ST. LOUIS — It’s called focused deterrence.
And studies show the crime reduction strategy works to decrease homicides.
Now, regional and economic business leaders are hoping the people in power will put it into motion in the City of St. Louis.
Greater St. Louis, Inc. and the Regional Business Council are partnering to bring the man who wrote the book on the strategy to a crime summit planned for Wednesday at Washington University.
And that author, Thomas Abt, who penned, “Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence -- and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets” is willing to help St. Louis get the program started for free, according to University of Missouri- St. Louis criminologist Richard Rosenfeld.
In St. Louis, homicides are largely concentrated in six small neighborhoods.
Focused deterrence puts the relatively few number of people who account for a disproportionate amount of crime in those areas in a room with police, prosecutors, social service leaders, clergy and sometimes their own family members, Rosenfeld said.
“The message is that essentially the violence has to stop,” Rosenfeld said. “We obviously know who you are, will pull all available levers if we have to get you off the street. In the meantime, if you want out of this life, here are services and supports that can help you take a different path."
Research shows those who attend those types of meetings are less likely to get arrested again, Rosenfeld said.
Some of that research is based on a focused deterrence program that Rosenfeld was a part of during St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce’s administration, which ended in 2017.
The economic and business agencies planning Wednesday’s summit hired Rosenfeld to write a white paper on how St. Louis’s homicide rate specifically affects the region’s ability to attract and retain businesses.
It’s a crucial conversation, according to Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc., and the pending resignation of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner helps build momentum.
“We need a change at the Circuit Attorney's Office in the city, and that change is coming, and we applaud the governor and the mayor and others that are working on it,” Hall said. “This is a region-wide issue and we all have to step up not pointing fingers at each other, but say we're in this together because when we solve this together, that means more jobs, a safer community for everyone.”
Rosenfeld’s report concluded the St. Louis region’s homicide rate is among the highest in the country, more than double the U.S. metro average in 2020. At least 360 people were killed in the St. Louis region in 2022.
“The number of killings in the city has dropped during 2021 and 2022 from the 2020 peak. Nonetheless, homicide remains, by far, the number one crime problem our region faces. The killing is heavily – though far from entirely – concentrated in certain neighborhoods within the city,” Rosenfeld wrote.
To be effective, Rosenfeld says the city also needs more police officers – but the city’s progressive leaders dominating the city’s political leadership have been more in favor of putting resources into services that address root causes of crime.
“I think focused deterrence, one of its distinctive and I think desirable attributes is that it's both best of both worlds, both worlds being law enforcement and criminal justice engagement on the one hand, and community engagement on the other,” Rosenfeld said.
Political, law enforcement and criminal justice leaders across the region are expected to attend next week’s summit.
“This is one of the most promising moments to do something effective and quite important to improve the health and safety and prosperity of our region,” Rosenfeld said. “I'm heartened by the fact that regional leaders, people from across the metropolitan area are going to come together to discuss this kind of approach.
“Time will tell,” he said.
The summit will take place from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Eric P. Newman Education Center at Washington University School of Medicine.
To read Rosenfeld’s white paper, click here.
Below is the study on the focused deterrence program:
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