Community members and leaders are searching for a solution as violent crime rises across the United States. Too often, the default response of politicians has been to pump more money into policing.
Traditionally, cities have responded to community-level violence by increasing the presence of a militarized police force. This solution has repeatedly failed. A new solution, one that comes from within the community itself, offers a new way forward: violence interrupters.
There are many solutions to community-based violence, but one main one is violence interrupters. This work goes to the heart of the Quaker Peace testimony by reducing violence in communities.
Violence interrupters or “credible messengers” as they’re sometimes called identify those most likely to commit violence, they intercede, mentor, teach nonviolence, provide alternative thought processes, and alter the group norms that would sustain or perpetuate violence.
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