Why is Worcester’s Gun Violence So Much Lower Than Other New England Cities?

Edward J. McGinn, Jr.

Like any other city its size, Worcester is not without its share of problems with respect to street gangs, illicit drug sales and abuse, the unhoused, mentally ill populations, and a host of other urban quality of life issues. That said, in the City of Worcester, gun violence is and has historically been considerably lower than that of other similarly sized cities in New England and indeed the Northeast. Why?

Central to gun violence in any city are street gangs and the drug trade that is so commonly associated with these gangs. Belonging to a street gang was once an optional, but affirmative, choice for young people. Today however, our city’s youth, especially in low-income areas, are heavily recruited to join gangs, often with compulsion; “Either you’re with us or you’re against us.” How many times can a neighborhood kid be threatened, beaten up, or robbed by gang recruiters before they relent and join the gang?

While some gang members are genuinely dangerous, many are not; particularly fringe members who do not want to be continuously set upon to join. Yet, once in a gang, a persuasive and perverse pack mentality comes about causing youths to adopt a faux “hardcore” persona, one that requires the individual to act out violently on behalf of the gang. This gives rise to violence against rival gangs, often with the player not even knowing what the original quarrel was about. These violent acts then beg retaliatory and other quid-pro-quo violent reactions by or on behalf of opposing gangs and members. Accordingly, shooters tend to know, or know of, their victims here and vice-versa. With this, Monday’s shooting victims become the shooters by the end of the week. Moreover, gang members, whether leaders or marginal followers, arm themselves with guns as a matter of self-protection. Then, once a firearm is in the mix, simple disputes once dealt with by fistfights now become shootings. This gun culture/mentality then continues into later life unless some intervention occurs.

In Worcester law enforcement, we take a multi-level approach toward preventing gang-related crime. Working with youth in the city, we partner with organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, PAL Leagues, and various church groups to expose kids to police in a positive and supportive environment. All too often, kids only see police when “something bad has happened.” These exposures allow our city’s kids to engage with cops as mentors, coaches or in other positive capacities. The key here is to get our kids to a safe place whether it be a part-time job, sports, or other activity where they can receive the mentorship of a concerned adult. The power of a mentor in a kid’s life cannot be overstated.

In response to the older youth, kids that may have already dabbled in gang activity, we reach out to them in the form of camps, jobs, and other job readiness approaches to lure them from the misery that gang lifestyle will surely afford them.

As the hallmark of any effective law enforcement agency is as much deterrence/prevention of crime as it is investigation of crime, it is incumbent on police to insert themselves into a place where initial and retaliatory gun violence cannot take place or is so fraught with risk of apprehension that it is deterred. Generally, our officers and detectives have a good idea who the players are, what teams (gangs) they associate with, and what the prevailing dispute is at any given time. The task then is leveraging a sufficient response to influence, separate, and mediate with the potential combatants so that cooler heads prevail. Conferring with family, clergy, teachers, mentors, probation officers, the courts, and other persons of influence for gang members is called to bear. Failing this approach, or in other circumstances, an intensified law enforcement effort is applied to these individuals to curtail their illicit activities, their source of illicit income, and that of all with whom they associate. In sum, they and their associates will not be able to conduct business as usual (drug sales, or other criminality) undetected. This is attention that they cannot long stand.

Other forms of gun violence are addressed by other means. In Worcester we have been fortunate to not have experienced a gun-related domestic violence death in the past several years. We attribute this to the intervention systems in place to intervene in domestic violence with the requirement that any such matter that comes to our attention is made part of the official public record, court protective orders are obtained, and that such matters are followed up by police as well as outside intimate partner and child protection agencies. Where applicable, gun licenses are suspended, and guns removed from homes.

Also, as part of our multi-prong approach, are such programs as the Guns to Gardens program, formerly known as the Good for Guns program. Now in its 22nd year, this program, pioneered by Dr. Michael Hirsh, partners medical professionals, public health, police, and the District Attorney’s Office to allow people to turn in guns anonymously and with immunity in exchange for a gift card to a local grocery store. This purely voluntary program has resulted in the collection of more than 3,700 guns since its inception, and the program has expanded to other areas of the Commonwealth and major cities in New England. The key here is to offer people a place to get rid of an unwanted gun so that it does not come into the hands of a child, become the subject of theft, or be used during a heated domestic situation, or be taken up by a person in the throes of a mental health crisis. Each year, this program brings into the forefront mindfulness that guns can present a danger in the household if unwanted or improperly stored. The ability to remove a gun from the household without questions asked is readily embraced by those wishing to rid their home of these lethal devices.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I failed to give most honorable mention of the impeccable skills and abilities of the Worcester EMS system and emergency medicine trauma facilities. I have been a police officer for 38 years and over those years, I have sadly witnessed shooting victims in the field and have thought to myself that this poor victim isn’t going to make it. But time and time again, I have been pleasantly surprised to see the patient be wrenched from the jaws of death by the dedicated EMS squads to be followed upon by the incredible lifesaving interventions conducted at our local trauma facilities. While the violence has unfortunately occurred, its lethal effects are greatly mitigated, and the victim can live another day for us to pre-empt retaliatory violence.

All this work is difficult and can be tremendously frustrating, but the young lives that are lost or diminished as a result of gun violence is a societal cost of such magnitude that there is little we do as police that is more important than intervening. Avoidance of gun violence in the first place is the gold standard, but we’ll take turning a kid around from gang warfare and gun involvement any day. +

Edward J. McGinn, Jr. is Deputy Chief of Police for the City of Worcester.