Veteran law enforcement officer and UCI social sciences lecturer Al Valdez was the keynote speaker at UCI’s inaugural Gang Intervention Certificate Program graduation, held June 29 at UCI. The event wrapped up the 15-week program completed by 39 participants including students, academics and practitioners who work with gang-involved or at-risk youth in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas. Funded by the Orange County Department of Education’s Safe Schools & Support Services and the UCI Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, the program provides current training in gang prevention and intervention techniques, individual skills development, mediation and negotiation tactics used in violent environments, and historical background on street gangs. Trainers include faculty from UCI’s School of Social Sciences and School of Social Ecology and California State University, Los Angeles, mediation trainers from OC Human Relations, and current and former law enforcement personnel and experts from the OC Sheriff's Department, OC District Attorney's Office and OC Probation Department.

The next cohort will begin in winter quarter. Interested? Learn more about the Gang Intervention Certificate Program online.