Manitoba RCMP support video game-inspired youth anti-gang campaign

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Manitoba RCMP, alongside local police agencies and community groups, are leveling up with the re-launch of a video game-themed ad campaign aimed at steering youth away from gang involvement. After a successful debut in summer 2023, the campaign took to social media again this summer.

With youth gang violence on the rise across the province, the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) stepped in, uniting the RCMP and Winnipeg Police Services to explore strategies to combat the issue. The result was ‘Gang Life is No Life’—a series of short immersive reels unveiling the harsh realities of gang activity, targeting youth aged 13 to 16.

“You can't arrest your way out of these issues,” says Winnipeg Police Service's Inspector Elton Hall who is chair of the Manitoba Organized Crime Committee. “You need some sort of education and prevention piece to tackle gang crime.”

The campaign aims to, not only, inform the public about gang culture, but also provide young people with ways to exit gangs safely.

Funded by the MACP and Manitoba Justice, the initiative brought together police and a local community organization called The Link: Youth and Family Supports. The videos encouraged viewers to text a hotline supported by The Link's crisis team, for help exiting gang life.

RCMP Inspector Jared Hall, who joined the group as co-chair in spring 2024, says the focus has always been about doing things better.

“We've always been proactive,” says Jared Hall. “But we asked, ‘how can we do it differently to try to hit the audience and the teens that are getting involved?’ The video campaign is a way to get these realities out to kids and teens faster, quicker, and to a broader audience using technology.”

Thinking outside the box

The committee enlisted the help of a marketing agency to steer the campaign and create fresh concepts that would resonate with the digital generation. Drawing on inspiration from popular video games, each ad focused on serious issues like gun violence, sex trafficking, and drugs. The second phase of the campaign built on the storyline of each scenario.

“It's a very noisy landscape on digital platforms, so we had to find a way to catch their attention. And it was that video-game look and feel that got us there,” says Kris Owen, who works for the agency.

“We were very impressed with the trust the committee had in our team to be able to reach the audience.” Owen admits that, “People like Elton or Jared may never see that ad on Snapchat or TikTok, but they understand that's how we're able to reach the audience.”

During the initial 12-week run of social media campaign, The Link's crisis team had conversations with 150 individuals as a direct result of the video ads. These anonymous conversations helped to guide teens looking for a way out of gang culture. More traditional gang prevention methods often involve school visits, where approximately 3000 students are reached over the course of a year. In just three months, the videos garnered over 11.6 million views.

“We wanted to create a platform where young people could reach out in their own time,” says Elton Hall, emphasizing that the approach to have The Link—not the police—as the point of contact, helped to remove barriers for many youth.

Jared Hall says the campaign has underscored the value of partnerships.

“Police don't need to be the only driver in gang prevention, we can lean on social agencies. We just need to figure out how to bridge that gap and create that connection, and that's what we did,” says Elton Hall.