Philly wants to bring back a version of an old strategy to fight gun violence. Specifics are pending.

Chris Palmer

December 06, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Starting in 2013, Philadelphia's focused deterrence program was credited with 35% fewer shootings in its targeted neighborhoods. The program featured "call-ins" where law-enforcement agencies would threaten potentially violent people with prosecution. On the flip side, they could receive services that help them establish a different lifestyle. As the program shifted away from the services "carrots," and was left only with the "stick," the program foundered. In 2019, the city sought to revive it as a "group violence intervention" program with a greater emphasis on services over law enforcement.

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After positive results, Minneapolis looks to expand anti-violence program

Jessica Lee

November 18, 2019 |

MinnPost |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

About 40% fewer people were shot in gang-related disputes in Minneapolis during one interval in the first year of the city's Group Violence Intervention initiative. The program uses "call-ins" where people at high risk of shootings meet with law enforcement and other agencies. There they are offered incentives, including needed services, to stop the shootings. It also puts former gang members on the streets, without police involvement, to mediate disputes and counsel young men prone to violence. Based on the initial results, officials planned to expand the program to more parts of the city.

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Armed with trumpets, S. African men fight crime against women

Kim Harrisberg

September 30, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Johannesburg

Volunteers patrol Soweto township streets, blowing vuvuzelas – the long, plastic trumpets of World Cup fame – to alert women that it is safe to commute to their train or bus stops. The male-led campaign is a response to high rates of street violence, much of it gender-based, and the failure of the police to respond effectively. Thousands of volunteers work in groups of up to 15 to provide the service, which police credit with lowering robberies and other street crime. The patrols often intervene when they witness violence.

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If violence spreads like a disease, it can be interrupted. How a new team in Milwaukee is trying to stop one shooting leading to another.

Ashley Luthern Sydney Czyzon

September 25, 2019 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee’s 414LIFE program is treating violence like a public health issue, seeking to interrupt and prevent its spread. The pilot program is a collaboration between the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, local nonprofits, and hospitals and healthcare networks. The initiative works closely with victims of violence to make sure they have the support and resources they need to prevent violent retaliation and employs people who are from the communities they’re responding to in an effort to take a hyper-local response.

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Fighting Gun Violence in Chicago, With Trees, Rakes, and Cleanup Crews

Brian Freskos

September 18, 2019 |

The Trace |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is trying something new when it comes to violence prevention: beautifying public spaces that have been known to be places of violence. The city has launched an official pilot program called Grounds for Peace, which partners with READI Chicago to provide jobs within the initiative to at-risk men. While the effort to beautify has shown a decrease in gun violence in other cities, Chicago residents approach this with caution, as the neighborhoods its working within are often neglected.

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What Gun Violence Prevention Looks Like When It Focuses on the Communities Hurt the Most

Elizabeth Van Brocklin

July 10, 2019 |

The Trace |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Across the United States, gun violence prevention initiatives are finally turning their attention to the urban communities hit hardest and supporting community-driven approaches. In the past, financial support has gone to linear, legislative approaches to gun control that often favor white communities, but the tides are turning. Funding has shifted to focus on initiatives that provide trauma recovery centers, hospital-based centers, and programs that provide communities hit the hardest with mentorship, job training, and therapy – all initiatives that have proven to help break the cycle of gun violence.

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What if Fort Worth hired ex-convicts to fight violent crime? It's working elsewhere

Nichole Manna

June 24, 2019 |

Fort Worth Star-Telegram |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

Within a year of founding its Office of Neighborhood Safety to prevent gun violence, Richmond saw its most violent neighborhood drop from 27 murders to three. The program pairs former gang members and formerly incarcerated men with people deemed at risk of shooting others or getting shot. The mentors are paid a salary by the city, and the program "fellows" get paid a stipend if they stay out of trouble and respond well to the program's life-skills counseling. The program expanded citywide and to other cities, based on its record of keeping fellows alive and shootings in decline.

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A Program Gives Jobs To Those Most At Risk For Violence; Can Chicago Afford It?

Patrick Smith

June 06, 2019 |

WBEZ |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

An anti-violence program in Chicago called the Rapid Employment and Development Initiative, or READI, identifies and engages with those most vulnerable to partake or be a victim of gun violence, and provides them with the support they need to avoid it. Born out of a collaboration between the University of Chicago’s Crime and Education Lab and various philanthropical efforts, READI gives participants job counseling and therapy to cope with current and past traumas. While it’s seen demonstrable success, it hopes to expand with the financial support from the city.

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California: Epicenter of Mass Incarceration Reform

Abbie Vansickle Manny Faces

June 04, 2019 |

News Beat |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Stockton, California

Following a Supreme Court mandate requiring California to address prison overcrowding, the state has taken numerous initiatives to reduce sentences, relocate inmates, set higher accountability measures for law enforcement, and allocate more funding for re-entry programs. While these measures have been implemented across the state, the city of Stockton has been a leader after electing the nation’s youngest – and Stockton’s first African American – mayor, Michael Tubbs. Since then, the city has adopted reforms such as universal basic income and mentorship programs and has witnessed a 40% drop in homicides.

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The Indigenous Guardians of the Amazon Rainforest

Max Baring Karla Mendes

May 13, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

Video |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Brazil

The Guardians of the Forest is an indigenous volunteer group who patrols protected areas of the Amazon rainforest being destroyed by illegal logging. Volunteers seek out and destroy logging camps, chase loggers off the land, educate locals about the harms, and advocate for government resources. The loggers use violence, but the Guardians use non-violent techniques to protect uncontacted tribes, stop deforestation and species extinction, and protect indigenous culture. Despite federal obstacles, some local officials express a desire to integrate the work of the Guardians into official conservation efforts.

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