L.I.U. Played Integral Part in Crime-Fighting Effort in 2022

William Dawson

Among those recognized for the partnership with the police was the Leadership Intervention Unit, chaired by William Dawson. The L.I.U. has introduced several transformative programs into gang-ridden communities. He spoke candidly about the realities of street life and the types of conversations that have to be held with gang members to help them realize that their own loved ones are the ones who pay the highest price for violence.

William Dawson, Chair, Leadership Intervention Unit

“It has been very challenging to change the mindset of people who only know one thing in life. All their lives they have been exposed to violent behaviour and solving their issues through violent means and so it’s not an overnight fix but when we bring them to the table and we allow them to express themselves, we try to open up their minds to focus on their families. One of the key issues we try to bring to them is love. You love the gangs, you love your friends more than you love your family, your son, your daughter, your mom? When these questions are posed to individuals in a humanistic way, it allows them that moment to think really and truly what it is that they want, and these are the psycho-social types of interventions we have been looking at, promoting pro-social behaviour. We know that there’s that stigma in terms of the relationship with the police and the communities, so we have managed to bridge that gap with engaging community leaders and engaging those in the community to look after their own community. Get them trained. We’ve been working with the Department of Youth Services, especially in the community rehabilitation department, going into homes, finding out more from these individuals what their issues are and how it is that we can be of assistance, instead of judging them whenever there is a crisis. And what we have noticed is that there is a willingness on the part of the community when there’s that type of outreach.”