HOPEWELL, Va. -- Leaders in the City of Hopewell have credited a program they recently adopted with helping decrease crime in the city.
Operation Ceasefire, which launched over the summer, matched a nonprofit called REAL Life with Hopewell Police.
Using crime data, police identify people they believe could be shot or could shoot other people.
Then the REAL Life team goes in to intervene.
They bring along law enforcement and a community member who cares for the person and engage in a serious conversation.
"This is a proven strategy that works," Hopewell Police Major Donnie Reid said. "Seeing the success alone surpassed our initially expectation. The program has taken off a lot quicker than we all expected."
The REAL Life team, led by Maurice Washington, follows up with daily check-ins, during which they try to understand what may be leading to potential conflicts and connect them to available resources.
"We let them know we are not here because you are in trouble we are here because we care about you," Washington said. "We build that relationship and I give them some of my story with what I’ve been through and give them some of the things I’ve learned to change my life around."
Washington has found the most important piece of the program is providing mentorship.
"Some guys don’t have a goal or they might have certain things they look up to and its helping them realize what a real man is," he said. "We got to help keep them safe and alive and let them know we don’t want to see them locked up."
The program has worked with 40 people over the last six months and hopes that number will continue to grow as the program has funding going into the start of the year.
"Maurice has a credibility we in law enforcement don’t have. This reaches further than ours in relating and trying to find a way to help them find success," Reid said. "He is that hope for them. When they see law enforcement they see it as an enforcement tool and that is what we are trying to change."
Hopewell Police have reported a 67% reduction in gun violence over the last six months.
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