Crime Journal \"They Picked Up Their Fists

Crime Journal

"They picked up their fists instead of guns" was how a reporter noted the outbreak of a gang fight in the city of Richmond, California, on Friday afternoon, October 14, 2011. What was unique about this crime story was that the fist fight broke out inside the City Hall complex within the Office of Neighborhood Safety. The seven people involved in the incident were in that office to collect some incentive payments as part of a privately funded initiative called Operation Peacemakers, the purpose of which is, curiously enough, to engage young people in mental health, anger management and other productive efforts to keep them out of trouble. On the day of the altercation, members of rival gangs showed up at about the same time and the confrontation occurred, spreading blood about the office, breaking furniture, and causing concern for many. The police received numerous 911 calls. When they arrived, they found one person with a bloody nose. Yet, there were no witnesses among the other 20 to 25-year-old men and not even the staff of the program would share with the police who was involved in the assault.

A fight between gang members is hardly a special situation, and may not have even been noticed under normal conditions with only one minor injury. What distinguished this confrontation are its physical location and the fact that neither the program staff -- perceived by some as being government workers -- nor anyone else would team up with the police to move a prosecution forward. In fact, they went out of their way to try to get a message out that just because these gang members were involved, this was no criminal melee; it was a fight, and that, criminal or not, they would not raise the seriousness by treating it as a gang brawl (Lee, 2011).

To many people, this raised concerns, getting some to worry about what was happening in Richmond, which has a reputation for being a community with serious criminal challenges. But in reality, the argument made by the Operation Peacemaker staff is compelling. They noted that there are strict requirements for what the men must do to live up to their agreement to be in the program, including receiving cash stipends (up to $1,000). Violating these terms by fighting, they noted, would bring about its own penalties. As such it was not worth the damage to the program for staff or anyone else to serve as witnesses in this fight because doing so would destroy the trust that the program demands to function at all. Working with young people in this condition demands something unique and the program feels it is accomplishing this mission.

What readers also got from the news accounts was a demonstration of the delicacy of the lines that keep gang members apart. The stories said specifically that the fight started as a result of "an exchange of looks" and "heated words." These seemingly minor actions are, in fact, very significant in settings where struggles for survival and strength are everywhere. Perhaps in tough economic times, being tough with one's hands is at least better than other alternatives. One police officer noted directly that they could have easily have shot each other. The perceived "stonewalling," which the Operation Peacemaker took issue with, was then a sign of progress.