Crime Committee Report e.indd - New York State Senate

XV.
GETTING GUNS OFF THE STREETS
In 2009 and 2010, the Democratic Majority initiated a practical plan to get guns off the street -
Operation SNUG (which is guns spelled backwards). The acronym explains the direction of the
program:
• z Street Intervention and Stopping the Violence.
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Violence interrupters.
Support for police and law enforcement.
• z National, State and Local funding support.
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Funding for alternatives
Legislation that can implement solutions
• z Use of celebrities and Community Centers.
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Public relations and material
Existing community centers and community offices
• z Gangs, guns, gainful employment
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Real-world gang awareness and prevention.
Connection to employment and economic alternatives
Operation SNUG is modeled after Chicago’s Ceasefire Gun Initiative.
In this method, communities become involved in their own
struggle for safe streets through their local leaders, specifically clergy,
in tandem with outreach workers who mobilize the community to
directly oppose gun violence. At night, there is also the use of “violence
interrupters” who look to find emerging trouble and stop it in
its tracks. These “violence interrupters” know the lay of the land and
the nature of the streets. Many of them were former gang bangers and
prison inmates and present a rough hewn approach to violent crime.
“Violence interrupters “ may attempt to convince drug cartels that a
street war is bad business because it is a magnet for law enforcement.,
or perhaps a man who feels he was wronged or disrespected in some
way that requires death in the code of the streets, just beat a man, as
opposed to killing him. The main goal is always to reduce or stop violence. This method makes
a difference in the areas where it is implemented. Indeed, the Ceasefire program has been
recommended as a national model by the United States Justice Department. The program
will send speakers to schools, churches and community centers to teach young people about
the dangers of gangs and handguns. And of course, this program will be coordinated with the
local police departments and state troopers. New York’s model will also direct young men and
women to educational and vocational programs and use celebrities as role models.
SNUG grants will launch projects in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Westchester, Albany, Syracuse,
Rochester and Buffalo. Advisors from Chicago’s program will provide guidance to ensure
that New York is off to a positive start.
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New York State Senate