Dog Handler Tries New Tack on Gangs - Positive Approach Features Mixed Martial Artists and Pit Bulls - Kris Crawford
San Francisco Chronicle
July 16, 2009
Alarmed by the public's lukewarm response to its anti-gang billboards — which touted a new hot line — the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office was relieved when an enthusiastic volunteer stepped up to help revive the faltering program.
San Jose dog handler Kris Crawford appears to have found a better way to spread the anti-gang message. She's been connecting for the past year with troubled kids in juvenile hall and students at local schools, using gentle pit bulls, bodybuilders, dancers, boxers and mixed martial artists as role models. She got involved because gangs are big fans of dog fighting, a blood-sport she's determined to stamp out.
"These kids really relate to Kris and her celebrities," says Nick Muyo, spokesman for the district attorney's office. "It's not like I can go there and they'll listen to me about the hot line."
There's little doubt that her program is a hit with kids, who enjoy petting Crawford's pit bulls — Cheyenne, Dakota and Tahoe — and meeting local stars such as bodybuilder Ray Arde. Gang experts applaud the positive approach Crawford uses as being more effective than the district attorney's edgy media campaign, which also ran in Fresno and Sacramento.
"I'm just trying to make a difference to these kids," Crawford said.
Worthy experiment
Eager to curb gang crime since she took office in 2007, District Attorney Dolores Carr has used asset forfeiture funds legally seized from criminals to support several prevention programs, including the highly popular "Parent Project," on handling out-of-control kids.
Like the hard-hitting anti-tobacco and -drug ads of the past, the $60,000 media campaign used billboards, posters, bus placards and radio and TV spots to shock the public — in English and Spanish — into awareness of the risks of gang life. One notable billboard features a gloomy cemetery with the message, "Gangs have a special place for your kids" and the hot line number, 408-808-FREE.
While the hot line offers help in job training, substance abuse and domestic violence, only about 46 calls have been received since it started in May.
"There were three-, four-, five-day stints without any phone calls," said Mario Maciel, superintendent of San Jose's Gang Prevention Task Force, which staffed the hot line. "But I give them lots of credit for trying."
One problem was that the public service announcements were on talk-radio — the wrong choice to reach the target audience, Maciel said. So Crawford had her team record new PSAs and she got them aired on popular pop, rock and hip-hop radio stations. Another problem: Radio ads urge listeners to call the police as well as the hot line — which Crawford says is a real turnoff to families and kids involved in gangs. That's why Crawford produced two new PSAs with a different message - one about making choices.
In contrast, Crawford's campaign is aimed directly at kids, using a positive approach rather than scare tactics. It builds on the reasons kids are drawn to gangs, she said: money, status and a sense of belonging.
"We bring athletes who prove that you can get all those things without breaking the law and looking over your shoulder," she said. "A lot of these kids don't care about consequences like death or prison."
'Show Your Strength'
The poster she designed to promote the new hot line has the bold look of a video game. Bodybuilder Arde, muscles bulging in his bare chest, is shown with a samurai sword against a backdrop of graffiti-marred walls. It reads: "Show Your Strength ... Life is about choices."
Muyo says Crawford's contribution has reinvigorated the outreach campaign, along with fresh efforts to place posters in the jails, schools and neighborhoods. The district attorney's office had expected thousands of calls after hearing about the program's success in Fresno and Sacramento, he said.
Raising awareness
In Fresno, the campaign generated about 100 calls, said detective Brad Stevens, who also runs the Crime Stoppers hot line. In Sacramento, no statistics were available because it was coupled with other efforts, including a street outreach team funded by a Kaiser Permanente grant that ultimately involved 600 youths, said Lyn Corbett, director of the Office of Youth Services.
"I'd say it's a powerful way to raise awareness," Corbett said, "but no campaign can be effective on its own without other components, like street outreach."
Muyo says the district attorney will evaluate the overall performance of the anti-gang campaign at the end of the month, but the number of calls will not be the only criterion. He notes that their web site - www.da.sccgov.org/gangfree - has gotten 700 hits.
"Long after these signs come down, we're going to have this Web site," Muyo said.
Here, too, Crawford is available to help. Fearing that the DA's URL is too difficult for a "kid with a fourth- or fifth-grade education to remember," she said she bought the domain name "gangfreenow" for her anti-gang efforts. "It's easier to remember," she said.
Click on links below to hear Anti-Gang radio PSAs Knock Out Dog Fighting recorded for DA's Office
Produced by Kris Crawford
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Jose Palacios - English - 30 seconds
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Jose Palacios - Spanish - 30 seconds
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Ray Arde - 30 seconds
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Jose Palacios - English - 60 seconds
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Jose Palacios - Spanish - 60 seconds
Knock Out Dog Fighting's Anti-Gang PSA: Ray Arde - 60 seconds
