Year after year inside American cities, gang violence, gun violence and murder take place inside impoverished urban areas.
With police departments lacking resources, and community members looking for answers and help, a new breed
of
violence interrupter
has
emerged on
the
streets. Part mercenary, part negotiator, part mouthpiece
for
change.
The Interrupters
are organized street crews who are working inside some of America’s most dangerous
neighborhoods,
intervening in gang disputes, social beefs, and on-going violent gun wars.
The work of violence interrupters is not new, it has been around since the late 1980’s when street gangs were organized, and gang leadership was able to wield power over their soldiers.
In 2022, street gangs have fractured, now there are neighborhood cliques. This work has changed, the stakes and mission is different. How do you negotiate with gangs with no leader?
The last two years inside Chicago, has been the most violent in 30 years, The Interrupters are on a mission to go to the root of the problem, one gun at-a-time.
Inside Chicago there are 15 Interrupter Units working the neighborhoods on the South and West Sides, they are involved in thousands of gang conflicts and shootings.
As negotiators, and law enforcement adjacent operators, The Interrupters go out on a nightly basis to recruit, intervene, and stop murders and shootings.
Groups such as, READI Chicago, My City My Block My Hood, Chicago Cred, Teamwork Englewood use former gang members, street disciples, & gang mediators who put their lives on the line every day.
The Interrupters is a procedural documentary series that embeds
with
The Interrupters every
week
on
the
streets
of
Chicago,
with
access to on-going gang wars, shootings,
with
stakes that
are life and
death.
The
Interrupters work with the Chicago PD, but they also understand the mistrust and break down inside these communities. The Interrupters hand off evidence and intelligence to help solve murders and shootings, it is a vicious high-wire act.
The potential cities to embed are Los Angeles, Chicago, Tulsa, New York City, Houston, and Miami.