Don't Shoot

One Man, a Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America

By: David M. Kennedy

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Gang- and drug-related inner-city violence, with its attendant epidemic of incarceration, is the defining crime problem in our country. In some neighborhoods in America, one out of every 200 young black men is shot to death every year, and few initiatives of government and law enforcement have made much difference. But when David Kennedy, a self-taught and then-unknown criminologist, engineered the "Boston Miracle" in the mid-1990s, he pointed the way toward what few had imagined: a solution.

Don’t Shoot tells the story of Kennedy’s long journey. Riding with beat cops, hanging with gang members, and stoop-sitting with grandmothers, Kennedy found that all parties misunderstood each other, caught in a spiral of racialized anger and distrust. He envisioned an approach in which everyone - gang members, cops, and community members - comes together in what is essentially a huge intervention. Offenders are told that the violence must stop, that even the cops want them to stay alive and out of prison, and that even their families support swift law enforcement if the violence continues. In city after city, the same miracle has followed: Violence plummets, drug markets dry up, and the relationship between the police and the community is reset.

This is a landmark book, chronicling a paradigm shift in how we address one of America’s most shameful social problems. A riveting, pause-resisting listen, it combines the street vérité of The Wire, the social science of Gang Leader for a Day, and the moral urgency and personal journey of Fist Stick Knife Gun. But unlike anybody else, Kennedy shows that there could be an end in sight.

©2011 David M. Kennedy (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Fantastic Book

Especially in light of what's going on now in Ferguson - this is a particularly enlightening book.

While everyone is saying either, the cops or heros, or the criminals are victims, David Kennedy explains his methods that have worked in real life to reduce crime, and you see that the truth is somewhere in the middle.

I read this book because I felt very removed from this sort of thing in real life, and I think it has provided me a detailed view on current cop/criminal relations as well as how those relations may evolve in the future to lead to a more stable and happy society.

Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, I think you will find this book very informative. Kennedy removes the ideologies from our typical conversations about these issues and shows us what REALLY works.

This will work.

Focused Deterrence is a way of getting at the heart of the real problem. How often we say what we are going to do and walk pass the problem that needs to be addressed? I am going to keep trying to find ways beyond only using our police at my agency as a crime analyst. Thank you Dr Kennedy and to all who have worked on Focused Deterrence projects. It is my time to try with you all to guide along the way.

A simple truth

This is a tested guide to reduce violence and create police reforms welcomed by those they police.

Tragically Under-Appreciated

This book should have changed our society 10 years ago. It’s hard to accept how broken the current system is until someone shows a better way. This book is a must-read.

every American should read this book.

if you have any questions about violent crime in America this is the book to read. if you have any questions about race relations in America this is the book to read. if you have any questions about police in America this is the book to read.