LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- About 100 students at Carter Elementary School graduated Tuesday from Louisville Metro Police Gang Resistance and Education Training.
Officers who have been teaching the six-week course presented the fifth-grade students with a certificate of completion. LMPD teaches the course in various schools to fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders.
"The earlier you get them, the better chance that you can give them the opportunity to learn," said Sgt. Tony Saycra, who has been an instructor for 10 years.
Louisville has seen a massive spike in gang-related crime and gun violence in recent years. and police are hoping to get in front of the issue before kids face the pressure of getting involved with violent crime.
"The main goal is to teach kids how to make positive choices when something comes up to them," Saycra said. "It could be a bully. It could be somebody trying to get them to join a gang, somebody getting them to take a gun."
The impact is clear with the kids.
"This is something we can pass down to family and friends and everybody," said Nia Jackson, a fifth-grader at Carter and graduated of the program who said she knows the obstacles and pressures that lie ahead.
Nia Jackson, a fifth-grader at Carter Elementary School, graduated from the program and said she knows the obstacles and pressures that lie ahead.
"If somebody ever offers me drugs or, like, asks me to do something illegal or potentially illegal or could cause a felony, I could just simply say no."
Her peers are learning and passing on that a simple "no" can save lives.
"If somebody tried to like make us join their gang or something, we just say no and walk away," said Presley Pierce, another graduate of the program. "We don't want to give too much personal information away, because that could hurt us in the future."
Though police don't track the success rate of the students as they grow older, they said the program leaves its mark.
"Right away, you have a relationship, and they're like, 'Thanks for everything you taught me,'" Saycra said.
Schools can contact LMPD to get on a waiting list for officers to come teach the course.
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