To educate youth about gang violence in the hopes of changing their perspective and preventing them from getting involved in gangs, Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team (SGET) has launched a new video that features a former gang member who was convicted of second-degree murder dispelling myth of gang lifestyle.
The video also features the mother of the boy who was brutally murdered in the infamous Surrey Six case.
The video will be shown in Surrey schools as part of SGET’s school presentation called Shattering the Image. “SGET created Shattering the Image presentation in 2018, and it has become one of the most important and sought-after presentations Surrey Detachment delivers to the community,” informed Inspector Ryan Element, Proactive Enforcement Officer.
The powerful new video has been created specifically for Surrey youth. The video features Mindy Bandher. He was convicted of second-degree murder and served a 12-year prison term. He discusses how he lost years of his life behind bars as a result of his decision to fatally shoot 24-year-old Sunny Bains in January of 2008. “This lifestyle that we idealize, we think is very cool. It is very cool in a very small group setting. People might fear you but no one is going to respect you.”
“You don’t see the value of life until you’ve been locked up for 12 years or had some serious brush with death,” Bhander says in the excerpt of the video released by the RCMP.
“His story helps to expose the grim reality of what can happen when youth get involved in gangs and drugs. In the excerpts of the video, the person is talking about the murder and life after that,” says Inspector Element.
The video also includes an interview with Eileen Mohan, whose son Christopher was an innocent victim killed as part of the Surrey Six murders in 2007. Mohan highlights how her life has been forever changed. “I put on this mask and I walk out of the house to go to work every day, but every afternoon I come back to a silent home,” she says. “Look at me. It’s been 17 years without Christopher. It is not a day that I don’t miss him.”
“We want to show our youths the reality of joining gangs and the consequences they will face if they chose to go down that path. Education and awareness are key preventative measures when it comes to curbing the ongoing gang conflict in our communities,” Inspector Element says.
SGET created Shattering the Image in 2018, and it has become one of the most important and sought after presentations Surrey Detachment delivers to the community. The presentation, which is tailor-made for Surrey youth, provides hard facts about gangs and drugs, and aims to help teens make positive choices to avoid the gang lifestyle. SGET has delivered the presentation over 500 times, to well over 10,000 youth in schools and community settings, as well as for many other community partners.
“We hope that by listening to the stories of these individuals who were directly impacted by gang violence, our youths and community at large will have a better understating of what is at stake,” Inspector Element adds.
