Meet two career criminals from Calgary who say they’re changing their ways after dozens of convictions, and years spent behind bars.
GUY GORRELL
After decades spent in and out of jail, Gorrell says he’s ready to start a new path.
“I have 135 convictions, I’ve been in custody 34 times,” say Gorrell. “I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is.”
Gorrell says he got involved in criminal activity when he was just 12 years old.
Soon Gorrell was stealing and doing drugs as a way to fit in.
“I didn’t know how to socialize with people in the community, as far as… being honest with who I was,” says Gorrell.
But recently, after decades of crime, Gorrell realized this isn’t what he wanted his life to be.
He is now a part of the province’s Priority Prolific Offender Program, which attempts to get repeat offenders off the streets and help them turn their lives around.
He says he’s been clean for 11 months and 16 days.
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“I wanna deal with everything because in a year I want to be working, renting a place, owning my own car being accepted back in the community… and that’s what my goal is,” says Gorrell.
Ryan Laveck
Ryan Laveck is a career criminal whose life of crime started when he was just 14-years-old.
“The guy I was hanging out with, he was a little older,” explains Laveck. “I wasn’t very good with making friends, because I was different.”
Laveck has Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movement and vocalizations.
“I was always bullied,” adds Laveck. “Then I met this older guy, he was kinda cool to me… treated me nice.”
Laveck was later charged with being a passenger in a stolen vehicle.
Years later, he has nearly 100 convictions for property-related offences, and has been in jail 27 times.
Now, Laveck is taking the steps to turn his life around. He is also a part of the province’s Priority Prolific Offender Program.
Both Laveck and Gorrell are in a residential recovery program, supporting each other in their quest to stay out of trouble.
“We’re all helping each other along,” says Laveck.
Both men say they’re dealing with their issues and working through their problems so they can stay out of trouble.
“The last time I got arrested it was not what I wanted,” says Laveck. “It hurt me to actually watch the people that I loved get hurt. That really hit home.”
PRIORITY PROLIFIC OFFENDER PROGRAM
The Priority Prolific Offender Program (PPOP) was launched in 2008, to help repeat offenders turn their lives around.
“We try to deal with some of the underlying issues that they have, that may be encouraging them to offend… like mental illness drug or alcohol addiction or gambling addiction,” says Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Jonathan Denis.
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