METRO VANCOUVER -- The head of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says police have met with a "number of very violent prolific gang members" to warn them their behaviour will no longer be tolerated in this province.

Chief Supt. Dan Malo said the visits took place last week as part of a new anti-gang campaign called End Gang Life, announced by the CFSEU in Burnaby Wednesday.

Malo said his officers told "several" gangsters they will be targeted by police to send the message that they should leave gang life or leave B.C.

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"We have personally met with them. We have placed them on notice. We've advised them that their behaviour is not tolerated in this province," Malo told a news conference inside a Metrotown movie theatre. "We've told them that their activities will be investigated and targeted and the result will be the fact that their enterprises will be dismantled, that their behaviour will be curbed, that they'll go to jail."

Malo, B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton and Sgt. Lindsey Houghton revealed a series of posters and public service announcements they hope will warn young people about the perils of gang life.

Anton said the average gangster in B.C. does not live past the age of 30.

She said the campaign will hopefully encourage families to help their gang-involved members change their ways.

"Let's get the families to help get their loved ones out of gangs," Anton said.

"The campaign represents a critical step in the evolution of B.C.'s relentless fight against gangs and organized crime."

Malo said gang murders have gone down since a spike in 2008 and 2009, but "even one murder is one too many."

He said the campaign is being launched right before Christmas, as families gather, to help spark debate.

"It is time that mothers and fathers stop having to arrange for their child's funeral and no family should have to grieve for the loss of their loved one because of gang violence."

Houghton, who developed the campaign, said the CFSEU has also started a new website — EndGangLife.ca — with educational materials and resources listed.

The three posters released Wednesday show a little girl on a swing with a body lying under a tarp beneath her, then the same little girl putting a card on a tombstone that says: "I miss you daddy" and a third with two young boys filling in a grave, along with the words: "Are they going to have to bury you?"

Houghton said the campaign will continue for two years, with new materials released every four months.

He said he interviewed academics, police and even former gangsters to develop messages that would resonate with those caught in the life, as well as the people around them.

He used children in the ads since a quarter of gang members killed in recent years were parents.

"I wanted to create a visually impactful and comprehensive gang prevention campaign that touched people emotionally," Houghton said.

kbolan@vancouversun.com

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