Last night, the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer featured a story on Syracuse Truce (3:30 minutes), an innovative collaboration between law enforcement, social service agencies and the community. Syracuse Truce is designed to reduce gun crime and gang violence. The message of Syracuse Truce is simple: if you or someone in your gang engages in gun violence, the entire gang will be held responsible.
Syracuse Truce is based on a careful analysis of what is causing violence in Syracuse. The violence in Syracuse is driven by a very small population of people – less than 1% of the population – involved in drug crews, gangs, and other street groups. Syracuse Truce directly focuses on the individuals engaged in this behavior. As such, it represents the most cost-efficientive way of dealing with gun violence.