Police seek to call-in known gang members to C-U Fresh Start

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCCU) — Champaign Police report 100 shooting incidents in Champaign County and the greater Champaign-Urbana area in 2018 thus far.

During Tuesday’s Champaign City Council meeting, city leaders met to discuss how to improve a program that aims to fight the growing problem of gun violence.

“It is an ongoing learning experience,” Community Relations Coordinator of C-U Fresh Start, Tracy Parsons said.

C-U Fresh Start is wrapping up its second year this month, which organizers are calling a very active but rough year for them. They said challenges with Fresh Start included staffing turnover, lack of participants and community engagement.

In 2013, law enforcement in Champaign - Urbana saw a need to address the significant increase in gun violence.

After a few years of planning, C-U fresh start blossomed in November 2016. A three-pillar approach gave individuals with a history of violence or gun-related behaviors a choice to put down the weapon and get help from resources or otherwise face severe consequences.

Organizers of Fresh Start said while the second year was productive, there is always room for improvement, releasing a 38-page report with some of their lessons learned.

According to the report, in year two, the management of C-U Fresh Start activities was severely impacted after losing its full-time project manager and case manager -- both of whom decided to pursue other opportunities.

The report also showed Fresh Start participants felt like the project manager served as their mentor. Organizers said the two roles are critical when it comes to maintain communication with police, collecting crime data and developing program strategies.

“How do we help get folks to talk about what’s happening in the neighborhoods and not normalize this activity,” Parsons said.

A total of four call-ins were reported to date. 34 individuals were first selected to participate in the "intervention" call-ins, but more than half declined to participate. Of the 16 participants Tuesday, four are employed or engaged, seven are in the department of corrections, one facing parole or probation and another in federal custody. Of the 18 who declined to join C-U Fresh Start, seven are currently behind bars, six facing parole or probation and two are no longer living -- police could not say anything more about their deaths.

Moving forward, police want to call-in known gang members to be a part of Fresh Start.

They said they also want to identify and call-in those who usually do not cooperate when they are investigating shootings, after Cobb said often times those individuals choose to remain silent in an effort to retaliate.