Page 223 - The Power to Change Anything

212 INFLUENCER

Traditionally, cops tried to put a dent in crime by imple-
menting aggressive search-and-arrest strategies that focused on
a targeted area. This blitz strategy tended to provoke public out-
rage and mobilize a community against the policing efforts, and
rarely created effects that lasted very long. As soon as the cops
moved to the next area, new faces came in to fill the old posi-
tions, and the bad guys were once again in charge.
With the new strategy, authorities take a different ap-
proach. Police invite individuals whom they are about to arrest
to attend an offender notification forum. The district attorney’s
office promises that attendees won’t be arrested during a 90-
minute meeting where authorities then make use of every
source of influence imaginable.
For example, along with the offenders, authorities bring in
the attendees’ friends, family, and other community opinion
leaders who ask the criminals to give up their ways and seek
normal employment. Next, public officials clarify existing laws
and likely consequences: If you get caught, here’s the likely
penalty. Following this formal approach, ex-offenders (usually
former gang members and drug dealers) talk about what they’re
currently doing to stay straight. Finally, heads of public agen-
cies explain choices the offenders can make in order to avoid
falling back into their old habits, including job programs and
what it takes to get signed up.
Then comes the fun part. What makes these second-chance
meetings so effective is not merely that they employ so many
sources of influence, but that the meetings do such a terrific
job in making it crystal clear that the offenders will be con-
victed and will serve long sentences. Nobody does a better job
of providing a warning. Unlike the Scared Straight program that
focused on how bad jail is—leaving room for subjects to con-
clude that only saps get caught and sent to jail—with this pro-
gram, police make it abundantly clear that the offenders will
indeed be caught and prosecuted.
After the first part of the meeting concludes, authorities
invite the participants (who are often a bit bored with the ser-