On today’s show, I’m sitting down with Jason Smith, who was recently sworn in as district attorney for Pender and New Hanover counties. Smith has served in the office for many years, but he’s now in charge, and when I asked him what’s on his mind as the new DA, he told me, "youth violence."
It’s a difficult issue that seems to defy easy explanation — and assuredly defies easy solutions. It can also be a racially charged subject. While youth violence isn’t limited to any demographic, we do see a disproportionately high number of gang-related and gun violence in lower-income Black neighborhoods. So, addressing the issue without trafficking in stereotypes, or stepping into a white savior role, has proved challenging for some.
But that doesn’t mean the topic should be ignored. I don’t claim to have the answers — and I’m not sure any one person will. But throughout this year, I’ll be sitting down with people who care about the problem and have something to offer when it comes to addressing this issue.
Smith sees things from the point of view of a prosecutor and the District Attorney, as part of the criminal justice system. That gives him some leverage to convene people to work on the problem — but it also provides some limitations. Not everyone who needs to be part of the solution is going to trust a DA. But Smith’s the first to admit that he, and his office, can only be one piece of the puzzle, one part of the solution.
Still, since violence and crime will almost definitely land someone across the aisle from a prosecutor, or Smith himself, it’s an important part of the conversation.
Music:
The Giving Tree — If These Trees Could Talk
Migration — In Passage (Blue Dot Sessions)
