The Fayetteville Observer's search for crime solutions takes us to Memphis

To decrease the amount of gun-related fatalities, cities are focusing on joint efforts with their communities and police departments to target those most at risk for shooting or being shot on the streets. Known nationally as Ceasefire, this initiative aims to identify the individuals from this selected target group - and open a dialogue about their options and the consequences of gun-related retaliation. Nationally, the program has had some trouble sustaining when the cities rely too much on the police department, but when it works, shooting have decreased dramatically.

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.

A law-enforcement strategy known as the "focused deterrence" approach involves identifying people most at risk to commit or to be victimized by crime — often the same individuals — and hosts meetings where they are offered resources to break the cycle, or, face serious legal consequences. The approach has worked so well in places like Kansas City, Boston, and High Point, that Milwaukee is looking at how to replicate the results.

New York Police Department has Operation Ceasefire, in which a mother whose child was a victim of gun violence calls gang members at risk of perpetuating similar crimes. The effort aims to bridge the divide between ethnic minority communities and the police with community pressure on behalf of the police.

In order to cut carbon emissions in France, President Emmanuel Macron created an assembly of 150 randomly selected citizens. The citizens "convention on climate" met and deliberated for months before releasing 149 proposals on how the government should address climate change. Although only 10 made it into law without being altered, and 36 others were included form, the final legislation was one of the most comprehensive passed in the history of the country. The recommendations also garnered conversations and inspired the creation of other assemblies.

Women are especially vulnerable to gun violence from domestic partners. New state and federal laws are being proposed and passed which require abusers to give up their firearm after a temporary restraining order is filed, others are trying to prevent anyone with an abusive history from being able to obtain a gun.

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.

After serious issues with excessive force and police discrimination reached a head in East Haven, Conn., major department overhauls that focused on more diverse hiring, de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention, and conflict resolution have led to much healthier law enforcement for the community. Their model offers hopeful lessons to Seattle and other cities whose police departments also have been required to adopt federally mandated reforms.

In Chicago, a white police officer shot Laquan McDonald, a young black man, 16 times, for refusing to stop. The city created a task force in the midst of an already existing investigation by the Department of Justice into the Chicago Police Department’s use of force. "The No. 1 good thing about these federal interventions is they force local municipalities to face the issue of police misconduct head-on.”

Los Angeles used to be a hotbed of racial profiling and unrest. Now, in the wake of Ferguson and the police killings in Brooklyn, Chief Charlie Beck thinks his force could be a model for the rest of the nation. The dept. has worked hard in recent years to create a police department that reflects the city it serves and has made fundamental progress on key civil rights issues.