David Kennedy has been getting a lot of attention across the nation with his unorthodox — but successful — methods of lowering violent crime in urban areas. He’s the director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. I first heard about Kennedy through the Smart City radio broadcast (you can listen to his interview by clicking here), and subsequently started reading up on him and his methods.
There’s a misunderstanding, says Kennedy, about what causes violent crime in inner cities. Conventional wisdom is that drugs are the common denominator in gang violence, but that’s not necessarily the case. In an article Kennedy wrote for the Washington Post in 2006, he explains:
My research … shows that in hard-hit neighborhoods, the violence is much less about drugs and money than about girls, vendettas and trivial social frictions. These are often referred to as “disputes” in police reports and in the media. But such violence is not about anger-management problems. The code of the streets has reached a point in which not responding to a slight can destroy a reputation, while violence is a sure way to enhance it. The quick and the dead are not losing their tempers; they are following shared — and lethal — social expectations.
I’ve heard shooters say, in private, that they wanted no part of what happened. But with their friends and enemies watching — and the unwritten rules clear to everybody — they did what they had to do.
The key to fighting violence is to change the social expectations in the group so that there’s pressure not to resolve conflict with violence. Unfortunately, the police don’t have much influence within these groups. But Kennedy says they could, if they changed their methods. Here’s an example (from a recent Newsweek story) of what that looks like:
In a 2004 experiment in High Point, N.C., Kennedy got the cops to try a new way of cleaning up the corners. They rounded up some young dealers; showed a videotape of them dealing drugs; and readied cases, set for indictment, that would have meant hard time in prison rather than helping them by sending them to one of the delray beach rehab centres. Then they let the kids go. Working with their families, the police helped the dope dealers find job training and mentors. The message, which spread quickly through the neighborhood, was that the cops would give kids a second chance—but come down aggressively if they didn’t take it. The police won back trust they had lost long ago (if they ever had it). After four years, police in High Point had wiped the drug dealers off the corner. They compared the numbers to the prior four years and found a 57 percent drop in violent crime in the targeted area….
One crime-infested Nashville neighborhood where Kennedy’s program was used saw a 91 percent drop in crime and prostitution in 2008, largely attributable to Kennedy’s good-cop, bad-cop approach…. The most effective cops are not the ones who make buy-busts, but who can find a dealer, show him photos of him committing a crime and give him a genuine choice: get straight or go to jail.
Hard to believe, and yet the results speak for themselves. As Newsweek summarized, “Cops were initially wary of Kennedy’s methods, which some mocked as ‘hug-a-thug.’ But Kennedy is much in demand now.”
So in demand, in fact, that his methods may be tried soon in our fair city. I wrote to Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard to ask him if he had ever heard of Kennedy and what he thought of his methods. The answer I got back surprised me: “I have a team being trained by Kennedy and his staff. More news soon.”
I’ll be standing by for the news.
The Thomas Theorem is a basic sociological principle. It is good to see someone practicing it. Our “peace through victory” mentality is destroying us and our future.
Wow. Great reporting and an encouraging response from the Police Chief!
Are there statistics that back up Kennedy’s claims?
Totally off topic here:
My wife purchased something from Junction City last week. She got home and looked at the receipt and she was charged a flat 10% tax.
Any idea why? Is the Heights sales tax 10%? Is Junction City technically Peoria?
So Does this spell the end of the “broken window” plan? Quality of life issues to go by the wayside for a new approch? It remids me of past “fix It” programs Weed & Seed,Neighborhood policing, POP,Focus oriented policeing and who knows what now they will call it. To bad as a city we cant follow through on a program such as the wees & seed but it was run as a cash cow and no seeding was done. As a community we go for the quick fix and new flash in the pan and pin all our hopes that the new plan will solve our old problems. We never start a plan and finsh it or even worse we don’t implement all of the needed parts of the plan and wonder why it did not do what it should (weed & seed). Even if this new approch works would all of the people assigned tasks do there part ? States Attorney? Judges? Jail? Feds?County? Public? Other City departments? There need to be one cohesive “plan and ALL work towards that goal but each stakeholder has there “kingdom” and we will never come together as one. I am negative but I have spent a better part of my life at forums, meetings and other planning sessions and don’t see any changes in my little part of the East Bluff, in fact it has been getting worse.
I’m inclined to believe that there very well may be something to this theory. In my experience with fighting in schools, kids very much like an audience and the fights are very often about girls–or girl-fights are almost always about boys. Frequently, fights are planned (like duels) and audiences are invited.
A couple of years before I retired, boys were invited by a couple of girls to a fight that would be held in the girls’ gym. A large crowd of boys stormed the place to watch the fight.
Second thought: I am, nevertheless, inclined to believe that the drug trade is the reason for the existence of gangs. At least, I remember Peoria before the drug traffic was a major business–and that was before street gangs. The drug trade is the major source of income for these young people. Some of the violence has to be over turf, but I believe that personal relationships and friction are also a major cause of the violence.
I share Martin’s concerns. “Broken Windows” seemed to work. Are we abandoning this for something cheeper?
of course there is merit to the approach, but the key is what happens to those who don’t come around? You can’t just give them a slap on the wrist, or the whole thing falls apart. Some of them also need more structure in order to change – which means an institution. But, of course, if you send them to prison, or most of our other institutions, they are not really being changed. Most such places are academies of crime.
Billy, I think this quote in the orginal post addresses your question regarding stats.
