A North Preston activist wants people to focus on the positive aspects of his community, rather than the criminal gang known as North Preston's Finest.

Quentrel Provo grew up in the community outside Halifax and now campaigns against violence. He says the good in North Preston is sometimes overshadowed by crimes committed by the gang.

"Every community has bad apples and I just want everyone not to label North Preston, as a whole, as a bad community," he says.

It's been more than 20 years since North Preston's Finest was first identified as a gang involved in prostitution. Although members come from the community, police say there's no indication they operate within North Preston.

"We're aware of them. I don't know if they're actively causing us any issues in Halifax," says Det. Andrew Matthews, with the Integrated Vice Unit in Halifax.

The group appears to be most active in Toronto and other Ontario cities.

However, police say the group continues to recruit girls and women from the Maritimes, move them to cities farther west and force them into the sex trade.

Provo says the gang's notoriety has been hard on the community. He says the term "finest" should be about the pride of the community, but it's also come to mean a pimping ring.

Provo says North Preston is a close community, where people take care of each other.

"I am the man I am today because of certain community members raising me and showing me how to be a man and setting great examples," he says. "So you know there's great people in North Preston and always will be great people in North Preston."

Colter Simmonds, executive director of the We Will Win Youth Association, lives in North Preston and says he'd rather focus on the community's success stories.

"We want better for our community, we want better for our youth, we want our youth to grow up in and the young kids to grow up believing they could make something out of their lives," he says.

Simmonds says the community is under-resourced and caught in a cycle of poverty. But he says there have been efforts made to improve the school system and to increase recreation and youth development programs.