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

Wesley Community Center executive director, Dr. Robert Walker, prays with Johnny Boy Dillard (right) and others in the Male Awareness Group.

JIM NOELKER/STaff photographer Wesley Community Center executive director, Dr. Robert Walker, prays with Johnny Boy Dillard (right) and others in the Male Awareness Group.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Anti-gun violence initiative hitting its mark

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By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 12:30 AM Sunday, February 7, 2010

DAYTON — The irate voice on the other end of the “bat phone” rings in Marlon Shackelford’s ears.

“I’m ’bout to kill this n---- if he don’t get my stuff. I want to do something to this guy tonight. I mean like now!”

Shackelford, 46, is one of four Street Advocates (badge-less street counselors) working 24 hours a day with the Dayton Police Department in its gang violence initiative.

His group, the Wesley Community Center, and others are working to rid the streets of gang activity. They go where cops can’t and often intervene before someone pulls a trigger.

Statistics show the initiative had mixed results in its first full year, with overall gun crime at its lowest in five years but gun-related injuries and homicides up over recent years.

There were 179 reports of people injured by gun violence last year, the most since 2005 (191), according to police data. Gun-related crime fell from 1,463 in 2005 to 1,110 last year.

The statistics matter little at 3 a.m. as Shackelford stands in the bitter January cold in the DeSoto Bass housing project.

There are guns, but Shackelford’s bulletproof vest remains at his office.

“It’s about trust, not arrogance,” he said. “They trust me enough to call me, so I trust them that they won’t hurt me.”

The irate caller is one of 101 of Shackelford’s “clients” — men whose names appear on a police list of about 800 suspected gang members on probation.

The man is upset about $50 worth of missing crack. He suspects a cousin in the theft and wants swift justice.

“Let me see if I can help you, bra,” Shackelford says.

Three hours later the cousins meet on a street corner and the misunderstanding is squashed.

Someone else stole the crack.

Keep reading: Anti-gun violence initiative hitting its mark

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