Mayor Dominic J. Sarno held a press conference on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 to announce the first deployment, in a series of neighborhood deployments, where the criminal justice agencies and the human service organizations that are all part of Springfield’s Shannon Community Safety Initiative will participate in an effort to identify and work directly with gang members and youth at risk of becoming involved with gang activity to promote prevention, intervention, and suppression which will reduce gang related crime and youth violence.
Other officials attending the March 31, 2009 press conference were: Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet; Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe; District Attorney William Bennett; Mayoral Aide Darryl E. Moss; and several other Shannon Grant partnership agencies.
The deployments will involve approaching youth directly on the streets of Springfield’s neighborhoods to provide the City’s youth with information and guidance designed to offer alternatives to gang involvement through a comprehensive service delivery system.
