31-07-2025
Police chiefs take to social media to deter gang activity
Manitoba police chiefs have taken to social media to tell young people to ghost gang life.
The campaign, funded by Manitoba Justice and led by the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police, includes short videos with graffiti-inspired ghost graphics. It encourages youth looking to leave gangs to text an anonymous, 24/7 help line, run by The Link, a non-profit family support organization.
The clips will be published on Gen Z-friendly channels such as TikTok and Snapchat, and campaign material will hit bus shelters, convenience stores and community groups who work with at-risk youth in the coming weeks.
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'Young people can text in, it's all confidential, they don't have to give their names, we provide them with resources,' Kerri Irvin-Ross, chief executive officer at The Link.
If a young person texts the help line at 204-900-6010, The Link can give them a safe place to stay, offer counselling, connect them to housing supports or other non-profits that can help them, or just provide a non-judgmental ear, said Kerri Irvin-Ross, chief executive officer at The Link.
'Young people can text in, it's all confidential, they don't have to give their names, we provide them with resources,' she said.
'We invite them to come here if they'd like, and provide them with opportunities to find their way out.'
This marks the third year of campaigns that advertise The Link's text line. The previous two years used graphics inspired by video games, designed by ChangeMakers, to appeal to young people .
Reaching young people on their phones has had an impact, said Jim Mirza, the executive director of the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police.
'Many of them have had interactions that led to referrals, and, more importantly, a real exit from the gang life,' he said. 'This is the kind of impact we want to build on.'
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Michelle De Groot, gang prevention co-ordinator at the Winnipeg Police Service, said many of the young people she works with are seeking a strong family support system.
This time, ChangeMakers reps sat down with young former gang members to hammer out which designs, outreach styles and even colour schemes would reach their target the best.
'They're like our focus group,' said Varinder Brar of ChangeMakers, adding more than 500 youth have texted the line since 2023.
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'We're never asking people to snitch, or give people's names or anything like that, (it's) purely confidential,' he said.
'They're not going to the cops, because there (would be) obviously a little bit of resistance to that if you were a gang member.'
Michelle De Groot, the gang prevention co-ordinator with the Winnipeg Police Service, said many of the young people she works with have prior trauma and are seeking family-type links through the gang system.
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Jim Mirza is the executive director of the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police.
'It's a false sense of loyalty, and often they find out too late that that isn't the family they're looking for,' she said.
Malak AbasReporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg's North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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