As of a few weeks ago there had been 143 incidents, and counting, of gun violence in Madison. Each day seems to bring a new crop, but the overall numbers are a stunning 88% higher than last year. Madison set a monthly record with shots fired incidents in June with 29. The next month we topped ourselves with 44.
At last count 28 people had actually been hit, but the most recent was also the most tragic. Eleven-year-old Anisa Scott was killed while riding in a vehicle on East Washington Avenue. The three men charged in the crime were aiming at the driver.
Madison’s leaders recently held a press conference in which they said “enough is enough.” It was appropriate for them to make those strong public statements, but of course no one believes that strong words from the mayor and alders are going to end the violence. That will take real action.
The proposals offered so far have been, for the most part, basically social programs aimed at addressing some of the conditions that the proponents believe lead to violent behavior. They might have some effect in the long run, but none of them will do anything to end the shooting right now.
Probably the most effective thing that could be done immediately is to get the bad guys off the street. Most of the shooters this summer have been people with criminal records and many have already been subject to arrest for other violations. For example, one of the three teens charged with the killing of Anisa Scott could have been arrested earlier for felony bail jumping charges and another was also charged with participating in the looting of State Street businesses earlier this summer.
I understand that this strategy cuts against current movements to reduce incarceration for parole violations and to abolish cash bail. Maybe those things have some merit in the long run, but when the problem is that your city has become a shooting gallery, it’s time to just address the problem and worry about the long run later.
The current soft program that is getting the most attention is called the Focused Interruption Coalition. The idea is to diffuse retaliatory attacks by using peer mentors. It’s a great idea that doesn’t seem to have had much effect. The program has been in place for several years and yet we’re seeing a record number of shots fired incidents this summer, much of it exactly the kind of tit-for-tat that the FIC was supposed to prevent. The director of the program complains that his budget has been cut, but he still says he has $250,000 to spend this year and, of course, there should have been a long-term impact from all those previous years of the program. This might be a worthwhile program but it’s not likely to do anything to stop the shooting right now.
Look, I’m all for trying to solve the root causes of crime, but it’s simply beyond the resources of local governments to end poverty, fix dysfunctional families, and get guns off the streets — even if we can agree that those are, in fact, the root causes. We can only hope that a Biden-Harris administration will start attacking some of those problems in earnest next year.
I understand that Wisconsin has a high incarceration rate. I know that Dane County sends a disproportionate number of Black men to prison. Those are real issues. But a society that doesn’t feel safe is going to be in no mood to deal seriously with those problems.
What’s needed right here right now are interventions that stop the shooting so that 11-year-old girls aren’t killed in the back seats of cars. The most effective way to do that is to remove the shooters from the community before they can pull the trigger.
