Fairfax County Police Department Hosts Road DAWG

Our partners at the Fairfax County Police Department held their Road DAWG* (Don’t Associate with Gangs) summer camp August 14 -18, 2006. “Road DAWG” is an affectionate slang term for street officers who respond to calls. In response to the increased gang activity in Northern Virginia, the program was created to build healthy decision-making skills and to help youth resist the draw of gangs. The camp was started three years ago by Captain Jack Hurlock, Commander of the West Springfield Police Station. Since then the program has grown to include different stations and reached many more teens. The goals of Road DAWG are to educate youth and promote positive decision-making when dealing with gangs, conflicts, and experimentation with alcohol, tobacco and drugs; create constructive opportunities for unsupervised time, introduce programs offered through the human service agencies of Fairfax County as well as to encourage careers in law enforcement.

Road DAWG camp is led by officers of the West Springfield and McLean District Stations with assistance from the staff of the Fairfax County Department of Community and Recreation Services, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, Department of Family Services and The Fairfax County Public Schools. Children are between 11 and 14 living in neighborhoods with known gang activity. The program targets youth that may be on probation, in an at-risk family, have siblings involved with gangs, have family members that are court involved or are borderline at-risk students needing positive influence. Daily activities in the camp challenge youth to work as a team, build self-esteem, respect and promote positive decision-making skills. The Fairfax Partnership for Youth believes that all children can benefit greatly from prevention-focused programs and applaud this Fairfax County Police Department initiative. Through partnerships and efforts like this, we can eradicate youth involvement with gangs in our communities.