's a perfect storm to make children susceptible to gangs.

One thing Smith said helped him was getting back into sports and back on the football team.

"I was scared to go up to the coach and talk to him," Smith said. So the officers at FACT did the talking and the vouching for Smith. "He came up to me and just said, 'Show up at practice.'"

But for every success story like Smith — who is doing "whatever it is to get me into college" — there are failures.

Smith brought a cousin to the program, but the teen never returned.

"I told you what would happen, didn't I?" asks Sgt. Wayland Cubit, who is a mentor to Smith.

"Yeah, he's back in jail," Smith replies. "This one day could have changed everything ... That's his fault. He's a smart kid, but he just didn't make the right decision."

Both Cubit and Balderrama say the program is doing well, reaching at-risk children, but more community involvement is needed. There is a need for mentors and volunteers from any background, but the young men in the program particularly need strong male mentors who can simply be a good role model, they said.

"It's not a police problem, it's a society problem," Balderrama said. "Kids need to know that there is another way, that there is hope for a brighter future."

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