Violence prevention. Cure violence.
So, believe it or not the City of Minneapolis does have an office of violence prevention, nestled in the city Health Department.
They are not afforded the same access to crime scenes and victims as the police department.
They do not receive anywhere near, not even a small fraction of the funding ($2.6 million per year compared to MPD $193.3 million).
Their staff is microscopic (less than 10 people) compared to the police staff of 800+ officers and 300+ support staff.
All that headwind and still they have shown some promising results. They have gotten the most results out of partnering with and investing in community (yes pay checks to community members).
So we should ask ourselves - if violent crime is what really stokes our fears and keeps us beholden to having an armed force to protect us, why are we investing nothing in violence prevention? Do we want violence to stay in our communities to justify the force? or do we want to cure violence?
Promising results.
Project LIFE, short for “Lifestyle in Transition for Empowerment,” is formerly known as group violence intervention and is run through the city’s Health Department. It began two years ago after Minneapolis officials reached out to researchers at John Jay University in New York City in their search for solutions to the city’s gun violence problem. Its 112 participants are considered to be at risk of violence, based on their criminal histories, social networks and prior exposure to violence. By focusing resources on the relatively small number of perpetrators, officials hope to ease the spiking gun violence in a city where seven out of every 10 shooting victims were black.
What works? Or could work?
Not long ago, the city of Richmond, Calif., was considered one of the most dangerous cities in America. There was a skyrocketing homicide rate fueled by gangs of young men settling personal or territorial disputes.
But today, the city of about 100,000 residents is called a national model for reducing gun violence. Many cities around the country are adopting their unconventional strategy to prevent violence --– which includes paying potential criminals to stay out of trouble.