David M. Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control, professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and author of Don't Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America, talks about his search for a solution to urban street violence, resulting in the "Boston Miracle," where youth homicide dropped by two-thirds.
Comments [7]
One of the things rather easy to miss in why the better strategy was so unexpectedly effective is a change in the environment.
The drug cultures of the 1980's were very resilient. What kept the crime suppression efforts from working then was partly that just as fast as criminals were pulled off the "street corners" the community kids would join in to claim their roles and fill the empty slot... In 1990 that replacement process broke down.
I did a study of it, and lots of interviews. What was consistent with the evidence was that there was a moment, in the summer of 1990, when ALL the messages started getting though to the families and the kids. The math is such, that as of that summer the community simply stopped supplying the street crime culture with new volunteers.
What else occurred at the same time in the youth culture?? One was the emergence of "something better to do" in the form of Hip-Hop becoming a legitimate counter culture in itself.
http://www.synapse9.com/cw/crimewave_nys2.htm
The book is cheaper at Abebooks.
We are outraged. We call the police constantly. They say they cannot send police to our neighborhood because they all have to be in an "impact zone" so our blocks are left alone and unpoliced. There is no preventive crime presence. This was admitted by the police themselves.
This is pretty fascinating to listen to, as a former resident of Boston, and a current resident of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Has the author had any contact with the NYPD, specifically in Brooklyn?
Parts of Bed-Stuy are rife with young men with guns. I have witnessed 4 shootings in the span of 2 months, and recently, those shootings claimed the life of an innocent bystander.
How do the gang members explain their seeming disregard for human life, and their impulse to solve petty disputes via gunfire? Do THEY think this makes their neighborhoods dangerous and depressing to live in?
To the caller: You're right, there's no real public outrage.
What about trying to make the family structure better in these areas. These gang members must have some sort of family.
Newburgh? Is it really better? Not from the news reports I read.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.