YORK, Pa. (WHTM) — A turnaround when it comes to gun violence. One Midstate city has improved so much that other police departments are asking for advice.
“We’re going to get out of this. This is something that I’ve never seen in my lifetime. Just the sheer volume of youth violence,” said Lafayette Woods, Sheriff in Jefferson County, Arkansas.
Jefferson County, Arkansas has Pine Bluff – not far from the state’s capital, Little Rock.
Pine Bluff is in a bad part of the cycle of violence. Where York was before homicides dropped from about a dozen this time last year to three so far this year.
But what does Pine Bluff, Arkansas have to do with York, Pennsylvania?
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“They came with the entourage of folks that were truly decision makers in that area. The sheriff wanted to sit down, pick our brains, hear what we’re doing,” said York Police Commissioner Michael Muldrow.
I also went to the schools in York City just on the programs that were there. We found very remarkable,” added Woods. “They saw a significant decrease in some of the crime, particularly with sort of gun violence and gang violence.”
But how?
“We’re getting the right pieces and the right parts in place and embracing some of the philosophies that hadn’t always been embraced. What you’re seeing now is it coming to fruition,” said Muldrow.
“Our mission and our in our goal is to save lives. That’s it. That’s all by any means necessary,” said Tiff Lowe, the York Youth Violence Intervention Program manager.
What’s next?
“Our team is actually traveling to Arkansas in August,” Lowe added.
“They’re willing to come here and look at some of the issues that we have. Facing so many challenges and help us navigate through that because they’ve already navigated through it and it’s working for them,” said Woods.
“To have Arkansas, have Pine Bluff, not only hear it, listen to us, spend time, get to spend time with our folks, but then ask, can they fly us down to talk about it some more? I’m like, man, we must be doing something right,” said Muldrow.
“Remarkable. I can’t say enough about what we saw there,” Woods added.
“When you have people that come here and they think that the work we’re doing is just outstanding, it actually makes us want to do more,” Lowe concluded.
And when York officials take their trip to Arkansas, they’re sure they will learn something valuable they can bring back to the Midstate.
