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The Bronx tries new way to cure violence as US shootings surge

Joshua Chaffin

October 23, 2021 |

Financial Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence is a city-funded crew of "violence interrupters," former gang members or the formerly incarcerated who have enough street credibility to de-escalate disputes in ways the police often cannot. Founded in 2014, BRAG works in three "hot" zones, two of which have gone murder-free for more than five years. Such groups, using the Cure Violence public-health approach to gun-violence reduction, occupy an "uneasy niche in public safety" between the streets and police.

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When Abusers Keep Their Guns

Jennifer Gollan

October 09, 2021 |

Reveal |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Starting in 1968, Congress has passed a series of laws, as have some states, stripping gun possession rights from people convicted of felonies or of domestic violence, or who are the subjects of restraining orders. But neither federal nor most state authorities do much to enforce the laws, relying instead on an honor system that often fails. Some places, like Washington's King County (Seattle), have done more to track who has guns they are barred from having. Thorough follow-up enables them to confiscate such guns in a process that can be less potentially violent than assumed.

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Red Flag Laws Are Saving Lives. They Could Save More.

Matt Vasilogambros

October 05, 2021 |

Stateline |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted red-flag laws, most of them since the 2018 Parkland, Fla., school shooting. The laws, also called extreme risk protection order laws, allow law enforcement officials or family members to petition courts to confiscate guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. Use of the laws has grown and advocates say they have saved lives. But the growth has been slow, largely because of widespread ignorance of the laws among the public and even police. Some states have begun to fund education and training campaigns to rectify that.

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Parson acknowledges new gun law needs to be revisited after police say it ties their hands

Lauren Trager

September 28, 2021 |

KMOV-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Missouri

A new Missouri law, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, restricts the ability of local law enforcement officials to collaborate with federal officials in enforcing gun laws and investigating gun crimes. The law, which legislators meant as a statement of gun-rights principles, would fine police officers who violate it. Many local law enforcement officers withdrew from federal-local gun crime task forces and have otherwise stopped working with their federal counterparts. One department stopped submitting data to the federal ballistics database. Police say the law interferes with legitimate police work.

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Stopping Gun Violence, One Youth at a Time

Julie Reynolds Martinez

September 09, 2021 |

The Imprint |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Salinas, California

For more than 10 years, a pair of programs helped make major reductions in youth violence in Monterey County and the Salinas Valley by targeting the small number of people at highest risk of committing violence. That targeting led to a combination of law enforcement threats and social services help in the county's Group Violence Intervention program. When the money and enthusiasm for that dwindled, the strategy shifted to more carrot than stick, using the Advance Peace model of providing services to youth to put their lives on firmer footing.

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Why a Swedish city with a violent crime problem looked to US for solutions

Erika Page

September 08, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Malmö

Malmö's Sluta Skjut (Stop Shooting) program adopts a group violence intervention approach that has been used widely in the U.S. Gang members and others believed to be involved in street violence are summoned to "call-ins" to hear messages from law enforcement officials, community members, and social services providers. The overarching message: stop the violence, or go to prison; if you do stop, help is available to change your life. About 300 men have been called in, 49 of whom have accepted the offered help. Violence in the city has dropped since the program started.

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As homicides surged, Oakland's premier anti-violence program went quiet

Rachel Swan

September 07, 2021 |

San Francisco Chronicle |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Oakland Ceasefire's "delicate architecture" balancing law enforcement and community-based responses to gun violence, which seemed to have helped lower the city's gun violence by half since 2012, came crashing down during the pandemic. While arrests continued, the alternative offered to people at high risk of violence – an array of services to turn their lives around – withered with a virtual ban on in-person meetings. Violence in the city surged as years of progress unraveled. The program is working to rebuild, while questioning if it should distance itself more from the police.

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King County's rise in gun violence doesn't have an easy explanation

Nate Sanford

September 01, 2021 |

Crosscut |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Community Passageways does the kind of violence intervention work that the city of Seattle plans to invest in to expand its reach. Peer mentors reach out to young men at highest risk of suffering or committing violence. They mediate disputes and counsel the men on finding work and staying clear of criminal trouble. While this group has made progress in connecting people to jobs and other help, its effects on Seattle's recent surge in gun violence are unknown. Similar programs elsewhere, focusing on the same sets of conditions that cause much community violence, have been shown to be effective.

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Greensboro's Cure Violence program promotes healing over policing to prevent gun violence

Sayaka Matsuoka

September 01, 2021 |

Triad City Beat |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Greensboro, North Carolina

Greensboro's version of the Cure Violence program, called Gate City Coalition, has helped reduce homicides nearly to zero in the two neighborhoods where it operates. At a time of escalated gun violence, the Cure Violence approach seems to be working by mediating disputes before they turn violent, counseling against retaliation, and attacking the root causes of violence by helping residents connect with needed services. This "work on the whole individual" approach is based on the outreach workers' credibility in the community, as an alternative to the police.

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When Shootings Erupt, These Moms, Pastors And Neighbors Step In To Defuse Tension

Jasmine Garsd

August 14, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Rock Safe Streets in the Red Fern Public Houses of Far Rockaway, Queens, ramped up its violence interrupter work starting in 2020 as gun violence increased. Red Fern then went nearly a year without a single shooting. Violence interrupters work apart from the police, banking on the community's trust in formerly incarcerated counselors to mediate disputes before they turn violent. Success is measured in daily increments, and many other factors influence community violence. But the residents do what they can to influence those driving the violence.

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