ST. LOUIS—The Save Lives Now! initiative, which aims to cut homicides and non-fatal shootings, could begin operating in the St. Louis area next month. But officials say state control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department could hinder progress.
The advisory council, chaired by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, includes elected leaders from across the region, police chiefs, prosecutors, healthcare executives, service providers and others. Members discussed a proposed timeline and budget Thursday.
“Our focus continues to be on prevention, intervention and enforcement strategies that have been proven to work. Save Lives Now! doubles down on these strategies and brings them into our entire region,” Mayor Tishaura Jones said. “We're on the cusp of sending teams out into the field.”
The initiative aims to reduce homicides and serious shootings in the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County, Ill. by 20% over three years, using a blend of cognitive behavioral therapy, street outreach and focused deterrence. It's based on similar programs, which officials say decreased crime in Kansas City, Chicago and Baltimore by over 20%.
Intervention methods
The program would place street interventionists across the area, where they can advise at-risk residents. The initiative will focus on about 1,150 high-risk individuals, composed of men aged 18-40 living in high-crime areas within the St. Louis region.
“If we can interact with these folks using the interventions, we have a really good chance of not just changing their lives, but changing the lives of entire neighborhoods,” said Brandon Sterling, director of Save Lives Now.
Sterling presented the advisory council with an intervention timeline. It begins when Darnell, a fictional St. Louis man in the Save Lives Now database, learns his friend was shot.
“He's got a group of friends who are encouraging him to do something,” Sterling said. “In a moment, Darnell will be standing at the crossroads. This one path leads deeper into a cycle of violence.”
Police alert Save Lives Now, which sends Darnell a custom notification. He’s encouraged to meet with Marcus, a street interventionist with Save Lives Now.
“His job isn't to tell him to change. His job is to listen,” Sterling said. “Members of his street team will work behind the scenes…They'll reach out to those associates who may be planning retaliation and negotiate a solution before that occurs. Marcus starts his relationship with Darnell around building trust.”
Outreach is slated to begin in April, with ten participants receiving custom notifications and opportunities to meet with an adviser.
Sterling says street interventionists will redirect at-risk individuals through trauma-informed, cognitive behavioral coaching. Several advisers and police departments completed intervention training in January, funded by ARPA grants, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments and other organizations.
Questions about the programs future
Officials say Save Lives Now’s first year would cost nearly $2 million. It would pay for 85 at-risk individuals to work with project and case managers. Resource specialists, site supervisors and data specialists would coordinate and track interventions.
Sterling says SLN looks to secure first year funding through community fundraising and grants.
He declined to comment on whether a new law signed this week shifting oversight of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to a state-controlled board would impact the city’s participation in the initiative.
Gov. Mike Kehoe has a month to name a transition director and then five members of the board, who will join the St. Louis mayor on the panel after they are approved by the Missouri Senate. In time, the law also requires the city to spend 25% of its budget on police.
“This has the potential of becoming totally chaotic,” Jones said. “Our most pressing issue is cost. The financial reports indicate that it's going to add an additional $40 million to our budget.”
Within the next month, St. Louis could also have a new mayor. On April 8, Jones faces alderwoman Cara Spencer in the general election after Spencer handily won the primary earlier this month.
Spencer could not be reached for comment Friday.
“It doesn’t divert resources from policing. The focused intervention is a time-tested way to focus on the worst of the worst, bring extra resources to either convince them to stop committing violent crime or put them in jail, so this is not anything that takes away from traditional policing,” Page told Spectrum News in a recent interview.
Kehoe has praised SLMPD Chief Robert Tracy, who has supported the Save Lives Now program. On Wednesday, Kehoe said his message to SLMPD was that despite the change in the law, it should be business as usual for the department.
