RICHMOND, Va. -- Because of a recent spate of gun violence that left several, including teenagers, dead -- the City of Richmond's Operation Safe Summer (OSS) kicked off Friday.
"We felt like we had to start. We couldn't wait until June 1. We had to start because what we've been seeing in our city," Richmond Police Department (RPD) Chief Rick Edwards said Friday. He added they have already made several arrests related to some of the cases that spurred the early rollout. "We anticipate more. Detectives have been working around the clock to get justice for those families."
Edwards said OSS combines local, state, and federal resources to address gun violence and those responsible for it while providing resources to those who are impacted by it.
Local News
Why police are beefing up patrols of nearly 2 dozen Richmond 'hotspots'
On the law enforcement side, Edwards said the Virginia State Police will assist RPD in targeting 21 hot spots.
"There's going to be a deterrent strategy. So, you'll see marked police officers with the lights flashing in those areas," said Edwards. "If some of those are drug areas, we'll be having drug enforcement. Some of those are areas where we're experiencing gunfire and we're going to be working on that with our partners. It's going to be a visible and non-visible presence by law enforcement."
Edwards said officers will also be in those communities to build trust with residents through walk-throughs and pop-up events.
"We solve a lot of cases based on technology, but a big part of it is people feel uncomfortable telling their police department what they know about crimes."
Among those taking part on the support side, is the city's Department of Parks and Recreation which already hosts year-round programs for children. They have also opened up registration for some of their summer programs, at no- or low-cost, and will release more details about the relaunch its "Late Night Gym" program for older teens.
"Our goal is to have complete wraparound services throughout the city," said DPR Recreation Program Manager Priscilla Wright. "We want to offer services when they get out of school. So that way they have enough to do so when they so they can actually make it back."
"As a parent of a kid who has seen multiple friends lose their lives it's never a good thing, but, you know, we just have to build them stronger so that they know that there are places for them," she added. "We are attached to these kids and every time something happens, it's 'Oh, you remember this kid, this kid played here, and this kid played there.' So, we are like a community hub. So, we want to make sure that every kid knows that they can come in and feel safe and know that someone's going to listen."
Among those DPR staff there to listen is Kennard Wyche, who works with kids as a supervisor at the Powhatan Recreation Center.
"Just seeing teenagers going through this rough time in this city is tough right now," Wyche said. "For me, it hit home."
Wyche said he grew up in the neighborhood where one of the shootings took place and knew the victim in another. He said he is also the victim of gun violence himself as he was shot two times when he was a senior in high school (he was not the intended target).
"The bullets ain't have no name. You know, a lot of people just getting shot and it ain't on them," he said. He added that he shares his own experiences with the kids, and his three sons, to guide them on a right path. "I went through the same things that I see these kids go through. God blessed me to get through it and I'm still here to talk about it to help the youth, to let them know. It's positive things that come out of a lot of this stuff that's going on. So, for me, just being an advocate that can speak on it."
Wyche said that while he will do what he can, others need to as well -- adding that it takes a village.
"We can't give up on it. That's the biggest thing. We got to keep pushing to see if we can get some positive out of this thing in our community."
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
