On Monday, the Saskatoon Police Department officially launched the Drop Gangs Initiative, which provides training and resources on the realities of gang life. As of Thursday, people on social media were drawing attention to an image on the Drop Gangs website showing a man in a wheelchair with the text, “Do you want to roll like a gangster?” The word “roll” is highlighted in yellow to denote a “rolling with” game or getting involved with a gang and rolling in a wheelchair. The image was released by Saskatoon police but was not created by the police. “I think it really communicates something really damaging to people with disabilities and people using wheelchairs as a major means of transportation,” said Dale Wilson, who is finishing her postgraduate disability studies at the University of Manitoba. She herself criticized the use of the image in a tweet on Friday. https://t.co/DYcBR5IpKT – @ DaleWilson__
“It was just problematic the way it sounds like ‘Oh, if you stay in the gang, you’ll end up in a wheelchair,’ and that would be terrible,” he said. “The reality is that if you live long enough in this world, you will develop a disability. And then the realities of competence become very prevalent in you,” Wilson said, referring to discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities and people with disabilities. who is considered to be disabled. Wilson added that although the material was not originally produced by Saskatoon police and has since been removed from the Drop Gangs website, it was in the first place that the image was published. “I think the lesson is, you know, to look at your sources and look at how someone in the community can see that picture.” Dale Wilson, who lives in Saskatoon, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in disability at the University of Manitoba. (Zoom)
Kayleigh Kazakoff was also among those who tweeted about the image, which she first spotted on a Reddit thread. In a direct message to CBC News, he also called the message capable, while acknowledging that the intention was to show “the possible consequences of the life-changing gangs”. “I can not talk about the effectiveness of the rest of their campaign, but this message was particularly difficult to see,” said Kazakoff, who lives with a chronic illness and occasionally uses a cane. “In a few decades I will probably use a wheelchair at least a few times. To imply that using a wheelchair is some kind of horrible fate, when it is such a common accessibility assistant, has been quite frustrating to see.”

Image from awareness campaign 2015 BC

In an email, Brad Jennings, a spokesman for the Saskatoon Police Department, said the agency had apologized to those who had raised their concerns. The service also shared a statement on Twitter, thanking people who complained “about sharing the impact this image had”. “While the material was not produced by SPS / Drop Gangs, we acknowledge that it caused the damage,” the statement said on Twitter. “We are trying to do better in the future.” The image originally came from a 2015 video from an awareness campaign called End Gang Life, created by the British Columbia Joint Forces Enforcement Unit. As of April 1, the video will be posted on both the law enforcement website and YouTube, with more than 9,300 views. The video caption describes the initiative as a “comprehensive gang training, prevention and awareness campaign that uses bold, emotional and visually stunning images and messages”. Another description on the End Gang Life website states that the stories being told are “vivid and exciting” and “are universal and can be viewed by anyone in any community and still have an impact”. The BC enforcement unit has not responded to a CBC News request for comment.

New program to fight gangs

Jennings noted that there is currently no advertising campaign for the Drop Gangs initiative. In a press release Monday, the Saskatoon Police Department said the program provides training and awareness-raising on illegal motorcycle and road gangs in Saskatoon. Saskatoon Police “have seen other programs, particularly in British Columbia, that have been very successful and fortunate to be able to work with them to share information and resources,” said Patrick Nogier, head of the Saskatoon Police Criminal Investigation Department. . release. Along with the site, the Drop Gangs initiative has a flagship vehicle that “acts as a rolling sign”. Saskatoon police said the program and the vehicle were paid for with proceeds confiscated from criminals. The service plans to launch the vehicle at community events, illegal motorcycle gang events and on request for training presentations. She will also be present at warrant executions involving gangs, drugs and organized crime, Saskatoon police say.