Faith-based Approach to Hate and Violence Prevention ~ Abid Ullah Jan
Faith-based Approach to Hate and Violence Prevention Abid Ullah Jan In the 1990s, youth violence connected to gangs and drug-related crimes was escalating to unprecedented levels in many neighbourhoods within the city of Boston. A record of 152 homicides and 1,000 aggravated assaults were reported in 1990. Religious organisations formed a coalition called TenPoint and changed the situation dramatically. The number of homicides in Boston dropped dramatically from a high of 152 in 1990 to 31 in 1999. Between August 1995 and January 1998, Boston had not one teenage homicide victim. Homicides during the 1990s declined by 80 percent. Further, complaints against police dropped by over 60 percent during the same period. Two and a half years with no teenage homicides looked very much like a miracle to most reasonable observers. The dramatic results that followed received national attention, and Rev. Rivers, one of the visible leaders of the TenPoint Coalition , would find himself o...
