TRENTON
– Attorney General Peter C. Harvey’s
public awareness video about gangs in
New Jersey has gained international recognition
in two recent media awards competitions.
The video, “Gangs,
Guns, and Drugs” – part
of Attorney General Harvey’s effort
to reduce gang violence in the state –
received three Telly Awards and one award
from the intermedia WorldMediaFestival.
“It
was an honor to have our anti-gang work
recognized by an international body,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “But
what’s even more important is educating
parents and caretakers about the dangers
of gangs. We know the video won’t
solve New Jersey’s gang problem,
but community education is an important
component of gang prevention. By providing
educational tools for our communities,
we can give parents the information they
need to keep their children safe.”
The video was one of more than 10,000
entries in the international Telly Awards
competition, where it won awards in the
three separate categories. At the World
Media Festival in Hamburg, Germany, “Gangs,
Guns, and Drugs” won a silver intermedia-globe
award. Although many American videos were
entered in the competition, few entries
from the United States won an award.
The Telly Awards is the premier award
honoring outstanding local, regional,
and cable TV commercials and programs,
as well as the finest video and film productions.
The Telly Awards annually showcases the
best work of the most respected advertising
agencies, production companies, television
stations, cable operators, and corporate
video departments in the world.
The video, entitled “Gangs, Guns,
and Drugs,” is a small step toward
making communities safer. It demonstrates
through compelling interviews and disturbing
photographs that gang life is not glamorous
– it is a road to prison, violent
death and disfiguring or disabling injury.
The video is an honest, personal portrayal
of gangs and gang issues in New Jersey,
and includes interviews with former gang
members, law enforcement officials, and
the parents of murdered gang members.
“Gangs, Guns, and Drugs” has
already been used in many municipalities,
and Attorney General Harvey plans to continue
utilizing resources like the instructional
video to convey the grisly truth about
gangs to young people and their mentors.
The New Jersey Office of the Attorney
General has distributed more than 10,000
copies of “Gangs, Guns, and Drugs”
to law enforcement officers, educators,
community groups and other stakeholders
since 2004. The video, which has also
been used by law enforcement agencies
in other states, is just one part of Attorney
General Harvey’s larger effort to
combat gangs in New Jersey. His initiative,
also entitled “Gangs, Guns, and
Drugs,” has led to the arrests of
hundreds of gang members across the state.
According to a 2004 survey conducted by
the New Jersey State Police Street Gang
Bureau, there are 148 distinct gangs and
more than 16,000 gang members in New Jersey.
In addition to his effort to stamp out
existing gangs, Attorney General Harvey
has also taken a pro-active approach to
discourage young people from joining gangs.
In December 2004, he announced PROJECT
VISION, which is a violence prevention
initiative that provides after-school
“safe havens” where young
people can go to play, do homework, interact
with law enforcement officials, and most
importantly, keep off the streets. These
alternatives to street life are crucial
because, according to the 2004 State Police
survey, 40 percent of gang crimes occur
in parking lots, playgrounds, parks and
schools. Gang recruitment also happens
in these types of places, said ex-gang
members interviewed for the “Gangs,
Guns, and Drugs” video.
The award-winning video was created by
the New
Jersey Division of Criminal Justice
in cooperation with the East Coast Gang
Investigators’ Association and the
New Jersey State Police. It was produced
by NJN New Jersey Network and can be viewed
at www.NJGangFree.org.
The World Media Festival awards recognize
excellence in modern communications media,
and are acknowledged internationally as
symbols of the highest production standards
in modern communication. The award is
one of the world's highest honors for
audiovisual communications solutions,
and award winners are among the leaders
in their professions. The World Media
Festival is sponsored my intermedia, a
European media production and distribution
company.
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