Attacking Root Causes

Locals, who know Sunnydale's housing projects well, flattened a COVID-19 outbreak

https://missionlocal.org/2020/08/locals-who-know-sunnydales-housing-projects-well-flattened-a-covid-19-outbreak?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Lydia Chavez

Mission Local

5 August 2020

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Community leaders in Sunnydale, CA contained a coronavirus scare through swift responses, appeals to the community, contact tracing and establishing neighborhood test sites. An emphasis on public education in the neighborhood was also essential to the efforts. The hyperlocal response, which was unique to the community and catered to its needs, was lauded by health workers.

The surprising way to stop shootings that doesn't involve more cops and arrests

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/07/oakland-ceasefire-shootings-murder-rate-social-services-life-coach-boston-miracle-thomas-abt-david-kennedy-cat-brooks?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Samantha Michaels

Mother Jones

31 July 2020

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After two failed attempts, Oakland Ceasefire retooled its approach and since 2013 has been a significant factor in lowering homicides and nonfatal shootings. The program, used in various ways in many cities, identifies young men at high risk of getting shot or shooting others and then offers them life coaching and social services to keep them out of trouble. By de-emphasizing the role of police, pinpointing those most in need of help, boosting community involvement, and forming deeper personal relationships, the program is credited with a 32% reduction in gun homicides over a six-year study.

How a packed slum in Mumbai beat back the coronavirus, as India's cases continue to soar

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/how-a-packed-slum-in-mumbai-beat-back-the-coronavirus-as-indias-cases-continue-to-soar/2020/07/30/da859532-d039-11ea-826b-cc394d824e35_story.html?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Niha Masih

The Washington Post

31 July 2020

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The population of Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, made the region a hotspot for coronavirus transmission, but local officials' aggressive action plan – which included testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and increased sanitation efforts – helped quell the spread of the virus. Although the process was challenging for local doctors and the shutdown of normal day-to-day routines had a negative impact on the region's economy, Dharavi has already been able to begin the process of reopening.

Here's a radical idea that will change policing, transform prisons and reduce crime: treat criminals like human beings

https://thecorrespondent.com/622/heres-a-radical-idea-that-will-change-policing-transform-prisons-and-reduce-crime-treat-criminals-like-human-beings/765889997422-dc5fcc17?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Rutger Bregman

The Correspondent

31 July 2020

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Comparing Norway's and the United States' approaches to prisons and policing puts the lie to the American notion that being tough and unrelentingly punitive effectively addresses crime. In Norway, even people imprisoned for violent crimes, in maximum-security prisons, are treated with respect and kindness, with privileges that would be unthinkable in most American prisons. The results are telling: Norway's recidivism rate, the lowest in the world, is less than one-third of the U.S. rate. While prison costs are far higher per capita, the ultimate costs in lower crime make the Norwegian approach affordable.

As Murders Rise, New York City Turns to a Police Alternative

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-30/new-york-tries-police-alternatives-to-stop-crime?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Henry Goldman

CityLab

30 July 2020

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In New York City, 14 organizations have more than 200 people performing street outreach to intervene in potentially deadly gun crimes in at least 20 of the city's most violent "hot spots." These "violence interrupters" mediate disputes and offer social services in a process that relies on former gang members and others with street experience rather than police. While studies have shown mixed evidence of success, New York's programs have been credited with significant crime decreases. With violence on the rise after a long decline, the city is upping its budget for these programs to $39 million.

The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence

https://theappeal.org/the-defund-movement-aims-to-change-the-policing-and-prosecution-of-domestic-violence?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Jessica Pishko

The Appeal

28 July 2020

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Criminalizing domestic violence was considered a feminist-inspired advance for crime victims, but making arrests and prosecution the main responses to the problem has backfired in many ways. With funding and attention focused on punishment, other services for victims have been neglected. And expecting victims will aid in a prosecution, even jailing them for refusing, can ignore the rational choices many victims make for non-cooperation, based on their desire for safety, financial and housing security, to avoid maltreatment by police, and other reasons that point toward more promising responses.

Kentucky town hires social workers instead of more officers - and the results are surprising

https://www.wave3.com/2020/07/28/kentucky-town-hires-social-workers-instead-more-officers-results-are-surprising?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

David Mattingly

WAVE-TV

28 July 2020

Broadcast TV News / 3-5 Minutes

Alexandria, Kentucky's 17-officer police department avoided the expense of hiring more police officers by adding two social workers to assist police in responding to the types of calls that can often turn into repeat calls to 911. By working with people in domestic disturbances, mental health crises, or with substance abuse issues, the social workers connect families to services immediately, rather than awaiting a referral from the police after the crisis has passed. Repeat calls to 911 are down and the city saves up to $50,000 for each position where a social worker substitutes for a police hire.

India's tribal farmers tap solar irrigation to cut migration

https://news.trust.org/item/20200727113503-x3lsu?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Soumya Sarkar

Thomson Reuters Foundation

27 July 2020

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New solar-powered irrigation systems in the Chotanagpur Plateau region in India are giving farmers more dependable water and allowing them to diversify their crops, allowing them to also grow their income. Many farmers from a local village used to migrate to other places to search for work, but a new irrigation system has allowed them to grow cauliflower for a competitive price. While the cost of buying and installing a solar-powered irrigation system can be high, this form of irrigation could be more climate-friendly and help stabilize crop production.

As Prisons Cancel Visitation, The Phone Line Becomes A Life Line

https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/prisons-cancel-visitation-phone-line-becomes-life-line?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Amanda Peacher

Boise State Public Radio (KBSX)

27 July 2020

Radio / 3-5 Minutes

To alleviate the isolating effects of COVID-19 restrictions in prisons barring outside visitors, some prisons have encouraged phone and video contact with family by waiving the fees normally charged for such services. In Utah, the first 10 calls per week are free. Federal prisons have waived the charges entirely. Maintaining healthy family relationships has been shown to relieve prisoners' loneliness and anxiety, which equates to better behavior. And it reduces future lawbreaking by strengthening bonds that help in finding housing and jobs once the prisoners are released.

Baltimore's Violence Interrupters Confront Shootings, the Coronavirus, and Corrupt Cops

https://theintercept.com/2020/07/26/baltimore-safe-streets-public-health-gun-violence-police?utm_source=Solutions+Story+Tracker

Brandon Soderberg

Baynard Woods

The Intercept

26 July 2020

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Baltimore’s Safe Streets program, which uses a public-health approach to stopping the spread of community gun violence, mediated more than 1,800 conflicts in 2019 and is credited with preventing homicides altogether in one neighborhood, despite the city’s overall violent year. Since the program’s launch in 2007, studies have shown it to be effective in its use of “credible messengers” whose street savvy can be deployed to “interrupt” retaliatory violence. But the Baltimore program also illustrates tensions between such community-based programs and the police, especially when the police are corrupt.