Sen. Andy Berke Hosts Crime Prevention Panel

   Crime prevention expert Dr. David Kennedy wants you to put aside what you think you know about the groups we call gangs.
   Dr. David Kennedy, John Jay College, "You've got 20 people in each set, there's a beef back and forth, we take the last two shooters put them in prison, now we've got two groups of 19. They're still shooting back and forth, nothing has changed."
   One successful intervention program brings violent offenders face to face with everyone in their community. Law enforcement, parole and probation officials, social workers, and even relatives.
   Kennedy, "The first group in the city that shoots someone in the city, pack your toothbrush. We'll charge the shooter but we won't stop there, we'll go after everyone in the group, and if you want that kind of attention, let somebody in the group pull a trigger."
   District attorney Bill Cox understands the need for a new approach.
   Cox, "I think most people here are very interested in exploring them and checking with some other places where they apparently have had some success."
   Kennedy meets many young men who want out of that lifestyle.
   Kennedy, "They cant just throw their hands up and walk away. It turns out of the community and law enforcement make it easy and safe for them to back out, many of them will do it, they're not having fun."
   But the biggest issue is the one no one wants to talk about.
   Kennedy, "We have a mostly African American community deeply angry at law enforcement. Law enforcement sees a community that is angry and mistakenly thinks that's a community that is tolerant of the violence and the drugs, it's all wrong."
   Dr. Kennedy says there are misunderstandings on both sides. He says the program has worked in several cities, including Chicago,where the homicide rate went down 40 percent.