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How a US strategy is helping gang members in Malmö turn their lives around

Anne Grietje Franssen

April 29, 2021 |

The Local |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Malmö

When drug-gang violence reached intolerable levels in Malmö in 2017, Swedish crime prevention officials traveled to New York for tips. There they learned about a gang violence intervention strategy in which gang members are summoned to a meeting with law enforcement, community, and social-services representatives. They are told about the harm they are causing, are offered help in changing their lifestyle, and are warned that they will be prosecuted otherwise. In Malmö since then, hundreds heard that message, dozens accepted the help, and violence dropped significantly year after year.

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Philly Under Fire Episode 4: A Fresh 24

Jo Piazza

April 29, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's PowerCorpsPHL and a larger program it resembles, Chicago's CRED, spring from one reality: Young men prone to gun violence will readily leave street violence and the underground economy if offered the opportunity for a legitimate job. In Philly, the strategy worked even when the jobs barely pay minimum wage. When pay jumped $3 per hour, the rate at which program participants got arrested dropped from 8% to 3% immediately, versus the city average recidivism rate of about 50%. The programs also provide GED classes, trauma counseling, and other services meant to change lives permanently.

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What Dallas can learn from Oakland's experience in lowering violent crime

Krista M. Torralva

April 25, 2021 |

Dallas Morning News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

The "striking resemblance" between the gun violence problems of Oakland in 2012 and Dallas in 2020 argue in favor of Dallas' adoption of Oakland's Operation Ceasefire approach to violence reduction. By using a "focused deterrence" strategy of targeting people most at risk of committing or suffering violence, and offering services to change their lives' trajectory, Oakland saw six consecutive years of violence reductions, cutting gun violence rates in half. The program was disrupted by the pandemic, but its reliance on community resources and not just law enforcement is seen as a lasting effect.

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Part 1: Juvenile Court Diversion is Cheap and Effective, But Inconsistent Across NH

Jordyn Haime

April 24, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Juvenile court diversion programs provide an alternative to charging minors with a crime. The initiative focuses on holding juveniles accountable and focusing on “community repair,” with the aim of preventing them from committing a crime again.

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Prioritizing Incarcerated People for Vaccine Quickly Reduced COVID in Illinois Prisons

Brian Dolinar

April 24, 2021 |

Truthout |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Illinois

After incarcerated people, their families, and advocates pressured the state of Illinois to prioritize offering the Covid vaccines to those in prison, the rate of Covid transmission among the population significantly declined. Although the rollout did not go entirely smoothly and guards have been reluctant to receive the shot, 69% of the incarcerated population in the state have been vaccinated.

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"Get In Front of the Beef"

Jo Piazza

April 22, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's Cure Violence program uses violence interrupters whose street credibility can mediate disputes before they turn deadly. This program and a related group violence intervention program, focused deterrence, have been successful in certain neighborhoods. But the city's support has been inconsistent as competing priorities or lack of focus undercut the programs' effectiveness. Oakland's Ceasefire program provides an example of a long-term success in a marriage of law enforcement, community-led interventions, and data showing whom to target and what is working.

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Restorative Justice Part 1: Juvenile Court Diversion is Cheap and Effective, But Inconsistent Across NH

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

New Hampshire's 40-year-old system of diverting many juvenile prosecutions away from courts and incarceration, and into community-based restorative justice programs, has saved public money, lowered youth crime rates, and changed lives. By addressing root causes of lower-level offenses, the programs provide treatment to youth who apologize and atone for their offenses, and who then often perform community service projects to erase their arrest record. But there are many fewer resources now than at the program's start, creating an uneven and inequitable patchwork of available services statewide.

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Restorative Justice Part 3: In Vermont, Restorative Justice Under Statute May Not Lead to Equitable Services

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Reacting to troubling trends in incarceration in the 1980s, Vermont legislators created a system of community justice centers to give its justice system a distinct rehabilitative rather than punitive slant. The CJCs exist in every county and involve the community in repairing the harm from crimes, following a restorative justice approach. Though gaps in data on race mask Vermont's racial disparities in criminal justice, the system saves money and spares many people incarceration, while giving crime victims and communities a more direct say in how to hold people accountable for the harm they cause.

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Would You Dine in This Prison?

Alasdair Lane

April 20, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

The Clink operates in four British prisons, teaching haute-cuisine cooking skills and then helping its formerly incarcerated trainees establish productive lives once they're released. The training inside prison features restaurants that cater to the public, plus teaching the skills needed to find and keep a job on the outside. When graduates of the program showed the same inclination to commit more crimes as other formerly incarcerated people, the program provided more reentry supports that have contributed to much lower rates of re-offending. The program plans to expand to 70 more prisons in the UK.

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Restorative Justice Part 2: "There is no Champion”

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

In some New Hampshire counties, diversion programs give some people charged with generally low-level crimes the opportunity to make amends, get treatment for underlying problems, and move on in life without a criminal record. While data are spotty, one county showed that people who went through its program committed fewer offenses afterward. But a lack of statewide standards and funding means that such opportunities are not available uniformly.

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