maiios t1_j9ou8qq wrote
Safe Streets
The_Waxies_Dargle t1_j9ouwvc wrote
How do you quantify success with this group?
The idea seems nice in conception. But seems like there are a decent number of paid volunteers who are playing both sides against the middle. It eludes me, but isn't there even a term they have for this phenomenon and Safe Streets?
Anyhow, I'm curious what metrics are you using when you say they are the most successful non-profit?
maiios t1_j9oy0so wrote
They use people who have been through the criminal justice system and lived through the worst of what people grow up with in Baltimore. They survive a penal system that is designed to punish, and not rehabilitate. And as we saw with the GTTF, they also have to deal with cops that have every reason to throw them away. And with all of that, you are worried that they might be carrying a gun or might be involved in some drugs?
I guess I see it as one of the hardest jobs in the world, and I am not worried that they aren't choir boys. And they are doing this on a tiny fraction of the budget of the BPD.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9p8zcz wrote
I think the question is simply whether or not they're reducing violence by a large enough factor to justify the money we spend on it, and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.
> Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland are working on a more comprehensive study of Safe Streets that should be released early next year.
Sounds like we might hopefully have a better idea soon, though.
YoYoMoMa t1_j9pbx8x wrote
>and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.
Well the BPD gets 4 fucking billion dollars so we can talk results when we are spending 1 billion on non cop solutions. And why does no one demand cop money be tied to results or drops in crime?
I believe we are currently in the 10 million dollar range for community efforts like this if it literally stops one murder it is money way better spent than on enforcement.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pc55d wrote
That's the point... If this non-cop solution has shitty results, then give that money to a better one that will do better.
Waste in one column doesn't justify waste in another. All public money should be accounted for.
YoYoMoMa t1_j9pfbwf wrote
I agree, but how on earth do we quantify the impact of these programs? How do we know if a change, or no change, in crime is the impact of them or the police? Or any other factor?
My point isn't that we shouldn't worry about the impact of a $10 million program. Just that we should spend literally ten thousand times the time, effort, and money making sure the cops are not wasting our money, because they have literally ten thousand times the budget.
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pguh1 wrote
Recidivism rates amongst program participants judged against general recidivism rates seems like a good place to start just off the top of my head, I suppose.
Cunninghams_right t1_j9smm3l wrote
the better question is whether or not they are effective. it's hard to measure.
Baltimorebillionaire t1_j9pauur wrote
Paid volunteers are not volunteers, they are employees
Random-Cpl t1_j9rf2ue wrote
This oversimplifies things; many organizations compensate volunteers on a subsistence stipend level that isn’t commensurate with what going rate salaries for their services would be. AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps provide stipends for volunteers but no one would call them employees.
Animanialmanac t1_j9p8tbe wrote
I work with lower income victims of violence and accidents in Baltimore City and County. Over the years I’ve heard multiple stories involving out of line behavior by Safe Streets workers that cause harm to young men and women. I wish Baltimore had a better way for victims to report intimidation and harassment, then the issues with Safe Streets might be more widely known.
I’ve treated enough patients to not have any trust in Safe Streets or the people who manage it. It’s not a good organization
DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pohup wrote
Yeah, one of their employees got popped by the feds for using it to run a heroin distribution ring ~2 years ago
> Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Ronald Alexander, age 50, of Baltimore, Maryland to 135 months in federal prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine. While he was participating in the narcotics conspiracy, Alexander was employed by “Safe Streets,” an organization whose purpose is to reduce violence and crime in Baltimore through intervention. While he was engaged in the distribution of fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics, Alexander used his affiliation with Safe Streets to evade law enforcement in Baltimore, including on one occasion to avoid arrest when police seized from him a large quantity of fentanyl.
The internal review they ran recently found the program lacks oversight, and many of the employees are untrained subjected to some pretty bad shit, too:
> An internal review of Baltimore’s Safe Streets anti-violence initiative found the program lacked oversight, and half of the workers described their training as inadequate. City officials announced the findings Wednesday, along with a $10 million investment to improve program operations and establish a “community violence intervention ecosystem.”
> Meanwhile, 63% of employees said they had been traumatized by their work mediating conflicts, 60% reported having been direct victims of gun violence themselves, and 67% said they frequently worried about losing their jobs over funding shortage
Sounds like a more comprehensive review is coming out shortly, though, and that might finally shed some light on efficacy.
Animanialmanac t1_j9prz0j wrote
I’m not surprised by this, I hope the new report shows enough evidence to fix or stop the program. From my experience I believe it does more harm than good.
malakamanforyou t1_j9ovu95 wrote
Yea, they are doing a heck of a job keeping the streets safer. Murders would be over 300 a year without them.
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