Salt Lake police program seeks to counteract gang recruits as young as 10
Sep 10, 2024, 4:03 PM | Updated: 6:11 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — A police program in Salt Lake City is trying to turn the tide of kids joining gangs at a younger and younger age.
Salt Lake City police told KSL TV that kids only 10 or 11-years-old are now being targeted as gang recruits. Getting them back is the focus of the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Promising Youth Project.
The project looks to counterbalance this new trend of gangs targeting children at a younger age. Police said in the last few years, typical gangs aren’t getting as many junior high recruits as they used to, so now they’re going after 10 and 11-year-olds to fill their numbers.
To give those kids a chance, the SLCPD sends in a non-officer advocate to teach kids life skills to make better choices when gangs pressure them to commit crimes.
“They know that the kids don’t have the capacity to make adult decisions, especially at that young of an age, and they can go out there and give them a gun, and go shoot this person and there’s not a lot of hesitation,” Sgt. Robert Tycz, with the SLCPD, said.
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“Oftentimes, these kids will be like, ‘I’m kind of in this and it’s hard to get out.'” Kylie Lo, a Promising Youth Project advocate, said. “So, it turns into, ‘How do we keep you safe, and keep you less involved in these types of situations?'”
The Promising Youth Project is available for any child 8 to 21-years-old in the Salt Lake City School District, who are involved in gangs or other bad behaviors. Children who attend are usually involved for roughly 15 weeks, and those who run it report the kids respond fairly well.
If you’re a parent or a school administrator who feels you have a child who would benefit from this program, it works off referrals. Just click on this link to find more information.
