ST. LOUIS — Leaders from across the Bi-State teamed up on Wednesday to figure out how to address an ongoing problem plaguing the St. Louis region, homicides.
The East-West Gateway Council of Governments with the help of Greater St. Louis and the Regional Business Council invited elected leaders, police, prosecutors, and educators, and business leaders to Washington University’s School of Medicine to begin forming a unified strategy to reduce violent crime.
The day consisted of talks from industry experts who have experience with solutions in other cities, such as including making investments in violence intervention programs.
One of those leaders was Dr. Thomas Abt who chairs the Council of Criminal Justice.
He broke down his focus deterrence strategy, focusing on the people and groups committing the crime and offering them the resources and a choice to do better or be reprimanded.
"We need to treat this issue of community violence as a country with the same urgency that it's treated in the emergency room. We need to stop the bleeding,” Apt said.
Dr. Richard Rosenfeld of the University of Missouri-St. Louis also reiterated his report, “The Need for a Regional Strategy to Reduce Homicides,” breaking his key findings the 15-county Bi-state St. Louis homicide crisis.
Our first question to leaders leaving the Regional Crime Summit was: What made the discussion different from any other they have experienced in the past?
"What I haven't heard before is the true intentional focus on mental health and the whole person. We have to realize that crime is not something that we can fight in a silo,” Shalonda Webb, chair of the St. Louis County Council, said.
"The support that these individuals are now going to put behind a plan to get the city to where it needs to be. It's not just about reducing crime, it's also about saving lives,” Major Ryan Cousins, with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said.
As of Wednesday, 5 On Your Side had tracked 59 homicides in the City of St. Louis in 2023. The data is clear.
"I think communicating like this ... being honest with each other and these things and what are the things that we can do together,” St. Louis police chief Robert Tracy said.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones noted that the same urgency displayed among agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic is what she wanted to see when it comes to gun violence.
A big takeaway for her was the focus on systemic issues and how they play a role in crime.
"We talked about poverty and other root causes and housing instability, and the like. It was refreshing that we talked about viewpoints that oftentimes don't get brought up when you do talk about crime and violence and how to address it in our region,” Jones said.
Jones stated the city planned to engage Dr. Abt.'s organization, gather data, talk about potential intervention methods, and how to track progress.
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