Los AngelesIn his work to stem gang violence throughout Central America and in Los Angeles, Guillermo Cespedes has learned that violence and the families affected by it transcend borders.
He often tells the story of meeting a shooting victim in an L.A. hospital—an effort to interrupt the pattern of retaliatory violence—whose first phone call was to his family in El Salvador.
“The neighborhood is much larger than we thought," dit Céspedes, addressing an audience of 600 at the seventh annual Conférence sur la prévention et l'intervention contre les gangs, held May 7-8. “We usually use the term ‘transnational’ to talk about crime. But in the case of Central America, there is transnational family.”
Among those gathered at the conference—former gang members turned community violence intervention workers, trauma surgeons, policiers, elected officials, civil society activists and others—some 150 attendees came from outside of the United States.
Céspedes, formerly Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles and director of its Gang Reduction and Youth Development office, said the international presence at the conference – increasing every year – parallels the growing sense in the field that what happens in the United States and in Central America is interconnected.
Currently a Senior Advisor on Crime and Violence Prevention with Creative Associates International, Cespedes has also served as Deputy Chief of Party for the USAID-funded and Creative-implemented Proposer plus project in Honduras, which uses a family counseling model to reduce youth risk for violence.
In this position and his career in Los Angeles, he has worked with many families with members on both sides of the border.
He said that while families and the challenges they face spread across international borders, the solutions to violence must be adapted to each context.
“I think any medicine that gets exported to Central America actually comes back stronger," il a dit. “But I don’t think it’s possible to take even what’s most effective in L.A. and just suddenly transfer it to Central America. I think there’s a process of adaptation that needs to take place. That adaptation takes really knowing both sides, both contexts.”
Allowing communities to lead
S'exprimant lors d'un panel plénier aux côtés de Cespedes, Rosita Amaya de Services de secours catholiques au Salvador a souligné l'importance d'impliquer les communautés dans la consolidation de la paix en fonction de leurs besoins et de leurs espoirs spécifiques..
« Nous devons d’abord demander aux personnes qui travaillent sur le terrain de voir ce qui fonctionne et de créer une stratégie collective.," dit-elle. « Mon rêve pour l’avenir est que nous soyons capables d’inclure les personnes qui peuvent réellement nous donner la réponse à ces problèmes. »
Cespedes a ajouté qu'un travail efficace de prévention de la violence ne s'adapte pas seulement au contexte local., mais reconnaît également que toutes les personnes présentes dans ce lieu ne devraient pas être traitées de la même manière, ou administré le même « médicament ».
“What’s needed is the right level of intervention for different types of populations," il a dit. “Not all the people in a particular neighborhood have their fingers on the trigger. We do have to address those with fingers on the trigger differently than those who are maybe thinking of getting a gun.”
Throughout the conference, speakers and attendees highlighted the need for a holistic approach that weaves together violence prevention, intervention or interruption and law enforcement.
Strategies outlined included visiting shooting victims in the hospital to offer them an exit ramp and prevent retaliatory violence; reclaiming public parks as no-violence zones with free programming; and building collaboration between outreach and law enforcement.
Balance between enforcement and prevention
David Kennedy, directeur du Réseau national pour des communautés sûres au Collège John Jay, a déclaré que l'une des causes profondes des cycles de violence est la détérioration de la légitimité du gouvernement et la confiance entre les communautés et l'État.
« Les violences graves sont concentrées dans de très petites populations de personnes exceptionnelles. Ils courent un risque astronomique, ils vivent dans des communautés qui ont été historiquement soumises à une oppression et à des dommages terribles et qui ne reçoivent pas le type d'attention et de soutien dont ils ont besoin," il a dit. « Si vous ne faites pas confiance à la police et que quelqu'un essaie de vous attaquer, tu ne vas pas demander de l'aide, you are going to take care of it yourself.”
Considering this pattern, strengthening positive ties between the communities and law enforcement is a critical step to stemming violence, les panélistes ont dit.
In his remarks at the conference, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck underscored the need for law enforcement to work hand in hand with community outreach efforts to improve relationships between neighborhoods and police that have often been shattered, such as during the city’s war on drugs and gangs that led to thousands of arrests.
“When you declare war on a significant piece of the population, you declare war on yourself," il a dit. “The most important thing a department and community can have is trust.”
With a change in law enforcement’s approach, Beck a indiqué que la criminalité des gangs avait été réduite de moitié au cours des dernières années. 10 années et ça 2018 est en passe d'établir un nouveau plus bas taux d'homicides et de victimes par balle.
« Cela est réalisé par des centaines de personnes qui travaillent très dur pour changer la façon dont notre communauté se perçoit.," il a dit.
Mêmes principes, nouvel objectif
Bien que les principaux piliers de la prévention de la violence – une approche de santé publique associant des interventions appropriées à des niveaux de risque –, programmation holistique, partenariats, données et durabilité – sont restés au cœur de la conférence, de nombreux orateurs ont appelé à un effort continu pour réfléchir de manière critique et aborder les problèmes sous un nouvel angle.
« Dans ce domaine évolue, la lentille va se développer, ça va être affiné davantage," a déclaré Fernando Rejon, Directeur exécutif du Institut urbain pour la paix. “We’re going to learn more when we look at things from different perspectives.”
For some, like Catholic Relief Services’ Amaya and Creative’s Cespedes, this means flipping the script on evidence and focusing not just on what communities’ lack or struggle with, but where they draw strength from. In the case of the USAID-funded Proponte Más project, that has meant expanding the view of youth risk factors for engaging with gangs and violence to also look at protective factors, such as feeling safe in school.
“It’s looking at data through both lenses, not just what’s wrong but what’s right," dit Céspedes. “We have to not just be capable of moving the camera around and finding a different angle, we have to be able to take the lens off the camera.”