Berrien County ALPACT working to reduce gun violence among youth
BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- As guns in the hands of young people becomes a growing problem in Berrien County, local leaders are looking at ways to curb the violence.
Between 2018 to 2023, 182 youth aged 18 and younger were referred to Berrien County Courts for firearm-related offenses.
The majority of incidents involved 16 and 17-year-olds and took place in Benton Harbor or Niles.
The numbers jumped at the start of the pandemic, from 17 in 2019 to 49 in 2020. This shows that gun violence stems from more than just having access to a gun - there are outside factors, too, like poverty or food insecurity.
Berrien County ALPACT, or Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, are working towards creating positive impacts on police and community relations.
The group is looking into the efforts of similar organizations in other cities, picking out what's seemed to work and what might work for Berrien County.
They're also looking into getting what they call 'disruptors' out into the community. A disruptor is someone from the area in charge of trying to cut the cycle of violence short.
They might do something like visit someone who's been shot in the hospital and explain why retaliation isn't the answer.
ALPACT also wants to look into the programs and resources offered to youth, with hopes that making sure they feel involved in their community and have things to do could curb some of the violence, too.
Along with these preventative measures, Berrien County Commissioner and Co-Chair of ALPACT, Chokwe Pitchford says the community's help is needed, too.
Pitchford says, "you can be a part of a group that's trying to not only bring the community and law enforcement together, but we're also trying to solve big issues, or at least contribute heavy to big issues like gun violence and how to reduce it in Berrien County."
The next public community ALPACT meeting is July 23rd at 9:45AM on Zoom.
To learn more about ALPACT, visit its Facebook page.