Do you believe that an America WITHOUT urban gun violence is attainable? Some urban communities in America believe so. A small city in Northern California believed they could put an end to the crisis of gun violence that was plaguing their community by improving the health and wellbeing of those most affected by gun violence.
More than 117,000 people are shot in America annually. Gun homicides are disproportionately concentrated in urban areas, particularly in impoverished and underserved communities of color. Such neighborhoods are too often plagued by homicide rates on par with war zones.
Frequently, both public and community-based systems of care fall short in their efforts to provide responsive opportunities and resources to those most involved with and affected by urban gun violence. Because those who are suspected of gun crimes in urban communities have often already been failed by the available systems of care, those who need the services most are least likely to trust the systems that provide them.
In 2009, the police department of Richmond, California, told Devone Boggan, then the director of the citys Office of Neighborhood Safety, that less than 30 men were responsible for 70% of the citys gun crime, which contributed to the citys less than flattering distinction of being ranked among the top 12 most dangerous cities in America.
The following year, Boggan responded by creating and launching the Peacemaker Fellowship model, which would become the core of Advance Peace.
Advance Peace interrupts gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by providing transformational opportunities to young men involved in lethal firearm offenses and placing them in a high-touch, personalized fellowshipthe Peacemaker Fellowship.
By working with and supporting a targeted group of individuals at the core of gun hostilities, Advance Peace bridges the gap between anti-violence programming and a hard-to-reach population at the center of violence in urban areas, thus breaking the cycle of gun hostilities and altering the trajectory of these mens lives.
Advance Peace works with both public and community-based stakeholders to establish responsive community-driven strategies that achieve high-impact outcomes for those caught in the cycle of urban gun violence.
Advance Peace reduces gun violence, improves the general health and wellbeing of its Fellows, and increases public safety in the cities/neighborhoods where it is instituted. As a result of their efforts, Richmond, California, experienced a 66% reduction in firearm assaults causing injury or death between 2010 and 2017.
The City of Stockton has their own version of Advance Peace. Stockton is about to award stipends of up to $1,000 a month to residents deemed most likely to shoot somebody. This program is modeled after a crime reduction program in the Bay Area city of Richmond.
The idea is that a small number of people are responsible for a large percentage of violence in the City of Stockton. City leaders are offering them an alternative path with counseling and case management over an 18-month period, along with a stipend if they stay the course. Stockton leaders believe this can be a good investment all around.
Answer the following questions:
Q# 1 What is your opinion of the Advance Peace initiative introduced by the City of Richmond, CA? (reasons for initiation, purpose, results, participants, etc.) Be specific.
Q# 2 What role can police agencies play in initiating, supporting, and advocating for programs like Advance Peace? (Name at least two and briefly explain).
Q# 3 How can this movement help improve community relations with local police agencies? (be specific)
Q# 4 How do you feel about paying people $1,000 to not shoot somebody? What message does that send to the community? Would you agree to raise personal/property taxes to pay for this program? (Be specific).
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