REIMAGINE SAFETY: A project of the Editorial Board, in conversation with outside voices

March 16, 2021

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In many cities, “Cure Violence” programs deploy trusted messengers — often formerly incarcerated community members — to reach out to people at high risk of violence. These programs have had some stunning effects. An evaluation from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that a Cure Violence program in New York reduced gun injuries by almost 40 percent; in Baltimore, a Cure Violence program saw up to a 44 percent reduction in shootings, according to a report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Violence intervention is often highly technical and can be executed poorly, so training and technical assistance are important. The work relies on assets that can’t be manufactured overnight — deep community knowledge, trusting relationships and trained interventionists, to name a few. …

[ read the entire article at Washington Post ]