SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – With gun violence on the rise, the NAACP Presidents of Greater Springfield, Boston, and Worcester are emphasizing the need to end the violence and maintain a safe community for everyone.
Gun violence across the nation has been ramping up and President of the Springfield NAACP, Bishop Talbert Swan, says this is a reminder that there is a lot of work to be done in communities to demonstrate that everyone’s life has value.
“We are trying to ring the alarm that the lives of our children, our seniors, our family members, our friends should be worth taking a real hard look at what needs to be done to curb violence,” said Bishop Swan.
According to the Bishop Swan, cracking down on gun violence will take more than efforts from the police. Springfield Deputy Police Chief Steve Kent told 22News the police department is encouraging more proactive policing.
“We use our crime analysis unit to assemble data that shows us where these events are taking place and they actually put out a predictability package once every month to show us where they think the next hot spot is going to be, based on the data from the previous month,” said Deputy Chief Kent.
On top of limiting easy access to guns, Swan says the social and economic inequalities that fuel gun violence need to be addressed, “We have got to provide resources and access to economic opportunity and other things in order to reduce violence and then we got to have sensible gun legislation.”
NAACP officials says they are committed to advancing these solutions to stop the gun violence.
Kiara Smith is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since March 2023. Follow Kiara on X @KiaraBSmith1 and view her bio to see more of her work.
