A new ad campaign aimed at stopping gang violence hit the airwaves Thursday.
Unveiled on the big screen at Fresno’s I-Max Theatre, the "Gangs and Guns" campaign message is aimed at the people who often become collateral damage of the gang lifestyle, family and friends of gang members.
“The reality is that we are never gonna prosecute our way out of this problem. The best long term solution is to reach out and impact our young people and their families and close friends before they choose to go down that road with their lives,” said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott.
The attorney’s office, along with Valley Crime Stoppers, the Fresno Police Department and Astone Marketing, produced the ads.
Mark Astone, CEO of Astone Marketing, says their hope is to also get through to gang members, by appealing to their emotions, and making them think about the impact of their actions.
“We're aiming it at the gang members themselves saying look it's not just you that you're activity is impacting, look at how its impacting your loved ones,”said Astone.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer sees the campaign as a perfect example of Fresno's multi-pronged approach to curbing gang violence-which includes suppression, prevention and in this case, intervention.
“It stands alone in the fact that it is an educational campaign and it is the initial step to educating our community as to the dangers of involving themselves in a life of gangs,” said Chief Dyer.
And although this is an educational campaign, Attorney Scott stresses it will also have real substance behind it-providing those who want help with the appropriate resources and programs to get it.
“Five years from now we'll be looking back at this and saying did we have an effect and I'm confident that we'll be able to say we did.”
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