in Newark a 13 year old is in stable condition after he was shot over the weekend and now officials want to make sure it doesn't happen again today mayor Roz Baraka joined the city's public safety director to announce the city's summer crime reduction initiative that they say will Target violence in the city's Hot Spot areas as well as keep Newark surrounding communities safer Melissa Rose Cooper has more on the anti-crime initiative that will be rolled out Citywide and Countrywide that includes incorporating more community-based programs so there's only really two choices to this right so we either going to help you out of your trauma or your trauma is going to create more trauma right which means you will be arrested Newark mayor Ros Baraka is looking to curb additional violence in the city as the summer approaches so the city is teaming up with other local municipalities and federal agencies in an effort to keep communities safer it's important for those other cities to be here because Newark East Orange Orange South Orange these are continuous and contiguous borders uh where since crime is a disease it doesn't stay in one place violence moves and so whatever happens in Orange shows up in Newark whatever happens and Newark shows up in Irvington and on and on a major concern during warmer weather historically we see an increase of Statewide in shooting incidents between May and September last year during these months there were a total of 500 shootings in the state of New Jersey this that represents 48 of all the shootings that year and during those same months between May and September of 2021 New Jersey reported 709 shootings again that number represents 50 percent of the shooting incidents that year that is why we are well prepared to address gun violence through summer months through our crime initiatives the announcement comes just days after police say a ghost gun was used to shoot a 13 year old boy inside this park near Boyd Street the teen was rushed University Hospital and is now in stable condition officials confirm an 18 year old person of interest is now in custody police officers are doing an incredible job at apprehending people who are violating the law and we're going to give them more resources to do that to apprehend people who are violating the law to bring criminals to Justice to take people off the street who are shooting 13 year olds I don't know in my mind what would make a person shoot a 13 year old boy that includes using intelligence-based policing to patrol areas around the city where data shows are criminal hot spots but more importantly the city plans to incorporate more community-based programs to prevent crime from happening in the first place and so we're going to have ciphers on the corners that starts on June 1st and will take place every Tuesday and Thursday in each of the hot spot areas this includes Youth and adults and it gives them an opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions regarding the community in an artistic way the office will provide resource tables and information at each location we'll have Citywide Community walks on Mondays with all departments and Thursdays with our Community Partners we will go and knock on doors and take the resources directly to the people who are affected this is a collective trauma that we're experiencing and why we have individuals who are directly affected we are affected vicariously secondarily and we're experiencing it collectively so it has to be a collective approach to this the community must understand they must trust what's going on here this is law enforcement that's for the benefit of the community so the more that we do up front to get the community to trust us the more input we're going to get and we take the people off the street who the streets need a break from all steps officials say will help them be proactive instead of reactive as they work to make neighborhoods safe for NJ Spotlight news I'm Melissa Rose Cooper [Music]