KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — A coalition of local groups has taken the first step to try and get at the root causes of violence in the Kalamazoo community, with the ultimate goal of reducing the problem.
They met for just under four hours on Thursday, working on the basic issue as a beginning to understand the problem and Kalamazoo County Sheriff Rick Fuller said there was a lot of common ground during the inaugural meeting.
Portage Senior Deputy Chief Nick Armold said they have several more meetings planned over the next few months to continue refining their definitions and identifying problems and solutions.
Pastor Lenzy Bell thinks the American concept of criminal justice is backward and intrinsically unfair for minorities and the poor who have to accept a cut-rate form of justice, citing the recent cases of “affluenza” where young white privileged youth were let off easy by sympathetic judges.
Bell said all offenders should have those opportunities at a second chance, to overcome a youthful mistake, and to be given a chance to realize their potential. He also said society also needs o do a better job of rehabilitation and make it easier for ex-offenders to get back into society.
Bell also said on the occasions when he has hosted delegations from other countries, they are always surprised at how primitive and backward our penal system appears to be. He said it’s a huge elephant of a problem and the only way to consume it is one bite at a time.
Executive Director of Prevention Works Danielle Sielatycki said they hope to invite other essential community groups into the coalition, to do some community building and identify and narrow in on some specific targets and goals and go to work, to see how big a dent they can put into the problem of violence in Kalamazoo.
