Outgoing Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke attributes a drop in the city’s gang violence under his tenure to the Violence Reduction Initiative, his flagship program, rolled out in March 2014 to fight gang violence in a new way.
The initiative, also known as the VRI, has been successfully implemented in cities across the country and consists of a two-pronged approach. It calls for the police, courts and social services to combine their firepower to convince gang members to stop shooting each other and get help – or face the full force of state and federal law.
Gang members receive the message by attending as a condition of their probation group meetings or “call-ins,” during which law enforcement officials, victims, ex-gang members and community leaders try to reason with them.
Those who want the help can seek it from city social services providers who assist those who want out of that lifestyle through education and job training.
In Chattanooga, the approach has had mixed results.