Violence interrupters working in NYC

Wall Street Journal- They have prior criminal records but now aim to resolve neighborhood conflicts before they turn violent. They walk neighborhood streets on a daily basis and use their connections to resolve disputes before they escalate, requiring the police.

These “violence interrupters” and their tactics helped to drive down crime in East New York and the South Bronx, two neighborhoods analyzed in a John Jay College of Criminal Justice report.

The city began implementing 18 such programs around the city from the global nonprofit Cure Violence in 2010, drawing funds from the U.S. Department of Justice. East New York and the South Bronx recorded steeper declines in shootings compared with two neighborhoods without the programs, the college said.

In Brooklyn’s East New York, 50% fewer people were admitted to hospitals with gunshot wounds from 2005 to 2016, according to the state Department of Health.

Flatbush, a Brooklyn neighborhood with similar demographics and population, saw a 5% decline in shooting injuries during the same period.

In the South Bronx, with the Cure Violence program in place, there were 37% fewer people shot from 2005 to 2016, according to the report. There were 29% fewer people shot during the same period in East Harlem, which doesn’t have the program.