September 20, 2023
Josh Crawford is an attorney, criminologist and a director at the Georgia Center for Opportunity.
NEW Landmark Study on Reducing Crime
Listen to the Shelley Wynter Show, September 18, 2023, for a thought-provoking and crucial discussion on the pressing issue of rising crime in our cities, public safety, and effective public policy solutions. We are thrilled to have our own Josh Crawford as a special guest, bringing his expertise and insights to the forefront. Josh Crawford is a renowned expert in criminal justice and public policy, and his expertise will shed light on the strategies we need to implement to address these critical concerns.
*Josh’s interview begins at 19:03.
Lawrenceville, Ga. – Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded an endowment grant to Lawrenceville First United Methodist Church. The grant will enable the church to facilitate the Raising Highly Capable Kids parenting program — called the Parents First Initiative — across the Lawrenceville community.
The Parents First Initiative is a unique partnership designed to empower parents to equip their kids for life. By leveraging the Raising Highly Capable Kids program, the initiative will help parents develop the skills they need while building the meaningful relationships that weave a community together.
“We are thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside Lawrenceville First United Methodist to make this curriculum available to more Georgia families,” said Joyce Mayberry, vice president of family at GCO. “The endowment will help this critical curriculum continue to thrive. Beyond resilient kids, we’re focused on building resilient communities. This grant will help us make a bigger difference in the lives of families across the state.”
“We need a village to raise kids today and we want to help build that village together,” said Rev. Dr. Adam Hilderbrandt of Lawrenceville First United Methodist Church. “Raising Highly Capable Kids’ 13-week course will give footings to build this village and the connections made will allow the village to grow from there.”
The Raising Highly Capable Kids program empowers adults to become stronger parents with healthier families. Its 13-week-long, evidence-based curriculum gives adults the tools and skills they need to confidently raise children who are caring, responsible, and healthy.
Raising Highly Capable Kids is presented by the Georgia Center for Opportunity, in partnership with Rezilient Kids. It’s currently being offered to adults in communities across Georgia.
The objective of Raising Highly Capable Kids is to help kids have healthier outcomes across all areas of their lives, including family life, academics, mental health, social wellbeing, and their eventual careers. By focusing on the family unit and the whole child, the program improves parent-child communication, strengthens bonds, and helps kids to avoid risky behaviors.
“We’re opening lines of communication between parents and students and improving academic outcomes,” Mayberry said. “And, we’re helping parents to see their strengths in parenting, equipping them with the right tools and resources to be successful.”
The program also connects parents to one another, creating a stronger community as parents learn how to create healthier, more effective environments for their children. According to Mayberry, it’s critically important for parents to understand that they’re not alone, and they have support along the journey.
One of the program’s most unique aspects is its focus on where parents excel in their roles as they raise their kids.
“We’re here to support them and identify their strengths,” Mayberry said.
According to Mayberry, this program isn’t just about improving parenting skills and kids’ outcomes in the here and now. It’s about facilitating change across entire communities and carrying those changes into the future for generations to come.
“Through Raising Highly Capable Kids, we’re going to change the trajectory of families,” said Mayberry. “We’ll change the parents’ lives and the kids’ in turn. It’s all about generational transformation.”
The bottom line is that communities need more programs like the Parents First Initiative. Raising Highly Capable Kids depends on community organizations, churches, and schools to get involved and help to facilitate its curriculum in local communities. From volunteer teachers to organizations that incentivize parents to complete their classes, there are many ways to get involved.
If you or your organization would like to help with Raising Highly Capable Kids, we’re looking for leaders in:
- School environments who can provide parents in their communities with the tools they need to help their kids succeed in academics
- Churches who are willing to offer courses locally
- Nonprofit organizations who are willing to host local classes
There is also an ongoing need for volunteers to teach the courses wherever they’re made available.
Want to get involved? Get in touch with Joyce Mayberry at joycem@foropportunity.org.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity is releasing a new report on violent crime in Atlanta, which highlights the city’s recent spike in violent crime and how to mitigate it.
Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at GCO, developed the report, along with recommendations for reducing violent crime in Atlanta.
“The brief and its recommendations are designed to create a base level of what order and public safety should look like across the board,” Crawford says. “It’s imperative that we have an intentional conversation about the state of crime in Atlanta now, and how we can improve that for the future.”
According to Crawford’s report, criminal activity reduces opportunities in both small communities and metropolitan areas, destabilizing them in the process. In addition, crime devalues both businesses and individuals in those areas.
Although there have been positive steps toward improvement in Atlanta during recent years, there’s still work to be done. Some of those measures still need to be implemented, while other solutions need to be developed. In his report, Crawford shares a number of recommendations.
Since 2018, the rates of violent crime and homicide have increased dramatically in Atlanta. The largest spike occurred during 2020 and was a reflection of the broader trend nationwide. Between 2009 and 2017, homicides in Atlanta tended to average 90 or fewer, with a few exceptions in 2008 (105) and 2016 (113).
Since the rise in violent crime began in 2018, Atlanta has not experienced a year with fewer than 80 murders, with an additional 217 people murdered over the previous decade’s average.
On top of the rising crime, many convicted violent criminals in Georgia aren’t serving out their full sentences. As a result, they’re being released back onto the streets long before their sentences end. For example:
To make matters worse, a dip in law enforcement personnel has coincided with the rise in crime.
Crawford says that the majority of crime tends to be concentrated in small, dense areas controlled by violent gangs.
“We have to focus our efforts on gang-controlled areas across the city,” he says. “By doing that, we’ll start to see significant gains. It’s a more effective approach than trying to broaden our reach.”
Once law enforcement has pinpointed high-crime areas, Crawford says they can then implement a series of strategies he calls “focused deterrence.” In other words, incidences of violent crime–such as homicides and shootings–would theoretically be reduced. This result is possible through concentrated social service and law enforcement activities in these gang-controlled sectors.
Using the combined, competent approach of law enforcement and social services would enable individual criminals to undergo rehabilitation. These measures would emphasize getting to the root of the problem, and helping each person to make the necessary changes to his or her life.
“We believe it’s not possible to truly help reduce crime without directly addressing the person or problem where it originates,” Crawford says.
In addition to narrowing the focus to areas of high gang activity and addressing individuals wherever possible, there are also things that can be done to improve community safety in those areas. Here are some of the steps Crawford recommends.
Address disrepair in Atlanta’s communities by expanding cleanup efforts, tearing down or renovating abandoned buildings, and installing adequate street lighting
Build trust between community residents and law enforcement and social services, particularly through protecting the rights of victims
Remove egregious offenders from communities by implementing gang-enhancement provisions such as SB44 (2023) that keep these individuals incarcerated
Improve and require pre-entry cognitive behavioral therapy services for all juvenile offenders, no matter how non-violent their offenses
Reevaluate reentry programs through an external third party, examining the impact on revocation, rearrest, and reconviction
Through this strategic, multi-layered approach, Crawford estimates that it would be possible to reduce Atlanta’s caseload to no more than six homicides each year.
But that doesn’t mean Boston is without its challenges. Juvenile gun arrests increased 83% in 2022. The number of “incidents involving weapons resulting in discipline” increased 44% in Boston Public Schools from September 2022 through February 2023 compared to the same time the years before. And by October of last year, more juveniles had been shot than in all of 2021. A recent number of high profile attacks by juveniles and murders of juveniles are forcing policymakers and advocates alike to search for solutions.
