Posted November 28, 2016 2:14 pm by Comments

By Jenn Jacques

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Authorities in Minneapolis, MN are rolling out a new program in an effort to smother the city’s gang problem: rewarding at-risk citizens with government assistance for following the law.

The program, called Group Violence Intervention or GVI, will use a predictive policing program to identify at-risk individuals “most likely to perpetrate gun violence” in the city to separate them from their family and peers for an intervention with police, community and civic leaders. Those who decide to take the advice to follow the law will be offered social services, including education, job training and mental health counseling.

“From a public health approach, we want to make sure that trauma, particular community trauma, is a major part of the work that we’re doing,” said Minneapolis’ youth violence prevention coordinator Sasha Cotton, who is spearheading the effort. “We know that trauma motivates people to behave differently.”

“You can walk around the North Side for nine months to look for a good job,” said community organizer Spike Moss. “You can walk around the North Side for nine minutes to find a bag of dope.”

Through Nov. 21, 2016, 317 people have been shot in Minneapolis, compared with 239 during the same period last year. And while the …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms

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