TW: gun violence, homicide
Carlisha Hood felt hungry. She stood in a take-out line to buy lunch while her son, 14, waited in the car. Jeremy Brown felt even hungrier. He stood right behind Hood. When Brown heard Hood asking for a special order that would take a long time to prepare, he lost it. He punched Hood in the head just before Hood’s son came in. The boy saw Brown punching his mother once, then a second time; then the boy pulled out his gun and fired.
The scene, relayed by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker, occurred in Chicago and came from Jens Ludwig’s new book Unforgiving Places on gun violence. Stories like that have policy makers upset, but they happen far too often. Richard Mendel’s report “From Punishment to Prevention: A Better Approach to Addressing Youth Gun Possession,” published by The Sentencing Project, summarized ideas to minimize youth gun possession and to reduce youth and young adult gun violence.
“I was 11 years old, and I bought a .32 revolver from a homeless man who lived in an alleyway behind my house in Modesto,” said San Quentin Rehabilitation Center resident Carlos Valdez, 35. “It was to protect my mom, to keep drug addicts out of my house so that they would not sell drugs to my mom. I bought it for $12. It was an old and rusted gun that had three bullets. It was normal, and I normalized it. That was my introduction to guns.” Unlike Hood’s son, Valdez never fired it.
The Sentencing Project report said, “In 2022, gunshots took the lives of 2,526 young people,” and “Roughly 5% of youth in the United States ages 12 to 17 – more than a million young people – carry a firearm each year.” Then it admitted, “This high rate of gun possession is not new.”
Ludwig’s book and Mendel’s report agreed that “unlike gun possession, which is widespread in all areas of the country, actual gun violence is highly concentrated geographically, and it is committed primarily by a very narrow segment of the youth and young adult population.” The two publications also agreed on a solution: Mendel said to start with the identification of reasons for gun violence, followed by strategic intervention.
“America’s gun violence problem is highly concentrated geographically, and even within high crime neighborhoods, only a small number of people … comprise most of both the shooters and the victims.” That “small number,” the report said, meant typically young men. The report recommended development, funding, and support for effective community violence interruption efforts in areas with widespread gun violence.
Mendel’s report complained about aggressive law enforcement and inflexible and punitive court responses to youth gun possession that “damage young people’s futures [and] exacerbate the justice system’s already glaring racial disparities.” Transferring youth to adult court and placing youth in locked detention centers would worsen recidivism outcomes, he added.
Diversion in gun possession cases would work better, Mendel kept writing throughout his report. Mendel also strongly favored cognitive behavioral interventions for youth at high risk for gun violence. Mendel’s report said, “Public health experts agree that the most effective strategies to reduce gun violence among both youth and young adults are not found in law enforcement and court prosecution.”
One such plan, the report said, would “employ social workers as well as ‘credible messengers’ … who work directly with young men at highest risk for gun crimes.”
These “credible messengers” would consist of “individuals with experience in the justice system, many of them formerly incarcerated.” They would engage in partnership with law enforcement and community organizations.
Credible messenger mentors supported participants in the 18-month Peacemaker Fellowship program in the development of life plans. Participants also enrolled in cognitive-behavioral therapy, anger management, and substance abuse treatment for which they earned $1,000/month in stipends. The success showed that new gun charges dropped by 90% and citywide gun violence fell 18% and by 29% in one targeted neighborhood.
“This sounds like a good idea,” said resident Douglas Tigges, 63, incarcerated for gun violence. This would mean jobs for when we get out and give us a chance to make a positive contribution to society.” Tigges added, “Once you pull that trigger, you can’t get that bullet back.”
The “Credible Messenger” violence interruption initiatives have a proven record of accomplishment in reducing gun violence:
New Haven, Conn.: average monthly shootings down 73%
Boston: youth homicides down 63%
East New York: gun violence injuries down 50%
Cincinnati: gang-related homicides down 41%
South Bronx: gun violence injuries down 37%
New Orleans: gang-related homicides down 32%