What's wrong with this picture? Initiatives such as this should be viewed as "strategies" and not as "programs." As with the criminal justice "quiet revolution" of the past 20+ years, change must come from the bottom up rather than from the top down.
Our steadfast focus on top down crafted programs makes such efforts dependent on funding from government sources and thus subject to the usual political trappings. "Strategies" primarily (although not absolutely entirely) depend on criminal justice system components merely changing their standard OP's and internal policies without asking government permission or dispensation.
We'll succeed at long-term crime and violence reduction only when we can create lasting strategies with roles for every aspect of community cohesion. Programs, are short-sighted and narrowly focused. Worst of all, they come with multiple attached strings and conditions which makes them fickle to political whims and misgivings.
FINAL THOUGHT: Strategies like Operation Ceasefire are one way of reducing gun violence without passing more gun control legislation. A partnership of police, social services, faith groups, schools, citizens, and other justice system components, work together to address problems at the neighborhood level. Citizen participation in the strategies gives the community a sense of ownership and empowerment to confront problems without the dictates of outside forces.
FINAL THOUGHT: Strategies like Operation Ceasefire are one way of reducing gun violence without passing more gun control legislation. A partnership of police, social services, faith groups, schools, citizens, and other justice system components, work together to address problems at the neighborhood level. Citizen participation in the strategies gives the community a sense of ownership and empowerment to confront problems without the dictates of outside forces.
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