The Role of the Community in Reducing Crime and Violence

The FBI reported last week that homicides dropped during the first half of last year. What’s behind this promising news? Can the numbers be reduced even more? What about other violent and nonviolent crimes? Bob’s guests are Chief Rodney Monroe, Police Chief in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Arthur “Rico” Rush and Tyrone Parker, founders of the Alliance of Concerned Men. Chief Monroe has been Chief of Police in Richmond, Virginia, and Assistant Chief in Washington, DC, where he was instrumental in working with neighborhood groups to reduce crime and bring civil order to some of the District’s most violence-plagued neighborhoods. The Alliance is a group of men who grew up in some of the most troubled neighborhoods of Washington, DC and faced and overcame their own challenges over the years. As adults, they came together and decided to use their experiences and their street influence to try to help young people avoid the mistakes they had made. Over the years they have brought together gang members and created truces, and they have helped hundreds of young people turn away from the street life to become responsible young adults.