Congratulations to the Greenville Police Department and surrounding agencies on a successful gang/group call-in
On July 30, the Greenville Police Department and partnering local agencies including the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, Winterville Police Department, Ayden Police Department, Farmville Police Department, Bethel Police
Department, Grifton Police Department, and Pitt County District Attorney’s Office combined with federal partners including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, US Marshals, and the United States Attorney’s Office to educate 8 violent gang offenders about the swift, certain, and severe consequences that would be guaranteed for future violent offenses from the offenders or members of their gangs/groups. In addition to the law enforcement message, members of the community spoke out about how violence is wrong and how it has impacted the community. Resource providers presented their services to the offenders in the event that offenders wanted assistance to help keep them away from violent crime through opportunities for education and skill-building, housing assistance, mental health and substance abuse services, and other services. The Greenville Community Shelter, Port Human Services, Pitt County Department of Public Health, STRIVE, and the Intergenerational Community Center all had representatives speak to the offenders. These messages were presented to the offenders in what is known as a “call-in” or notification meeting. The offenders were told to listen closely to the message and to take the message back to their group. The unified message presented by law enforcement, the community, and resource providers was the: the violence must stop.
The call-in was the culmination of an effort initiated by the Greenville Police Department in the Summer of 2013. The Greenville Police Department contracted with the North Carolina Network for Safe Communities for training and technical assistance to implement the focused deterrence strategy. NCNS conducted a violent incident review and group audit to collect data about the current crime dynamic in Greenville and greater Pitt County. Based on the data, it was recommended that the site would see a significant reduction in violent crime by implementing a gang/group focused deterrence strategy. NCNS provided ongoing operational technical assistance to the site which led to last Wednesday night’s successful call-in.
For news coverage of the call-in, visit NBC 4 Greenville’s webpage.
