D.A.’s Recent Violent Criminal Enterprise Takedown, Alongside Yesterday’s $200,000 Investment in Youth Gun Violence Prevention, Are Both “Essential to Stop the Swell of Crime and Gun Violence”
 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance’s Executive Director Michael Jacobson today urged upstream investments and community partnerships to combat the rise in gun violence in New York City.

In a New York Daily News op-ed, the authors write that strong enforcement actions and critical prevention strategies are both “essential to stop the swell of crime and gun violence that has plagued New York City, and the nation, since the pandemic began.”

While enforcement is necessary to “stop known drivers of violence from continuing to harm the community,” the authors note that “enforcement alone won’t deliver the enduring safety we need. It must be paired with community partnerships to prevent violence upstream, provide support for victims of crime, and help those leaving incarceration thrive and avoid returning to jail.”

Adding that “Government and private sector funders at all levels would be wise to scale up these solutions to make our communities safer,” they conclude that “Drivers of violence must and will be held accountable today. But preventing other young people from taking their place tomorrow on the path to violence and prison is the only sustainable way to deliver both safety and justice to our communities.”

The op-ed can be viewed in full here.
 

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