Jay Dobyns is being interviewed by Surrey students about his time infiltrating the Hells Angels as a former U.S. ATF undercover agent.
The final product of a collaborative project that enabled Surrey students to learn media skills and then use them to create a video exploring gang issues is now publicly available on YouTube and Vimeo.
The video “Gangs and Youth Views from a Lower Mainland Symposium” is the result of a collaboration between Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Acting Together – Community University Research Alliance (AT-CURA) project, Shaw Communications, Inc., Surrey School District and Surrey Safe Schools.
It was created earlier this year under the training and guidance of Michael Keeping, director of Urban Rush and Studio 4 at Shaw TV. The teens, who were learning media production skills for the first time, developed skills in story building, interviewing, lighting, filming, editing and voice-over techniques.
Then, they put them to practice in this video that showcases their own broadcasting talents and gang-related questions.
Students interviewed Jay Dobyns, a former U.S. ATF undercover agent who spent two years infiltrating the Hells Angels, Rob Rai, assistant manager of Surrey Safe Schools, and Cpl. Doug Spencer, a SCBC Transit Police officer with experience in over 1000 gang investigations, in segments of the show exploring the realities of gang involvement and risk factors for youth.
The video initiative piggybacks upon AT’s own goals of researching the prevention of youth-related gang violence and supporting positive youth-related community initiatives. AT’s collaborative work and unique focus on positive youth strengths have been driving forces of the project since it began in 2009 following a federal research award.
The show is expected to become a model for future collaborative efforts and an educational tool for the community.
It originally aired on Shaw TV in August 2011, but is now available worldwide online. Shaw has licensed it so that it may be shown for educational purposes in schools throughout Canada.
Watch it now:
Tags: Feature Three
