SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Presentations given by two RCMP officers at a crime prevention workshop held in Yellowknife this week painted grim pictures of what could happen if the gang situation in the NWT gets worse.

On March 2, the first day of a two-day workshop on crime prevention, hosted by the Department of Justice, Cpl. Robert Beach gave a presentation on gangs in the NWT. On the screen behind him are gang tattoos associated with the Crazy Dragons Kids, which have a presence in the NWT.- Tim Edwards/NNSL photo Gangs active in the NWT: Crazy Dragons Crazy Dragons Kids Redd Alert Indian Posse White Boy Posse Most commonly used drugs in the NWT, from most to least Alcohol Cannabis Cocaine Crack Ecstasy

"We've seen more and more members from down south come up and start to use some of our youth in our communities for low-level drug dealing or for trafficking," Cpl. Robert Beach said in a presentation on March 2, the first day of the two-day workshop.

The territory restorative justice co-ordinator for the RCMP was one of several presenters in the workshop hosted by the Department of Justice. Others included community members, police, and legal professionals from throughout the territory.

Beach said the Crazy Dragons, an Edmonton-based gang with a presence in Yellowknife, get teenagers to deliver drugs for them.

An off-shoot of the Crazy Dragons, the Crazy Dragons Kids, is made up of teenage members.

Patricia Teske, principal of Sir John Franklin High School, says she has not seen any recruiting activity in her school.

"In my experience, in all the high schools I've been in - this one is amazingly crime-free," said Teske.

Teske said she knows of only three drug-related incidents at the high school in the past two years that required RCMP intervention.

"I haven't heard or seen anything to do with recruiting or targeting, or soliciting for kids to be involved in any sort of criminal activity," the principal said.

Beach said the demographics with the highest yield for gang recruitment are often the at-risk youth, and they might not be enrolled in school. Beach said, gang members are not academically motivated.

Beach said gangs often offer a sense of belonging to youth who don't have that sense in their community, or with their family. Kids will often see glamorized depictions of gang life on TV or in popular music.

"They look at the upside, they don't look very often at the down side of what might happen," said Beach - downsides such as death, jail, and loss of friends and family.

The best way to stop gang activity, according to Beach, is to create that sense of belonging. Beach said schools should put on intervention programs that teach students about gangs.

"We can't arrest our way out of this problem," said Beach.

The police officer said even though many youth get involved with gangs, most members are 18 to 30, and some are even older. Many Northern residents who join gangs do so in southern prisons, where they make connections with drug dealers and gang members.

After leaving prison and coming back to their home communities, they'll use those connections to capitalize on a new market for drugs - their own unsuspecting, and vulnerable community.

City councillor Lydia Bardak noted at the workshop that some gang members from the south are arrested and remanded in the NWT when they attempt to bring drugs in. Bardak pointed out that if gang members in remand must await trial for a long period of time, they can use that time to recruit imprisoned Northerners into their neighbours.

It's easier to stop individuals from becoming involved in a life of crime when they are young, according to Beach and Cpl. Shawn King.

"We need to build self-esteem and sense of belonging," said King, "so when they get old and are confronted with those choices (of whether or not to join a gang) they have that confidence to make that right choice."