A Hub for Justice

Cleveland has struggled through the years to reduce youth violence. But important lessons have been learned, here and elsewhere. City officials say they are factoring those lessons into their latest plans to reduce violence among young men in the city.

What if a computer program could tell you who was at risk for shooting someone or being shot themselves? This is now a reality for Chicago Police Department. By piloting the use of this technology, and assembly a cohort of cops, social workers, ministers and moms to visit the names of those the computer names, the city has seen a decrease in violence over the last year.

After charged discussions and protests around racial injustice within police departments, Baltimore set out to find a solution to bridge the divide created between the city's police force and the kids that lived in stereotyped neighborhoods. Using nature as a common ground, the Outward Bound Police Youth Challenge was born to bring the two sides together and teach them that they have more in common than they may think.

In New Hampshire, Manchester police have teamed with community organizations to proactively offer services to children who have experienced or witnessed trauma, before those very children grow up to repeat the cycle. The Advert Childhood Experiences Response Team (ACERT) "has contacted more than 1,000 children in about 700 families" since its inception in late 2015.

Stockton is courting philanthropists by billing itself as a budding hub of innovation for fighting poverty. The city is mitigating the risks of tapping private foundations to fund city services by identifying target policies and programs ahead of time.

While there is support among the Memphis government to remove statues of Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Tennessee state government has passed legislation which stymied local efforts. In response, the Memphis government passed a law to sell public parks to a private organization and legislators established an organization to purchase the parks where the statues were located. Through this legal means, the statues were removed and this action was outside the state’s jurisdiction.

The Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence in Quebec has expanded rapidly, becoming a model for programs around the world. What sets it apart from projects in Europe and the United States is that it confronts extremism of all stripes — not just Islamist — and focuses on behavior that signals the risk of violence, not just radical ideas, only involving law enforcement as a last resort.

Alternative programming that involves "restorative justice" models - such as having youth within the criminal justice system create art as a means of self expression instead of detaining them in a prison-like facility - are much more effective at preventing antisocial and criminal behavior in youth than involvement in the juvenile-justice system.

Non-profits like Active Change Foundation in London leverage community outreach and personal relationships to intervene on extremist behavior and prevent radical recruitment. But when attempting to partner with the government for resources and funding, they face challenges of credibility, discrimination, and mismanagement. As anti-radicalization efforts are stepped up in the USA, Twin Cities looks to learn from the mistakes and successes of this tricky parity.

In poor, crime-infected neighborhood with limited opportunities, where interactions with law enforcement are often toxic and punitive, and distrust on both sides is rampant. An integrated strategy is at the core of the model that can change this:"Operation Ceasefire," a form of targeted deterrence. The carrot-stick approach is carefully designed to reach men believed to be on the cusp of committing gun violence, let them know the consequences and help them fulfill their needs, thus finding a way to maybe change their trajectory into something more positive.