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Anti-gun violence initiative hitting its mark 

Since August, violent gun crime is down nearly 25 percent over the same time period a year ago, police chief says.

‘Street counselors’ work to ease tensions, prevent gun crimes

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 12:43 AM Sunday, February 7, 2010

DAYTON — Sheena Avery squirms on the wooden pew and squints through her glasses as about 30 young men are led into a Montgomery County courtroom.

All are on probation in late August and ordered in to hear a stern warning from police who suspect they are gang members.

Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl calls the gathering a “call in.” It’s the cornerstone of a police initiative involving the FBI to reduce the area’s gun violence.

Also in the room are religious leaders and officers from Dayton, Trotwood, Montgomery County Sheriff, FBI and county prosecutor’s office.

The message is simple: The community will no longer tolerate this violence. If you so much as rent a car for someone who uses a gun in a crime you are going to prison.

Religious leaders and community advocates then stand up and tell the men there’s help if they want it.

They hope to get through to at least one of the men. Of the more than 800 identified on a police list as gang members, 101 have asked for help.

In the back of the courtroom are invited guests like Avery. She and another woman beside her cry when police show a list of suspected gang members killed or in prison because they didn’t get the message.

Less than a year before Avery’s 22-year-old son Mark Adams was sentenced to federal prison after being indicted in 2008 on charges of conspiracy and use of minors in drug operations.

Police said Adams and 12 other men arrested on related charges were members of the Diamond Cut gang.

Avery denies her son is a gang member and said authorities used him as a pawn to grab headlines. She’s been angry with police ever since.

At the end of the session she and others have a chance to speak after the men are escorted from the courtroom.

“I want to thank you for letting me experience this,” Avery said. “I wish this could have happened sooner so my son could’ve heard it.”

Police chief says initiative working

Biehl said recent trends in crime statistics show his Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence is working.

Nearly all gun-related violent crime CIRGV targets, including aggravated assault, homicide, aggravated robbery and armed robbery, is heading or at five-year lows, according to police data.

Except homicides. The city’s 42 killings last year tied for most of the decade, according to police and FBI statistics.

A gun was used in 35 of those homicides and 13 were gang-related, according to police data.

“What we have are positive trends in group-member involved crimes,” Biehl said. “It’s a piece of the puzzle. We are making a difference here.”

Biehl said since August violent gun crime is down nearly 25 percent over the same time period a year ago.

He said the decline is in line with CIRGV’s timeline.

No jobs hinders process

Community leaders say CIRGV came up short in one large area during its first year: Jobs.

“We literally have nothing as far as jobs,” said Marlon Shackelford, whose Street Advocates group works with CIRGV to get gang members off the streets.

“We say there’s this opportunity out there for you,” Shackelford said, “but in the end all that’s left is the word of God.

“The scary part of (CIRGV) is when it’s really time to help we are just as powerless and helpless as ever because there are no jobs.”

Shackelford said out of the 101 identified gang members who have asked for help, about 25 have found steady jobs.

“We are asking these guys to soar like eagles, but we are treating them like peacocks,” Shackelford said.

Bishop Mark C. McGuire, pastor at St. Paul Global Outreach Ministries on Germantown Street, said those driving CIRGV need to do a better job of getting area business leaders involved.

“When we get this guy off the street we have to get him a job,” McGuire said. “If we want to give these guys hope we have to give them some incentive. It can’t just be talk.”

John Dillard, 47, is one of the men who has asked for help.

He’s had trouble finding steady work since he was called in to hear the CIRGV’s message in March.

“I have been relying on my spiritual walk,” he said. “I could go out right now and make a bunch of (money selling) drugs, but I am not doing that anymore because it’s gotten me nowhere.”

Dillard is attending weekly meetings at the Wesley Center. Once in a while a construction company owner shows up and offers some short-term jobs, but it’s not enough, he said.

“I know some people think jobs is a (cop-out),” Dillard said. “But seriously if you can put even a couple hundred dollars in these guys’ pockets ... man, look out.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Street Advocates

Who: There are four people working since 2008 with area police departments and the Community Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence. They are paid by the city of Dayton through money given by private donors, Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl said.

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