Philadelphia officials seeks to reboot violence prevention program

Philadelphia leaders are rebooting one of their central programs aimed at reducing violence, with more than 150 murders recorded so far this year and a public growing more concerned by the day.

PHILADELPHIA - The city of Philadelphia is looking for more help in its ongoing efforts to stop gun violence in the city. Leaders want to bring peacekeepers directly to the streets.

They are rebooting one of their central programs aimed at reducing violence, with more than 150 murders recorded so far this year and a public growing more concerned by the day.

The city is now looking for more organizations to be part of its Community Crisis Intervention Program, a strategy that involves using people who used to pick up guns and shoot, as the brokers of peace in the streets.

With just one organization supporting the program, with less than 60 workers, the city wants to cover more ground.

Community Crisis Intervention Program

"I think that, given the nuances of our neighborhoods, if you take the East Division in particular and the prevalence of the Latino community there, if you take the Southwest Division and the prevalence of the West African community there, we have to be very cognizant of the differences between communities that are experiencing violence right now," Erica Atwwod said.

Atwood runs the city’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety cluster of agencies that work with police on efforts to reduce violent crime.

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She is aware of criticisms surrounding the current Crisis Intervention program where sources say there have been staffing issues, including workers who simply hand out documents with safety information, rather than directly engaging with suspected or potential shooters.

"There have been start-stops around this. I can’t speak to what has happened before me. I can’t speak to decisions before me," Atwood stated.