OUR PROGRAM COORDINATOR

New York State Gang Prevention Specialist Ron "Cook" Barrett

“Cook”, as he is known to the youth of Albany, NY, has been involved with inner-city youth for over 20 years.
He was hired by the City of Albany, New York’s, Department of Youth and Workforce Services in 1999 and implemented the Gang Prevention Program, which was recognized by the National Gang Crime Research Center in Chicago, Ill. as an exemplary program in 2001. He is now the gang prevention specialist with the Albany, NY Police Department.

Ron spends his days working with youth at various schools, agencies and detention facilities and his nights reaching out to kids already involved in gang activity. He has been a catalyst in the implementation of a number of successful youth programs including an after-school stipend program with the Albany Housing Authority and a “Teen Night” with the Albany YMCA.

He is a lecturer for the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Middle Atlantic Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN), the Ontario Gang Investigators Association (ONGIA), the New York Gang Investigators Association (NYGIA), the New Jersey Gang Investigators Association (NJGIA) and the East Coast Gang Investigators Association (ECGIA). He has trained over 8,000 law enforcement officers and presented to over 10,000 youth, and provided numerous seminars nationally and internationally, educating communities and law enforcement agencies on identifying and preventing gangs and their effects on the community. He was presented with the 2001 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award, given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Governor’s Dr. King Leadership Award for 2004, the 2008 New Jersey Gang Investigator’s Association award for his Outstanding Prevention and Intervention efforts and the 2009 New York State Department of Health Affirmative Action Advisory Committee Community Service and Leadership Award.

New York Gang Prevention Specialist
Ron “Cook” Barrett
175 Central Ave. Albany, NY 12206
     (518) 434-5723
www.nysgangprevention.com