Community Violence in NC

A Mother’s Plea to End Violence?

Life hasn’t been the same for Tamika Horne since January 26, 2014, when she received a call from a detective with the Rocky Mount Police Department.?

“He was like, ‘Ma’am, I’m sorry to tell you that your son’s been shot,’” said Horne. “I almost passed out.”?

Horne’s son, Nyreek, who was 12 years old at the time, was playing basketball near their home when someone drove by and started firing shots.?

Nyreek was shot in the head and rushed to the hospital.?

“The sight I saw when I got to the hospital. Wow. All I could see was that my baby had been shot,” said Horne. “It was a headshot. It took one of his eyes out.”?

Doctors initially said Nyreek would be paralyzed and nonresponsive for the rest of his life. But after just three months of recovery, he started showing signs that surprised the medical staff.?

“By the end of that week, he was responding,” said Horne. “After that, he could go to rehab.”?

While Nyreek has slowly gotten better over the past nine years, Tamika Horne says crime in the community seems to be getting worse.?

“It doesn't make any sense,” said Horne. “They shot my child. Since then other children have also been shot around here. And it is not changing. I don’t understand.”?

In North Carolina, violent crime rose year-over-year in 2019 and 2020 then slightly dropped in 2021, according to numbers from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.?

At the time this article was published [March 3, 2023], data from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was yet to be available for 2022. However, a study of crime trends in 35 cities released by the Council on Criminal Justice shows that most types of violent crime dropped in major US cities in 2022, but robberies and theft offenses rose.?

The same study reveals that 13 of the cities recorded a rise in homicide, including a 48% increase in Raleigh.?

In 2022 the city of Rocky Mount declared a state of emergency on crime, and the police chief asked a federal task force to come in and help get crime under control.?

For Tamika Horne, she says she tries to stay optimistic that things will get better for her community and other communities struggling with violence.?

She says her son has taught her what it means to hold onto hope.?

“He had just turned 12 years old, and he had to endure that,” said Horne. “But he is my inspiration. He is my shining star.”?

This hope has become a main part of Tamika Horne’s everyday life since she received that call in 2014. Because every day she has a reason to smile and a reason to believe things will get better.?

Project Safe Cabarrus Addresses Gun Violence?

A crime prevention program in Cabarrus County is seeing success in reducing violent crime rates. The program, called Project Safe Cabarrus, is a partnership between federal, state and local agencies.?

When Project Safe Cabarrus began in the mid-2000s, local law enforcement leaders quickly noticed. Violent crime rates plunged by about 60%.?

“Our county was one of the ones that the feds would bring others into to watch and learn from because we were having such great success,” said former Cabarrus County District Attorney Roxann Vaneekhoven.?

Project Safe Cabarrus (PSN) is one community part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods network. This collaborative approach to public safety utilizes law enforcement, community partnerships and data-driven strategic enforcement efforts to focus on criminals who drive violent crime, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Middle District of North Carolina.?

Across the Middle District, more than 50 law enforcement agencies have worked with nearly 200 community resource agencies using PSN strategies to reduce violent gun and gang crime since 2001.?

“We’ve identified the offenders that are a problem in the community. But at the same time we offer solutions through different programs and community-based organizations to help them turn their life around,” said Cabarrus County Sheriff Van Shaw.?

Officials with Project Safe Cabarrus say former inmates often return to crime because they struggle to reintegrate into society.?

“So we started to work with them in the jail and tried to give them incentives to look forward to when they got out,” said Project Safe Cabarrus Coordinator Jodi Ramirez. “We do that through the NC Works Career Center, through Opportunity House and the Cabarrus Reentry Initiative so that they can go and get help.”?

Former offenders can also get IDs and documents they’ll need to restore their lives. And if a person commits a new crime, the program doesn’t give up on them.?

“If they happen to re-offend and they find themselves back in jail, we want them to feel like we’re still going to work with them,” said Ramirez. “Our community is still out here to help you.”?

A Unique Mentor Program Curbs Gang Violence in Schools?

In Robeson County, a similar multifaceted approach toward reducing youth violence is taking shape.?

Growing up in Lumberton, Jadarion Chatman had some positive influences in his life, but then he started leaving those connections behind.?

“I started going down the wrong road probably like 8th or 9th grade,” said Chatman. “That’s when it started going downhill.”?

But then he met Leon Burden, the executive director of the nonprofit Colors of Life. He is also a “violence interrupter” in the community.?

Burden was an ex-gang member and became someone Jadarion trusted.?

“I hear kids every day, they holler for help,” said Burden. “Do we know the sound of crying? Do we know the sound of help? What makes me a little different? I walked in their shoes.”?

The North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center, based in Robeson County, operates the community-based violence interrupter program.?

Violence interrupters are individuals who have credibility with the youth in their community because of their positions in the community or their prior history with a gang.?

Violence interrupters try to use these relationships to reach active gang members, prevent violence in their communities and reach young people before gangs reach them.?

“Often unfortunately, sometimes our law enforcement doesn’t have that kind of rapport,” said Paul Smokowski, Research Director at the North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center. “But our violence interrupters will engage with youth and try to hook them into alternative programs to move their decisions in a new way.”?

Mike Brill is a well-known retired football coach in the area. He now serves the initiative with his approach—by recruiting students to athletics.?

“When I was a coach, if I had a player who I thought was in a gang, I would call Leon, knowing he was a former gang member, and he knew what gangs these kids were in,” said Brill. “And so, if I had a kid that was possibly in a gang or going to be involved, I’d ask Leon to talk to them because those kids would listen to him.”?

Jadarion Chatman is thankful for Leon Burden and his guidance. He says without that intervention, his life may have been different.?

“He’s a role model,” said Chatman. “So if it weren’t for Leon and Colors of Life, I’d probably be, you know, in the street even further.”?

The violence interrupter program is just getting started, but to date the data is promising.?

And that’s good news for Chatman. Because with a two-year-old daughter, he’s looking forward to guiding her to a positive future.?

#ncIMPACT #LawEnforcement #Crime #CrimePrevention #PublicSafety ?

David Hurst is a producer and reporter for ncIMPACT , a multiplatform series produced by PBS North Carolina in association with the UNC School of Government .?

Hosted by UNC Professor Anita Brown-Graham, season five of ncIMPACT visits communities, organizations and businesses across North Carolina that are developing creative solutions to critical issues like health care, education, employment, the economy and the environment. Watch Fridays at 7:30 PM on PBS NC and stream anytime with the PBS App.?

PBS North Carolina provides quality content and services to engage communities, enhance education, enrich lives and tell the stories of North Carolinians.?