Workshops
The G.A.N.G.S. Coalition has created workshops for educators, advocates, and everyday citizens who wish to learn more about various gang-policing issues. Education and discourse are two of our most powerful weapons in the fight for equity and progress for our most marginalized communities. We will be creating additional workshops focusing on various gang-policing issues and we encourage you to engage those in your networks on these important topics. If you are interested in having a member of our team facilitate a workshop or train staff on these topics, please reach out to us by filling out this form.
Gangs in Our Community: Portrayal and Narrative
This workshop is centered around the question “what do we think of gangs and gang members, and why?” Participants will leave with an understanding of the various meanings for the word “gang.” They will also learn about the history of Black and Latin gang portrayal and how it correlates with Broken Windows policing in Black and Latin communities. Participants will engage in discussion on the roles that gangs play in our communities. These include the negative elements, but also the very real cultural and community gaps that gangs fill.
Gangs in Our Community Portrayal and Narrative
Gangs in Our Community Portrayal and Narrative Training Guide
Gangs Policing: Raids, and Database Usage
This workshop is centered on the how law enforcement entities use databases to surveil and criminalize our communities. Participants will learn about advocacy efforts in other U.S. cities to abolish harmful and racist gang databases, and they will engage in a Know-Your-Rights training to learn defense tools in the event of a search or arrest.
Surveillance, Technology, and Social Media Training Guide
This guide equips participants with an understanding of historical and modern surveillance practices, highlighting their disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. It helps identify surveillance mechanisms, such as facial recognition and smartphone tracking, while exploring their role in perpetuating inequities and eroding trust. Participants will learn strategies to safeguard privacy, engage in activism safely, and advocate for systemic change. Through discussions and resources, the guide empowers individuals to reflect on surveillance’s societal implications and take action to resist its harmful effects.
Toolkit to Challenge Gang Allegations Against Immigrant New Yorkers
The web-based Toolkit to Challenge Gang Allegations Against Immigrant New Yorkers is a compilation of resources aimed at preventing, challenging, and defending against gang allegations, as well as documenting the unreliability of gang allegations and aggressive police practices in the immigration context.
Legal Aid Society’s FOIL YOURSELF CAMPAIGN
The Legal Aid Society’s FOIL Yourself website makes it easy for New Yorkers to find out whether they are listed in the NYPD’s Gang Database. After entering some basic informations, users can submit a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to uncover this important information. The Databases is highly secretive, inaccurate, and overinclusive, with 16,000 New Yorkers included. The NYPD does not require even a suspicion of criminality to add people. As a result, many people are very surprised to learn that they are in the database when they FOIL themselves.