Durham County discontinuing Bull City United program

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Durham County said Friday it has decided to discontinue its Bull City United program effective immediately.

The decision means 14 full-time employees and six contract employees have lost their jobs.

Based on the Cure Violence Model, which is a public health approach to gun violence reduction, Bull City United was established in November 2016 in response to the escalating gun violence in Durham County.

The program focused on addressing shootings in two census tracts with a team of seven staff members. In 2021, the City of Durham expanded the program, adding 18 additional staff members, bringing the total to 25 working across six census tracts.

In 2022, Bull City United conducted more than 1,300 mediations with the help of the violence interrupters and staff. It also expanded its target area to include McDougald Terrace, Cornwallis and Oxford Manor.

The program operated with a budget of $2,577,913, of which $1,067,892 was supported by the City of Durham.

The county said it made the decision after "careful consideration over time. The Community Intervention and Support Services (CISS) department will phase out the program.

"The CISS department is dedicated to facilitating a smooth transition by offering support and connecting individuals to career and professional development resources as they seek new opportunities, at their request," said Joanne Pierce, Assistant County Manager of Community Well-Being.

The CISS department said it remains "committed to exploring and supporting initiatives that effectively address the changing needs of our community, ensuring a strategic and impactful response to promote community safety and well-being. It will continue to engage with internal and external partners to leverage their expertise and insights."

Durham Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said he was disappointed by the decision but was not going to micromanage the decisions of the county.

"All organizations from time to time have to look at leadership," Middleton said. "People need to keep in mind the very human element of this decision."

He said that leadership has to make decisions at certain points and this one was not a repudiation of the concept of cure violence; which is employed by several cities across the country.

"Those worlds ... you may have folks from those worlds who get pulled back in, who get lines blurred sometimes but that should not accrue to an indictment of the entire concept," Middleton said. "In terms of short-term tactical interventions like ShotSpotter, like violence interruption, we're going to have to have a serious conversation in our city about what we are going to do because this is Durham, we're not going to have stop and frisk, not going to have roving SWAT teams going through black and brown neighborhoods throwing people against cars.

"What you have is a viable concept that we know works and has worked around the country," he added.

Bull City United began in November 2016 and was modeled after a similar effort in Chicago, to stop the violence in Durham.