On Jan. 8, two 16-year-olds from Aurora, Colo., arrived in a local emergency room with critical gun wounds from two separate incidents. Bringing even more concern to Aurora’s ongoing health crisis involving youth gun violence and gang affiliation. Over the past few months, Aurora has seen several mass shootings, most involving teenagers and gang affiliation.
The program manager of The Youth Violence Prevention Program, Christina Amperan, stated that Aurora is where “Denver was 15 to 20 years ago” in relation to youth violence. In 2021, 54 teens were shot in Aurora compared to 33 in 2020. In 2019, it was 20—a substantial increase.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman has been adamant about his thoughts surrounding Aurora’s youth gun violence and gang affiliation and the need for law enforcement. With most of the gun violence being gang-related, Coffman hopes to see specialty units such as the gang intervention unit fully staffed as he states that “there has to be a law enforcement approach to those who pull a trigger.”
As Aurora is formulating its plans to address the problem, former Denver gang member turned anti-gang activist, Terrance Roberts, speaks on the magnitude of the situation.
Growing up in Denver, Roberts has watched as gang violence and homicide rates spike, diminish and rise again, dating back to the 90s. Despite his concern for the recent surge in the homicide rate and youth gun violence, Roberts believes that more patrols will actually “exacerbate more violence.”
“More patrols will not stop murderers from murdering,” Roberts says. “The killers stop killing when they believe in something genuine, not when there is more police.”
What will really stop the violence, according to Roberts, is giving those affected a voice. However, the media has worked hard to silence their voices.
“The relationship between Denver law enforcement and journalists is very corrupt,” he said, referring to the lack of media coverage surrounding gang violence and shootings in the Denver-Aurora area.
Roberts explains that instead of going to the victims’ families, mothers or even the shooters themselves, “the media is going to the Aurora Police first.” The reason for this is because they have formed a strong relationship over the years through reporting local stories, dating one another and even some being married to each other.
It is a relationship that “has been an important one for too long but unfortunately no one ever speaks of,” Roberts said.
With no one speaking up, the police and DHS office have a lot of control over the media and can paint a very constructed image of the incident at hand.
Although Roberts has made clear that he does not think all police are bad, he has seen the problems with the Aurora and Denver police department and how they have dealt with gang violence.
“A crip or a blood should not need to be paid to stop the violence,” Roberts said, referring to the Aurora and Denver police working with active gang members to get information.
“With gang members working with programs run by the law enforcement and getting paid, there is no change happening and the violence will not be silenced,” he said. “The police don’t do the work on board. They just ask for information through dangerous informants and that is why there are media failures in the inner city.”
Without going directly to those affected the violence will not stop. Roberts recalls his work with the Heal the Hood, an anti-gang march in which he brought together hundreds of gang members and there was no violence. People were reminded that Bloods stood for Brotherly Love Overpower Opressive Destruction and Crips was an acronym for Community Revolution in Progress.
“We were able to help lower the violence not because I’m an activist, but because I was pleading with them to put the guns down,” Robert said.
When asking about the issue of kids having access to firearms, Roberts said that we need to not put all our energy and resources into passing more gun laws to prevent this but instead work with the minors who already have guns and figure out how to stop them from using them.
“Any child that can get a hold of a gun is a problem. However, people kill people. We have passed 20 gun laws since I was a gang member and we are still having the same issue. We need to change the narrative in which we help people realize that even if they have a gun, they don’t want to use it or any other weapon in their disposal,” Roberts said.
It all comes down to letting the victims and those affected by gang violence and youth gun violence have a voice. It is not up to the police who are seeking grants and promotions to speak for those affected, but instead up to those affected and those who want to see the violence in their own communities end.
“When you need to be funded by the police and funded by the Denver foundation, you can’t stop the shooters from shooting. It is only when you listen to the people affected, without the police, you will be able to get to the bottom of the issue and find the power to bring peace,” Roberts said.
Working to build a substitute community in which these gang members can trust and fall back onto is the biggest priority. Showing those who are either affiliated with or affected by the violence, real and genuine leadership aside from money and media, will make a difference. Until we give a voice to those involved and start pleading with them not against them, there will be no permanent change.
