Baltimore Is Attacking the Roots of Violence with Public Health Measures—and Saving Lives (Scientific American)

Monday Oct 17th, 2016

In Baltimore, violence has become a near-daily occurrence. In 2015, for example, this city of more than 620,000 people saw 344 homicides. But by tackling violence as a public health issue, Baltimore is forging a new model for how to keep citizens safe.

In 2007 the city launched its Safe Streets program, modeled after the Cure Violence program in Chicago. Targeting high-risk youth, Safe Streets hires “violence interrupters” to mediate conflict before it has the chance to escalate into violence. These interrupters have often been incarcerated themselves in the past, which brings credibility and experience to their work on the streets.

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When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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