Mayor Menino today joined Boston public safety, human services, and health officials to kick off S.P.R.I.N.G., an anti-violence strategy to get a jump start on stemming summer violence.  The aggressive six-part strategy is a coordinated effort across government agencies and community partners.  It will focus on sharing information, problem property enforcement, re-entry coordination, increased deployment, neighborhood engagement, and gang feud/player ceasefires.  The Mayor also outlined several new initiatives to support the strategy, including a Violence Interrupters Project in Mattapan, increased visibility of police on walking beats, and promoting positive summer programs and summer jobs in hot spot areas.

“We are working especially hard between now and July, because these efforts will shape our success from Independence Day to Labor Day,” Mayor Menino said. “Every shooting we prevent now means one or two fewer shootings in retaliation later this summer.  By working together and taking early action, we can help ensure that the youth and families of Boston have a safe and healthy summer, regardless of their zip code.”

The S.P.R.I.N.G summer strategy will focus on:

• Sharing information among city and partner agencies, including Boston Police Department, Boston Public Health Commission Violence Intervention Program, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families streetworkers. 
• Problem Property enforcement including problem residences, focusing on party houses, as well as licensed premises in neighborhoods and downtown.
• Re-Entry coordination with department of corrections based on successful work with Suffolk County, including visits on re-entry.
• Increased deployment of police and streetworkers in hotspot areas, including coordination of drug control units and Youth Violence Strike Force, and placing new strategically located cameras in target areas.
• Neighborhood Engagement and increased visibility will include adding more Safe Street Teams, BPD walking and bicycle beats, neighborhood and business crime watch groups, and summer jobs placement for at risk youth.  
• Gang feud/player ceasefire will focus on preventing retaliatory violence.  The Youth Violence Strike Force will organize a “call in” for violent gang members and provide relentless follow up.

Mayor Menino also outlined the new 2012 violence prevention initiatives and identified several S.P.R.I.N.G. benchmarks to be accomplished by July 1.

New in 2012

• Violence Interrupters Project in Mattapan
• Outreach workers in Bowdoin-Geneva
• Case management for PACT siblings
• Work experience projects for 12-14 year olds
• Summer jobs for 19 year olds
• Detective walking beats
• Unresolved shootings meetings
• Spring information sharing meetings with BPD, BPHC/VIP, BCYF/Streetworkers, and BPS
• Re-entry coordination with Department of Corrections, including visits on re-entry
• Daytime drug unit
• Caesefire “call-in” conversations for gang members

Benchmarks by July 1

• 75 new crime watch groups
• 10,000 summer jobs
• 65 training and transitional employment slots for PACT clients, 75 case management slots for PACT siblings ages 6-17
• 11,000 BPS summer program enrollments
• 3 additional Problem Properties identified
• 5 new Violence Interrupters working with Streetworkers in hotspots areas
• 34 cameras in historical/potential hotspots
• 55,000 spring walking/bicycle beats
• 50 visits with released prisoners
• 30 gang members called-in for ceasefire conversations
• 30 unresolved shootings meetings
• 2,500 youth enrolled for BCYF summer camps

###