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STEVE NAWOJCZYK OF NORTH LITTLE ROCK accepts the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice Award as Juvenile Justice Advocate of the Year from Lieutenant Governor Win Rockefeller at a ceremony concluding the Statewide Conference on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in Little Rock last week. Nawojczyk is director of juvenile services for the city of North Little Rock and a noted educator on youth gangs and juvenile violence.
STEVE NAWOJCZYK (Na-VOY-check) retired in 1994 as Pulaski County Coroner in Little Rock, Arkansas and has served as advisor to the Arkansas Attorney General's Youth Gang Task Force since 1993. With a background as coroner in two Arkansas counties and former Director of the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, Nawojczyk has over twenty years experience in death investigation.
Nawojczyk has been researching gangs and other juvenile violence since 1987. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Jobs - A Way Out? , PBS's Act Against Violence campaign, and on HBO in the America Undercover series, Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock, the 1994 CableAce award winner for best documentary. He has made appearances on the Phil Donahue Show, CBS News Up to the Minute,CBS This Morning, Larry King Live, BBC-TV network, the syndicated shows Tough Target and Save Our Streets and National Public Radio.
Nawojczyk has acted as consultant to then-Governor Bill Clinton, the offices of the United States Attorney, the U.S. Army War College, Ohio State University's Fellows in Criminal Justice Program, The National Association of Attorneys General, The National Society for Human Resource Management, the National Education Association School Safety Summit, and numerous other collegiate institutions, school officials and other communities on the dynamics of gangs and youth violence.
Nawojczyk has been consistently evaluated as the highest rated speaker in hundreds of conferences throughout the United States. His presentations have been described as motivational, inspirational, touching both the heart and cognitive mind, thorough and exceptionally thought provoking, answering so many questions and opening a world of concern, and enlightening, outstanding and beyond excellence.
The following are excerpts from just a few of comments and letters we received from those who have seen Steve's program.
November 11, 1997
Dear Mr. Nawojczyk:
Thank you so much for your excellent presentation in the Brookhaven School District. Your topic was timely and informative. I was impressed with the way you adapted to the diverse audiences and the instant rapport you were able to build with the students.
I especially applaud the way you chose not to use scare tactics but rather spoke to the children out of real concern for their lives. I believe they knew when you finished that you may not know each of them personally but that you really cared about their future.
The training you did with our faculty was an eye-opener. Since you have been here, teachers are noticing more signs of gang activity and are reporting it so that we can deal with the behavior. They did not want to leave when you were finished. Your presentation was so powerful. I would recommend any school having you to speak with their students, faculty and parents. They would not be disappointed and it may possibly save a life. THANK YOU!
Sincerely,
Dear Steve:
Not only was your presentation enjoyable, but will be most beneficial in my assessment of warrants and bond amounts and also sentencing in terms of flat time and probationary terms in gang-related activities in the Carthage and Jasper County area.
It was a pleasure meeting with you on both occasions.
Sincerely,
May 12, 1996
Thanks again for your incredible presentation at my Law Day event on May 1. The message was right on target -- we are still getting rave reviews!! ... I hope that you will consider coming back to Utah in the future. Thanks again for sharing your inspiring message with us and for the commitment and concern you have for our youth.
January 29, 1996
I want to thank you for your long day and longer night in coming to Norman to talk to the U.S. Chamber's Institute for Organization Management. I've been to many of these over the years. That was the largest crowd for any voluntary session. It was the only standing ovation I've ever seen that crowd give. And it's the best presentation I've heard at the Institute. ... Again, please accept my thanks and those of the many people who spoke highly of you after your presentation. You did a great job.
