The Peoria Don’t Shoot lead team has a message for members of the Zone 4 and 4-Corner Hustlers gangs. The message is ‘GAME ON!’ The two shootings Sunday and Monday are thought to be tied to the two groups. The city’s top prosecutors, law enforcement officials and Mayor Jim Ardis are standing firm, promising that Don’t Shoot principals are being focused on all members and affiliates of the two gangs. “We said we were gonna come after them, like the group behind me went after the bomb squad.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin met with area law enforcement officials to learn about Peoria's anti-violence initiative. The Don't Shoot program is based on the book by David Kennedy and addresses ways the community and law enforcement can reduce violent crime. Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says shootings are down 26-percent since January compared to the same time last year.
The Peoria Police Department is applying for a federal grant as part of the community's anti-violence initiative. The Don’t Shoot program is based on the book by David Kennedy and addresses ways law enforcement and the community can reduce violent crime. Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says the Department of Justice grant request is for about $700,000 over three years. He says it would pay for some of Kennedy’s staff at John Jay College to help Peoria officials with the program:
Our series of community roundtable discussions on "Don't Shoot Peoria" concludes this week, as our panel discusses the final chapters of David Kennedy's book.
Author David Kennedy is our guest this week, explaining what he has learned from attempts to implement the program in communities across the nation. Finally, our panel offers their closing thoughts on the "Don't Shoot" initiative.
The roundtable discussion of "Don't Shoot" resumes this week with a panel discussion of how the initiative was implemented in High Point, North Carolina. Did the program work effectively there? To find out, we talk to U.S. Attorney Rob Lang for analysis. We'll also examine the key ingredients of the "Don't Shoot" program with Michigan State University Criminologist Dr. Ed McGarrell. Follow along with the book, and join WCBU for the third "Don't Shoot" roundtable discussion this week.
"Don't Shoot" is a community-wide effort to reduce gun violence in the Peoria area. The local initiative ties in with the book "Don't Shoot" by criminologist and author David Kennedy. This program is collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement, prosecutors, as well as community members and leaders. This is the first of four roundtable discussions of the "Don't Shoot" project on WCBU, and it examines the history of the anti-violence initiative and how it will apply to the Peoria region.
