WYPR Midday — Do Violence Interruption Programs Work? Some Critical Perspectives

September 20, 2021

When a Safe Streets outreach worker intervenes in a dispute and turns people who are arguing about something away from violent resolution of the conflict, is that something that can be tracked and quantified easily? It’s hard to collect data on events that haven’t happened.
WYPR Midday hosts a discussion about the effectiveness of violence interruption programs. Tom is joined by three people who collect data about this and study the issue from different perspectives.

Guests:
Dr. Jeffrey Butts is a Research Professor and the Director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
Amos Gelb is the director of the Washington Media Institute, and the publisher of Baltimore Witness and DC Witness, organizations that track those accused of violent crimes through the judicial system.
LaTrina Antoine is the editor-in-chief of Baltimore Witness and DC Witness, and focuses on data and the reporting that her staff does about violence and the court system.