Generation violence

The headlines late last month all trumpeted the news: Nine shootings in nine days. It was “uncommon” for Lansing, city police say, but an aberration in crime for the area, not a trend.

“There were five individuals who sustained injuries and four residents/ vehicles that were damaged,” said Chief Michael Yankowski. “The volume of gun violence during this timeframe is unusual. The investigations have revealed no analytical pattern other than the fact that each shooting had an intended target. None on the shootings were random. The investigations have been able to establish that two or three of the shootings were retaliation related.”

The retaliation related shootings, Yankowski said, stemmed from a recent homicide in the city.

Despite this “unusual” trend, the chief said violent crime in the city is down 12 percent over last year; while homicide is down 25 percent; home invasions are down 14 percent and crime overall is down 8 percent.

Bishop David Maxwell, director of the Mayor’s Office of Community and Faith Based Initiatives and a local minister, says the perception that crime is up and people are not safe after a series of shootings such as those experienced in Lansing is not an uncommon response.

“It’s one thing to have a someone break into your car, then it is another thing to have gunfire in your neighborhood,” Maxwell said. “The reaction is more visceral.”

He also pointed to the attention national media have paid to increasing gun violence in nearby locations such as Flint, Detroit and Chicago; noting it is natural to “lump” local trends into national trends.

Both Maxwell and Yankowski point towards a disturbing trend in violence in general and gun violence particularly: it is mostly driven by youth 14-28.

“They are so much quicker to pick up a handgun to settle their differences,” the chief says. He notes that shootings often stem from simple interactions that young people perceive as “disrespect.”

“I think it is generational,” Maxwell said.

For Maxwell, a part of the issue is the ongoing loss of neighborhood schools. He recalls growing up in Flint during the ´70s, where life centered around the neighborhood school. And because living in the neighborhood meant you also attended that neighborhood school, the peer group was limited to neighborhood geography. This, Maxwell said, created a stronger sense of community and connection.

“Your mother knew my mother,” he said.

But that has disappeared, he noted. Neighborhood schools are closing in tight budget times, and adding to those woes, students can opt out of the neighborhood altogether — choosing to attend neighboring schools or charter schools.

Add into this the shifting demographics of single-parent homes and the economic burdens of single parenting, Maxwell says, and youth often find themselves turning to peer groups with very little adult supervision for socializing and association.

But there are ways to address the problems, Maxwell and Yankowski said.

Yankowski said LPD is taking a two prong approach to the situation. One is aggressive police enforcement. The other is school programming targeting late elementary and early middle school students with conflict resolution education.

The department launched an educational program GREAT — Gang Resistance Education and Training Program — in January. The program reaches students 5th grade to 8th grade, teaching them conflict resolution skills, and engaging the youth in programs such as youth sporting.

In May, LPD launched the Violent Crime Impact Team. This team consists of a sergeant, five officers and a detective. Together, the team has arrested 175 “violent” individuals and cleared 200 warrants. This team works hand and hand with the Capital Area Violent Crime Initiative. That initiative ties local, state and federal resources together to target the region’s most violent offenders, and quell violent hotspots as they erupt in the area.

Maxwell said the community must talk about what is happening, and listen to young people if it is ever going to overcome the violence.

“When you have a coherent explanation of the factors leading to violence, people are willing to communicate; to be part of the solution,” Maxwell said.