by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

Ali Nestor Charles, 31, thinks fighting could save boys from lives of crime.

It worked for him. "Between 12 and 17, I was in street gangs, but succeeding in martial arts demands a certain disciplined lifestyle," says the owner of the gym at Lacordaire and des Grandes Prairies in St-Leonard.

For three years he's been welcoming former gangbangers into his gym to seduce them back onto the straight and narrow, all without government funding. "They talk a lot, but governments don't do much to keep kids out of street gangs," he says. "It takes these kinds of projects and activities to stop these children from being attracted into gangs."

Nestor Charles says that police often unwittingly drive the kids deeper into gang life. "Young people often feel that the police are aggressive towards them," he says. "They're feeling rebellious and need some attention, but police will be aggressive towards them instead of talking to them gently, which is what they need."

Spectacular media reports of street crimes also don't help. "These reports about gangs makes them feel even more validated," he says. "Often, if their crime gets reported, they get promoted in the gang."

Nestor Charles's initiative is one of several trying to keep youth from street gangs. Criminologist Marie-Mousse Laroche has been manning a hotline for youth trying to divorce themselves from past gang activities for almost a year. Her task is to help plaster up the existential holes for those departing a gang.

"When a youth chooses to leave a street gang, there's suddenly a lot missing," she says. "The gang provides his friends, leisure and work. If he walks away, those gaps must be filled. He needs to have new activities, his school issues must be settled and he's got to get a new job."

Laroche's program has so far helped about 10 former gang members turn their backs on criminal activities. Those seeking her aid can dial 236-0754 or e-mail tuveuxsortirdetagang@hotmail.com.

Last February, local cops set up a special team specifically to fight street gangs. And while violent activity is down compared to last year, when gun battles would sometimes erupt downtown, police admit that traditional methods of fighting the gangs don't always work. "Sometimes [gang members] are very young, 12 or 13 years old," says Inspector Jean Baraby, the head of the force's street gang office. "We can't infiltrate because none of our officers are minors. We prefer methods that involve giving them positive role models so they can see that there are other alternatives than to fall into crime."

The strategy includes putting cops in pulpits. "The priest often has a big influence in these communities, so we send an officer to church to brief parents on how to detect if their kid has joined a gang," he says. "For example, if he's suddenly wearing clothes that the parents didn't buy, this is information a parent finds useful."

Baraby admits it's impossible to quantify the success of such preventive measures. "It's a long-term project and it'd be impossible to tell if a kid would have become a criminal had we not done that, but some youth have said that had they not gotten the help they would have ended up joining a gang."