The Daily Free Press: Boston Joins Program to Reduce Gun Violence Within the Next Few Years

Mayor Michelle Wu announced last Tuesday that the city of Boston aims to reduce homicide rates by participating in a new program that is designed to create Boston-specific strategies to address gun violence in the city.

The program, designed by the Violence Reduction Center of the University of Maryland, brought together experts from across the country to examine gun violence, street outreach interventions and policing methods and customize the best strategy for reducing gun violence within the city of Boston.

“Boston is one of the safest large cities in the country, and a national model, but even with historic lows of public safety incidents, we are committed to eradicating violence in every neighborhood,” Wu said in a press release.

The experts called in by the program gave speeches as a part of a three-day workshop to representatives from the Mayor’s Office, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Police Department, Boston Public Schools and other entities.

Eric Piza, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University, was one of the experts that was asked to speak in the workshop to explain his research on problem-oriented policing to address gun violence “proactively.”