December 19, 1995
Please allow me this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for your help during our recent crisis situation. Your quick response and professional expertise certainly helped us through a very difficult situation. We were able to get our school back to normal in a short time, and you were greatly responsible for this reaction. It is apparent that you possess the knowledge and skills necessary to promote necessary changes in our homes, schools and communities. I watched you at work with our students and it is obvious that you have tremendous communication skills. Our students were attracted to you in a remarkable way. I could not help but notice that you had a special gift with all students and that you were able to cut across racial lines. I was amazed to see a middle-aged white man win over the tough young black males who are not easily reached. You were able to get these students to talk where others have failed. ... We need more programs like yours to make us all better understand that this problem is everyone's problem and cannot be solved without everyone's help. You did a great job of making everyone understand this important concept. Since your visit I have seen our community make some good progress.... [O]ur Board of Education has elected to hire a full time resource officer and we have also purchased walk-through metal detectors. We have developed and passed an aggressive safety policy which encompasses drugs, weapons, and vehicle safety. Your strong message of zero tolerance and your support for safety approaches made these actions possible.... In summary, we greatly benefitted from your expertise and we sincerely appreciate your past efforts and continued efforts to help us.... It is easy to see that you sincerely care for these children.
November 11, 1995
Thank you for the presentations on Street Gangs to the students and other community members of Ashley County. I usually do spot evaluations after assemblies at Hamburg High School and wanted you to be aware of the results. Out of 98 students polled from grades 10-12, 70 rated the assembly "Excellent." I was very pleased with these evaluations; they are high marks for high school students. They have a place to make comments on the evaluation sheets, and a few of those examples are: "It was needed because we all need to know what to be looking for in gang members, and we need to understand them," "I think they should have had something like this a long time ago," "I really enjoyed it. It had some good points of information," "I really enjoyed it. I realized what's really going on in our state capital and all over the United States. I was disappointed because I wasn't able to attend the program they had that night," "It was stupendous!" Thanks again.
October 25, 1995
I just can't begin to tell you the impact you had on our community. As a small rural county in West Tennessee, there are those who want to breeze through life not believing that our little piece of the world has big city problems. ... I have never and probably will never again see one person command 800 seventh and eighth graders without the use of a microphone. ... The amazing thing to me was that most, if not all, of those children knew exactly what you were talking about without any explanation of the words, signs or pictures. It was a real wake-up call for the teachers of those children. A friend of mind that is a second grade teacher at the elementary school here told me that she asked her class about gangs and being in a gang. They told her things that blew her away. There definitely is a problem when 6 and 7-year-olds know more than the parents. But the real education was for the parents at our community meeting that evening. Your presentation was very professional and highly informative. You showed us the facts but also gave us possible solutions that might work here in our community. A lot of good things came out of your visit to Lauderdale Co. Hopefully we will listen closer to our children and be a little nicer to each other. I think we regained a little sense of community. One thing is certain. We will never be the same.
October 23, 1995
Your message presented them (the Boys State participants) with a clear understanding of gang culture and mentality. As you know Boys State is presented to 1,000 of the best juniors in high schools all over Arkansas. The students will eventually be the leaders of our nation and state. They, too, are vulnerable to the types of gang activities we see in Arkansas today.
September 8, 1995
I am an African American and before your presentation I wondered what someone who was from Arkansas knew about gangs. After your presentation, I found that you were not only knowledgeable, but taught me more than I ever knew about gangs and the needs of young people. Please continue to spread the word!
September 6, 1995
We thank you for helping to make our Dallas conference the best ever! Your presentation was the critical component to our success. Comments from the participants were overwhelmingly positive. The attendees appreciated the intensity and the options afforded them by the program. Job well done!
August 30, 1995
... Since I attended your workshop on Street Gang Dynamics, I have spoken with several children from in and around my neighborhood and I was astonished to learn that all of them knew all of the gang signs and much of the graffiti. One child, a fourth grader, told me that he was a member of the Folks. I have no way of knowing if he was telling the truth but even at his young age he immediately recognized every gang sign I could remember from your lecture. By the way, all of these children were white which just proves your point that the gang phenomenon knows no color boundaries.
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