TAKING MEDIATION TO THE STREETS

The Washington Post recently reported on the DC Peace Academy program to train mediators to address challenges facing the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

Capital News Service reported by April 19, 2021, all violent crime in DC numbered 961 cases, but by April 19th of this year, the number had increased almost 28% to 1,230 cases and citizens are pressuring for programs to reverse this rise. In a statement, Mayor Muriel Bowser pledged to get guns off the streets and to work to prevent crime before it happens.

One study recommended that the District train and increase the number of violence intervention workers. In response, a new academy was funded by “Peace for DC,” a nonprofit founded by restaurant owner Roger Marmet after his son was killed by a stray bullet in 2018. The first cohort of 25 people will receive 13 weeks of training for mediating conflicts and “engaging one-on-one with those most at risk of committing crimes.” The objective is to train 150 people by the end of 2023.

The training in negotiation and conflict resolution skills is being developed in large part by local community leaders. Some refer to the cohort training as learning to be “violence interrupters.” Whatever they’re called, a program developed by local communities to provide conflict resolution for their district must be supported.

Mediation programs in the courts are a benefit to the community, but so are iniatives that address conflicts within neighborhoods before they become disputes that could lead to violence.