New app allows better communication for violence prevention workers in Allegheny County

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — When a crime happens, it’s not always the police who are first on the scene.

“A lot of times, people tune into Channel 11 and it’s a face, and a name they won’t remember. But for us, this is someone we watched grow up or grew up with us,” said Godfrey McCray, who is a violence interrupter.

It’s the personal ties that push McCray to do the work. He’s one of the violence interrupters working on the streets to help stop the cycle.

Over the last five years, this group has found gaps in the coverage as more interrupters are trained across the country.

“Right now there are 11 or 12 areas, including the city, so imagine the different bureaus and cities having to call each and everyone one by one,” McCray said.

That disconnect led to a new app run by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. First launched last summer, it’s now being used almost daily to better connect the communities.

“The faster the better, the faster we can get on top of what’s going on, we can possibly save a life and that’s the key to all this,” said Lee Davis, who’s the Violence Prevention Director for Greater Valley Community Services.

All you have to do is log in, report the incident and who may be involved, plus if there is an active threat. That communication is then sent out to all the prevention groups using the app and they can communicate back any information they know too.

“It puts us on the scene quicker and it allows us to get real-time information we may have not gotten from the public and we are getting information faster, so we are able to vet it faster,” Davis said.

But it does go a step further, County Police are partnering with the project and logging the shooting locations and how many victims in that app when it happens.

“We are pleased with the program and are proud to be a part of anything that helps reduce gun violence, the likelihood of someone participating in gun violence, and becoming a victim of gun violence,” a spokesperson with County Police told Channel 11.

This technology and collaboration are just a few elements helping these teams succeed.

“It’s going to keep expanding, it’s going to keep growing and hopefully we continue to be out in front of it and the leaders of it,” McCray said.

This is only the beginning of adding technology to this work. This group said they are in the process of training with drones to respond even faster when violence happens.

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