NEW ORLEANS — Different cities have used different models to successfully reduce crime and Boston is one of the most well known.
They developed a strategy that brought in every unit of government. They brought in housing, medical, psychiatric services, social services and meet with people they suspect of being involved in violent crime.
“When they met, they look at the young person, they'd say, ‘you got three choices. You one, you go to jail, the second choice you have is dead, get shot in this gun violence. And the third option you have is change,’” Criminologist Peter Scharf said. “And we're going to give you all the resources, mental health, jobs, anger management, everything we know that has a track record, and you're going to change.”
The key to that strategy was targeting the most high-risk offenders.
It’s just one of many models, like the Chicago Model, ComStat out of New York City or the Pennington Plan. If there was a single plan that worked universally, it would be used by all cities and police departments.
But what can we learn from them all?