Oct 16th, 2023
Mobile’s law enforcement officers are stepping up to help protect young people from gangs. The Mobile Police Department’s Gulf Coast Technology Center is holding two Gang Awareness & Prevention Town Hall Meetings for parents in November. These town halls will focus on gang identifiers, influences, Alabama’s new gang law, and attainable solutions for our community.
The meetings will be hosted by Commander Kevin Levy and Commander Curtis Graves. The dates and locations for each town hall meeting are listed below.
Gangs are a universal problem across all 50 states. Locally, the biggest concern is with youth, some as young as 12, joining gangs. The MPD-Gulf Coast Technology Center has begun implementing intervention and prevention strategies, but parental involvement is more critical than ever.
“There’s no better time than now for law enforcement and families to work together to interrupt gang activity and prevent kids from joining a gang,” said Commander Levy, Director of Intelligence for the MPD-Gulf Coast Technology Center. “Parents may not know how to start the conversation with their child about gangs and the potential negative consequences of gang membership. We can help.”
The panel of experts for the town halls will include Andre King, Gulf Coast Technology Center Cyber Intelligence Coordinator, Joshua Jones, City of Mobile Youth Violence Prevention Coordinator, Corporal Nathaniel McCarty, Supervisor of the MPD Victim Services Unit and Family Intervention Team, and Tres Stefurak, Associate Dean and Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of South Alabama.
The Gang Awareness & Prevention Town Hall Meetings are an effort of Operation Echo Stop, which aims to reduce gun violence in the community. Parents have the option to submit questions in advance to be addressed during the town hall meetings. You can email questions to echostoplive@gmail.com.
MOBILE POLICE DEPARTMENT