“They compared the numbers to the prior four years and found a 57 percent drop in violent crime in the targeted area….
One crime-infested Nashville neighborhood where Kennedy’s program was used saw a 91 percent drop in crime and prostitution in 2008, largely attributable to Kennedy’s good-cop, bad-cop approach….
I think it makes a lot sense. We’ve got to get inside these kids heads and replace the bad scripts with logical scripts. As in anything with kids, sometimes all that is lacking is a little finesse. I hope it works.
I trust Chief Steve Settingsgaard.
The smartest drug dealers are not involved in any violence. It is bad for business as it draws attention to you, neighbors get pissed, cops get called, business gets disrupted.
Oh, I trust Chief Settingsgaard more than the last political hack that had the job.
But I want to see statistics that show a city wide drop in crime over time.
In other words, trust but verify.
Well said Mr. Palmer. Another flavor of the month. It seems the City and District 150 like to get on board the latest and greatest new solutions. In one way, it is to be commended and yet, as you say, only when all stakeholders work in a cooperative manner, setting aside egos, will real change occur.
I have a bit of a problem with the program if it operates like the one in N.C. So let me get this right, if I live in a violent neighborhood and I am, in fact, contributing to that violence and get caught, I not only receive a “get out of jail free card” but a host of other lovely prizes such as job training and mentors, possibly leading to good work opportunity. Gee, isn’t that contrary to what we as a society try to teach our young? Aren’t good thing suppose to come to those you try, not those that break the law? What about the kids that are living in these dangerous neighborhoods and in spite of the environment, are staying out of trouble and attempting to get ahead? Where do they fit into this process? Do they just get in the back of the line after the thugs and drug dealers?
My guess is they benefit from their neighborhood no longer being dangerous.
I think you understand the inequality of the scenario I am describing.
Drugs cause people to do the most incredible crimes. The mind is just not functioning correctly and the money that’s made from drugs is enormous.
Frustrated: I agree. I’m not getting this. The hard core thugs laugh at this nonsense. They don’t respect it.
By the way, I’m pretty sure that if you looked at violent crime in Peoria, you will also see a similar drop over the same period of time cited in this article. And we’ve been using — supposedly — the “broken windows” model. Feh.
Billy and Frustrated: I am inclined to agree with you. The one observation of this theory with which I agree is that the cause of all the violence might be about personal frictions, not drugs. I do not agree that mitigating punishment will help–that’s the failed policy of District 150.
Hard core thugs… so you buy into the good guys and bad guys hollywood mentality of law and order?
There are just “bad people” out there and they need to be defeated, destroyed, eliminated or whatever.. is that it?
Don’t fix the system that drives them into their bad behavior… don’t overhaul a system that marginalizes a large percentage of our population intentionally. Don’t fix the inequalities in our society that identify those people as “bad”…
Do you think that ANYONE anywhere wants to be a ‘hard core thug”? I may be naive, but I think people want respect, love and understanding, and do whatever they have to do to get it. (including run for Congress, steal billions of dollars from investors, be kind to their neighbors and rob a liquor store.) Most of us don’t have the opportunity to run for Congress or steal billions so we settle for one of the other two.
… but nowhere in Police Chief Settingsgard reply did he say the new model would replace the old model. Maybe they will do both.
“The message, which spread quickly through the neighborhood, was that the cops would give kids a second chance—but come down aggressively if they didn’t take it.”
This is a key passage. Kennedy’s experiment was designed to give kids willing to change their behaviors a strong incentive to do so. If they weren’t willing to change they were punished harshly.
This approach makes sense. Send the kids to jail immediately for slinging dope and you risk exposing them to an environment that could create much more violent criminals upon release. Put the fear of God into them, giving them an opportunity to change, and the ones you can reach are more likely to go straight.
go kcdad go…
These kind of theories, when backed up by data, are more than worth exploring. Something has to give.
Looks like the “Don’t Shoot” campaign is working!
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1238769471/Overnight-violence-tally-1-dead-3-more-shot-2-armed-robberies
They are doing a “bang up” job!
Vote Ierulli for State’s attorney
I saw Ierulli on tv the other night. Finally somebody with the guts to challenge the mayor’s boondoggle.
Ierulli ran several times on the Democrat ticket and couldn’t win so he jumped ship and went to the Republican party. I would never vote for someone that is disloyal. From what I’ve heard, he really isn’t that organized. I think Brady is a pretty good guy and has done a good job, he’s better than Lyons ever was. I would like to see more of what he does in the next 4 years if he is elected.
cttsp5, maybe you should listen a little more then. I’m sure Brady is a nice guy. so is Ardis. Crime is spiked under Brady and Ardis. Their response is to bring in some new age nonsense which, even if it could work, cannot, because the primary response to crime is the police department which has been cut. Brady has proported this plan rather than reorganize his people and utilize the full power of his office to address crime. He was in office a year before addressing anything and as it got closer to the election, suddenly there is a plan that could have easily been implemented a year ago, if it was as effective as we are supposed to be lead to believe. so again I say, vote Ierulli.
Ierulli appears to be incredibly organized from the people I talk to.
The local elections are really not political party partisan. I couldnt care less whether they run under Pub or Dem–it just doesn’t matter. Vote for the guy.
Brady is a bookmark at the state’s attorney’s office. Just keeps the status quo.
Everybody I ask about Brady has the same response: “He is a nice guy”. I think he is, but we want more than just a “nice guy”.