OPINION: A fresh approach to gang violence
The sad reality is that the threat of serving a long stretch in state prison is not enough to curb gun violence. Gang members in the toughest neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens know the penalties for possession of a loaded gun and are not phased. Some even see prison or violent death as the inevitable end of the road.
However, a new approach to countering gun violence, sponsored by the city, appears to be working. Save Our Streets (S.O.S), one of a growing number of taxpayer-financed “violence interrupter” groups is having an impact here in New York.
Save Our Streets targets gang members who have been sucked into the culture of violence and is manned in part by former gang members. “We’re the foot soldiers,” said Rudy Suggs, a former drug dealer and SOS supervisor. “We’re the ones that come out here late at night, looking for the at-risk youth that’s out here selling drugs, gambling, doing stuff that they shouldn’t be doing.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.