Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder says a new effort aimed at reducing gang violence is getting results.
Langfelder says the “focused deterrence” effort identifies young people whose run-ins with law enforcement indicate that they are among the most likely to engage in gang or gun crimes… and then brings them in to talk about the consequences of their actions.
Langfelder says someone works with those young people to help them steer clear of trouble. So far, it appears that the number of gang-related incidents is down this year.