I'm a former gang member. Here's the real reason crime is down. |
I lived with violence at an early age. A former Grape Street Crip, I lost 13 friends to Los Angeles’ gang war in 1989 alone. Three years later, I went from witness to mediator, helping broker a historic peace treaty between the Crips and Bloods in my Watts neighborhood.
I knew the killing wouldn’t stop unless we stopped it. And we did. By working toward resolution instead of escalation, we brought gang-related homicides down significantly.
Those closest to violence are best able to prevent it – something I experienced again when my own son was tragically killed in 2004. I was the only one who could stop his friends from avenging Terrell’s death. Instead of more trauma and killing, I could let healing be his legacy. Death also touched people Terrell had known, including junior high classmate Nipsey Hussle who went on to be a successful rap artist before he was fatally shot in 2019.
I’ve dedicated my life to helping communities end epidemics of violence and create lasting safety. That’s how I know that what we’re seeing right now in America is remarkable – the community-based violence interventions we used back in Watts are working on a massive scale.
New data from police chiefs with the Major Cities Chiefs........