BY BEN VERDE
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s
offi ce aims to work
hand in hand with local clergy
members to stem gun violence
ahead of a summer that threatens
to be as deadly as the last.
The religious leaders will
partner with the DA to try and
prevent shootings before they
start, utilizing clergy members’
deep roots in Brooklyn
communities.
“Trusted community members
can do a lot to stem violence,”
District Attorney Eric
Gonzalez said during a press
conference at Restoration
Plaza on May 26. “With the
right training and support,
community members can effectively
intervene in disputes
and in confl icts.”
Clergy will work to provide
counseling to at-risk youth,
diffuse confl icts before they
lead to violence, and provide
support to victims of gun violence.
SPRING IS HERE!
COURIER L 20 IFE, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
They will also oversee
paid internships to 50 local
youth through funding provided
by the city and the District
Attorney’s offi ce.
Members in some of Brooklyn’s
highest crime precincts
will participate, including the
67th Precinct in East Flatbush,
the 69th Precinct in Canarsie,
the 70th Precinct in Flatbush,
the 79th Precinct in Bedford-
Stuyvesant, and the 83rd Precinct
in Bushwick.
The program has some
precedent in Brooklyn, with
Pastor Gil Monrose and District Attorney Eric Gonzalez address an expanded partnership they hope will help
curb gun violence across the borough Photo by Ben Verde
the work of the 67th Precinct
Clergy Council, also known
as the GodSquad. The God-
Squad, led by Pastor Gil Monrose,
has worked over the past
decade to reduce gun violence
in East Flatbush through collaboration
with local NYPD
offi cers. The District Attorney’s
initiative seeks to emulate
that program on a wider
scale.
“We want to put ourselves
out this summer,” said Monrose.
“You are going to see us
in these precincts, clergy who
are out with their team, who
are going to be engaging with
young people on the ground
through the evening.”
Gun violence in New York
City spiked to levels not seen
in a decade during the summer
of 2020 as the city reeled
from the pandemic, and has
surged again as the weather
has warmed in 2021, with over
500 people shot through the
beginning of May, the highest
number in over 10 years. The
Brooklyn South precinct area
has recorded 113 shooting incidents
to date, according to
NYPD data.
Gonzalez stressed that
community-based solutions
would be integral to bringing
those numbers down.
“Law enforcement has to
take a step back,” he said. “We
can’t arrest our way out of
this problem.”
STEMMING
VIOLENCE
DA partners with local
clergy to curb gun violence
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