Chester Partnership sparking interest outside Delco
Visitors from Arkansas travel to Chester for gun violence tips
Representatives from Pine Bluff, Arkansas visited the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office this week to glean tips on violent crime reduction following the success of the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods.
The partnership was launched by District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in October 2020 to reduce gun violence in the city by bringing together local stakeholders for a data-driven, all-handson-deck initiative that employs a carrot-and-stick approach to combating gun violence.
According to figures previously provided by the DA’s office, there had been a 60% decrease in non-fatal shootings; 66% reduction in shooting homicides; and a 55% decrease in gun
violence incidents as of Sept. 30, 2022.
Homicide clearance rates — the percentage of homicide investigations that result in an arrest — were also the highest they have been in more than 20 years with 70 percent, according to those numbers.
Clearance rates for 2020 and 2021 were 53 and 57 percent, respectively, while 2018 and 2019 both had clearance rates of just 22 percent.
The partnership recently
received a $2 million grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. It works with partners throughout Delaware County to provide services to high risk individuals while also engaging with youth and other community members in positive activities, such as a Biddy Basketball League.
Pine Bluff is a city of approximately 40,000 just outside Little Rock and is in the preliminary stages
of developing its own gun violence intervention program, according to Stollsteimer spokesperson Margie McAboy.
Stollsteimer, First Assistant District Attorney Tanner Rouse, Criminal Investigation Division Chief Jim Nolan, Deputy District Attorney Matt Krouse and CPSN Program Coordinator Melissa Muroff were on hand for an all-day session with the nine-person delegation from Pine Bluff.
Representatives including the mayor and sheriff heard from Krouse, the CPSN team leader, who emphasized that the success of the program is the result of collaborative efforts between law enforcement, the mayor’s office, county council and a network of non-profit organizations.
Wednesday’s visit included a bus tour through Chester with buses provided by the county’s Emergency
Services Department. The group was also joined by representatives from York.
Following their visit to Delaware County, the Pine Bluff group traveled to York to learn from leaders there about their own gun violence reduction efforts. The delegation was accompanied by representatives from John Jay College, which facilitated the visit.