Philadelphia wants to know if its anti-violence programs are working

Listen
 Investigators gather at the crime scene in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, Monday Dec. 15, 2014, after an officer fired their weapons at a man. (AP File Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek)

Investigators gather at the crime scene in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, Monday Dec. 15, 2014, after an officer fired their weapons at a man. (AP File Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek)

In a city the size of Philadelphia there is no shortage of anti-violence program. There clearly is a need for them. So far this year, there have been more than 1200 aggravated assaults with a gun in Philadelphia, 5 percent more than this time last year.

So, are these programs working?

Answering that question is the task currently underway by Philadelphia’s new Office of Violence Prevention under Executive Director Shondell Revell. 

Revell is reviewing existing programs to see if they can be made more effective. “We need to take a step back and look at the services that we have and what we are funding if they are effective and if we are spending our money correctly,” he said.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Revell had been Executive Director of the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership.

“One thing we can’t rely on is throwing more money at it, without evaluating what we have, and looking at how the community views what we have.”

He promises a concrete plan to reduce violence in Philadelphia before the end of the year.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal