by Jake Offenhartz
The Gothamist
June 15, 2022

… The violence interrupters – often local community members who were previously incarcerated – are part of the Crisis Management System, a network of city-funded nonprofit operators that seek to de-escalate conflicts and direct individuals to support services.

… Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has researched the crisis management system, said the city faces the difficult job of scaling up the program without losing its grass-roots bonafides. “The ideal employee is a 35-year-old who did time in prison and now can talk to the 15-year-olds in the neighborhood about making choices,” Butts said. “That person is not set up to have all the skills to run a non-profit.”

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