Tackling Gun Violence: Stay Safe. Stay Alive. Stay Free.

The city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, has long grappled with a challenging reputation. Struggles with violence have resulted in an unfortunate nickname, “Crime Bluff.” It occupies a spot on the list of most dangerous cities in America.

But the community is determined to change this narrative and foster a safer, more vibrant city. Pine Bluff has implemented a strategy called Group Violence Intervention (GVI), an evidence-based violence prevention model that has already proven successful in other high-crime cities around the country, including York, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and Stockton, California.

The term “group” refers to any social network whose members commit violent crimes together. This includes both organized gangs and loose neighborhood groups.

It’s been shown that serious violence in the United States is often concentrated in historically disadvantaged communities, particularly affecting young men. Frequently, it’s only a small number of identifiable street groups that are responsible for much of this violence, exposing their members to extreme risk and trauma.

The GVI initiative targets these high-risk groups, aiming to keep their members alive, safe, and out of prison. Judge Earnest Brown, who presides over the juvenile division in Jefferson-Lincoln County Circuit Court in Pine Bluff, has high hopes for the GVI initiative and has been impressed by what he has seen in other cities around the country. York, Pennsylvania started its GVI efforts in 2016 and serves as a shining example of what is possible. In 2023, group- related gun violence dropped 80%.

“I get fired up about it. I don’t know if Pine Bluff can get to 80%, but I’ll tell you right now that I’ll take 30% or 40%. I would take any level of reduction to show that we’re moving in the right direction,” says Judge Brown. “I’m excited about the potential that we have to really do something. It’s going to change Pine Bluff for generations to come.”

He wants any lessons learned by implementing GVI in Pine Bluff to help other cities across Arkansas that are interested in the strategy.

Assistant Chief Juvenile Officer Eric Walden works alongside Judge Brown in the implementation of GVI. He has an understanding of group violence. He was in a gang during his teens, while living in Nevada and Kansas. He also has a special appreciation for Pine Bluff. He moved to the city when he was 18 to escape his troubled childhood.

“I was in and out of juvenile court, faced adult charges, and needed a fresh start.” He now hopes to prevent kids from making the same mistakes he once did. “We’ve identified people, juveniles and adults alike, who have either been victims of gun violence or are suspects. We reach out to them, checking on them, asking if they need any services, and offering our help to ensure they don’t become offenders or victims again,” says Walden.

This proactive outreach includes offering various resources, even to those not currently involved in the court system. “We’re trying to be preventive,” he emphasized, “offering services to keep them from offending or being victimized. If they still choose to get involved in criminal activities, we make it clear that they will face harsher penalties.”

The mantra of the GVI initiative is ‘Stay safe. Stay alive. Stay free.’

“There’s such a proliferation of guns,” Judge Brown explains, shaking his head. “Young people feel like they need to have a weapon. Why do they feel like they are living a life where they need to have a gun?”

Pine Bluff Police Chief Denise Richardson says the GVI program has unique characteristics that set it apart from other programs. “The difference between this program and others is that it is not solely focused on offenders. It focuses on people who are in the sphere of those offenders. Today they may be victims, tomorrow they may be suspects, or they may be a witness,” she explains.

“In most of our cases, if you pull those cases together, the same people are in those case files as victims, witnesses, family members, or suspects. So once you connect those dots, you see, well, if this young man or this young woman was in trouble today and these are their friends, these are the people we need to approach. We need to intervene because they’re going to come before us.”

Walden says the targeted interventions seem to be working. His hope is to provide the support and guidance needed to keep young people out of the system and on a positive path. “We need to open their eyes to the possibilities beyond the streets, showing them that they can have a productive, trouble-free life.”