A good article about what is taking place on the streets of Boston. After these meetings between church leaders and the police are either continued, expanded or resumed , what course of action should the police take? If the police begin to put real pressure on some of the troublemakers and probably seize guns and other weapons,I'm willing to predict that Mr Harmon's next article will about why the police have to take a softer approach - that is the dilemma. There is a call for action, the police respond and the media and other intetrest groups begin criticizing the police. That cyle has played itself out in Boston and several other major cities.

I'm totally OK with sweeps and searches of all homes (including family homes) of suspected gang members. Another rule we might try would be to require all guns to have GPS trackers and that would allow law enforcement to find all guns hidden in the bushes. The technology  probably isn't available to do that quite yet because the internal batteries needed wouldn't last as long as the gun itself. Have to do something. Something. We have to start thinking outside the box on these issues. 

"Meanwhile, there is something else the Menino administration can do". YES there is, get out of the way and let the Boston Police do their job without interference! The Mayor's plan of high five's and pumping good money into this area is NOT working.

Hey look, there's a 700-pound gorilla sitting right over there. It's called drug prohibition. No one wants to talk about that, do they? Not the parents, not the ministers, not the police, not the pols, not the media. How do you think these gangs make their money? Get rid of prohibition and 90 percent of the violence goes away overnight, literally. The violence is a direct result of the so called War on Drugs. Deny it at your peril.

Mr. Harmon puts forth an excellent idea.  One city employee is all it would take to take in the latest neigborhood infor and set up robo calls with,pertinent info.  Knowing which blocks have young men with guns looking for someone to unload thier issues upon could save lives.    I grew up when Mafia gang wars played out on my city's streets. Our moms kept us safe by relying on word of mouth as to the trouble spots.  Those situations were easier to predict because certain local businesses were hangouts.  Parents in Boston need as much info as possible in order to keep thier families safe.  We have a young man in our family who grew up and lives in this area and I am so concerned about him.

Robo calls will never happen because it is politically unwise to advertise that a section of the city is unsafe. Politics always trumps a good idea.