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NYPD Accepts Help From The "God Squad" To Show Gang Members The Light
By
Aaron Marks
Published Mar 6, 2013
Modified Mar 6, 2013
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By
Aaron Marks
Published Mar 6, 2013
Modified Mar 6, 2013
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14 Eastern Brooklyn churches have joined forces with the 67th Precinct to launch a crusade against criminals. "The God Squad," as founding pastor Gilford Monrose calls it, rolled out last month to help curb the rampant crime in Flatbush and surrounding neighborhoods. They're really putting the "Broken (Stained Glass) Windows" theory to the test, amirite?
"This is a clergy crisis response team," Monrose told the Daily News. The Mount Zion of God pastor assigned 14 churches a section of the 67th precinct to speak with gang members and encourage them to turn their lives around. The clergyman pitched the God Squad to cops six months ago, and police were receptive. "People would rather go to a pastor to report a problem than go to the police," a police source said.
Some residents are naturally skeptical that a few good clergymen will convince hardened criminals to see the light. "Some people don't listen to pastors while they are in church," said neighborhood resident Jerril Jones. "Why would they listen to them outside?" In addition to intervening with gang members, God Squad churches will visit victims of crime in the hospital and deliver information to the police about what they're hearing on the streets.
While it's no replacement for actual law enforcement, church intervention in Eastern Brooklyn may be welcome, where crime problems run deeper than shocking headlines (Although those are pretty gruesome too), as the area has recently ranked as one of the most dangerous in Brooklyn. So if you ever starting thinking this town's just quirky shipping container houses and artisanal pencil sharpening classes, remember we're still holding on to some Good Old Fashioned Values like "Religion" and "Organized Crime."
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Eastern Brooklyn
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