Targeted Zip Code Areas 6/17/2016

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1 A GROUP APPROACH TO REDUCING VIOLENCE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FORENSIC SOCIAL WORKERS NEW ORLEANS, LA JUNE ADA Aishala Burgess, J.D. and Dr. Juan J. Barthelemy, Ph.D., LCSW-BACS On Behalf of the BRAVE Project Team Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination (BRAVE) Based on Project Cease Fire Designed to reduce and eliminate violent crimes committed by juveniles ages in the and zip codes Between Sept and Oct. 2012, we found that 43% of homicides occurred in 2 zip codes in the city (86 murders) Strongly concentrated among young, minority males with group or gang affiliations Awarded by the Department of Justice- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJPD) Targeted Zip Code Areas 1

2 In looking at the violent crime rate, it is readily apparent that there are crime hot spots within inner city neighborhoods clustered in 1-3 areas of town. We found that 40% of the violent crime was taking place in one zip code in Baton Rouge. We targeted that area for our grant writing and intervention plans. National Network for Safe Communities: Group Violence Reduction Strategy The National Network for Safe Communities (NNSC), housed within the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY), has developed an updated model of Operation Ceasefire called the Group Violence Reduction Strategy or GVRS. Professor David Kennedy is the architect of this model. Operation Ceasefire has received national recognition for reducing violence, especially gun violence, in Boston, Chicago and several other large urban cities. The original model of this program, focused more on law enforcement action, coupled with data driven information that provided the foundation for law enforcement decision making and activities, has been highly effective, as shown in numerous well designed evaluations. 2

3 The basic theory underlying Operation Ceasefire was that a small number of violent criminals were responsible for the majority of crimes. If law enforcement could identify and go after these offenders with undeniable evidence of their criminal activity, using strategic approaches to making an arrest that could not be thrown out, with the support of the community, violent crime rates could be significantly reduced. BRAVE Model Group Violence Reduction Strategy GVRS programs that have been implemented in various communities have shown that violence can be dramatically reduced when community members and law enforcement join together. A credible law enforcement message about the consequences of further violence; A credible moral community message against violence; A genuine offer of help for those who want it. An Inclusive Team was Formed To do this, a partnership of law enforcement, social service providers, and community members parents, school personnel, faith based representatives, outreach workers, nonprofits, and others is organized and becomes engaged in a community level intervention with violent groups. What are the primary components to the model? There is a team management model consisting of core members (Mayor s office, DA s office, US Attorney s office, law enforcement, research team, faith based, school, lead social service provider and juvenile justice); There is a strong project leader from the Baton Rouge Police Department who is very adept at community relations; Also includes a strong assistant project leader from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff s Office; There is a coordinated effort from multi-jurisdiction law enforcement, under a Violent Crime Unit organization; There is a well-organized interdisciplinary research team [social work, geography, sociology and human resource education [organizational psychology)]. 3

4 BRAVE Goals 1. Change community norms towards gang and group violence. 2. Provide alternatives to violent criminal offending for targeted youth, job training, employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing assistance, and other supportive services and opportunities. 3. Alter perceptions of youth regarding risks and sanctions associated with violent offending. BRAVE Methods Enforcement strategies Group audits, homicide reviews, call-ins Customized notifications Community focused Neighborhood clean-ups, canvassing Gun Buy Backs Teen Talks Data-driven Crime Trends Social Network Analysis Hot Spot Mapping Program Implementation Through these funding mechanisms, A significant number of community events have taken place to build support for the program Identification of target offense category in this case violent juvenile crime; Group Mapping to identify violent juvenile groups, their areas of operation, characteristics of each group with final production of list of violent groups and their members; o GIS Mapping o Social Network Analysis patterns of co-offending; who knows whom, who has been arrested with whom, etc. 4

5 Problem Identification Homicide reviews and incident reviews should inform your efforts The Focused Deterrence approach requires that you have a specific goal for your law enforcement initiative This approach requires a shift in the way you think about collaborations LSU CHSE School of Social Work, OSSRD 2013 LSU Gun Crimes by Age gun crimes Age 15 5

6 Violent Crime Statistics Update Hot Spot Mapping BRAVE: Before and After 6

7 * The boundary is shown as a red line while the three police zones experiencing the highest counts of homicide are indicated in solid red LSU 19 Social Network Analysis of Individual Offenders Social Network Analysis Baton Rouge s approximately 32 operational groups/gangs. They have approximately 495 members, with an average size is 15 members (ranging from 1 to 57 members), 64% of whom are juveniles. 7

8 Program Implementation 8 call ins have been conducted A number of people called in have accepted help A significant crack-down on one group the big money block boys, was conducted and 28 affiliates were arrested and charged with a large array of offenses Crime is Down Among Those Targeted for Call-In 8

9 J Contributors to Presentation: Cecile C. Guin, PhD, LCSW Director, Office of Social Service Research and Development and Professor- Research Principal Investigator- BRAVE School of Social Work, College of Human Science & Education Juan J. Barthelemy, PhD, LCSW-BACS, Co-Principal Investigator Assistant Professor-Professional Practice Co-Investigator - BRAVE School of Social Work, College of Human Sciences & Education jbarthel@lsu.edu Aishala Burgess, J.D. Assistant District Attorney Crime Strategies Unit East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney s Office Aishala.Burgess@ebrda.org Tracey E. Rizzuto, PhD., Industrial/Organizational Psychologist Associate Professor, Human Resource & Leadership Development Co-Investigator-BRAVE School of Human Resource Education & Workforce Development College of Human Science & Education trizzut@lsu.edu Jada Thomas-Smith Research Associate, Office of Social Service Research and Development School of Social Work jtsmith@lsu.edu Matthew R. Lee, PhD, Criminologist Senior Associate Vice Chancellor Office of Research & Economic Development Haojie Zhu, Doctoral Graduate Assistant Department of Geography and Anthropology hzhu8@.lsu.edu Aimee Moles, PhD, LCSW GIS Analyst School of Social Work, Office of Social Service Research and Development amoles@lsu.edu Elizabeth Winchester, PhD Research Associate, Office of Social Service Research and Development School of Social Work eatkins@lsu.edu Questions?? 26 9