Voice: Mensah M. Dean

Early Promise in Kensington
After a year of intervention in Philadelphia’s most infamous neighborhood, homicides and shootings have dropped.
By Mensah M. Dean
Parker’s Gun Violence Prevention Plan
The Mayor’s budget would maintain programs that she says helped drive down shootings, despite uncertainty under President Donald Trump
By Mensah M. Dean
Will We Still Cut Gun Violence Under Trump?
The double punch of the Trump presidency and the end of pandemic relief money leaves a key component of Philly’s success in reducing gun violence up in the air
By Mensah M. Dean
Cop Watcher
Philadelphia’s three-year-old Citizens Police Oversight Commission has yet to conduct an investigation. Executive Director Tonya McClary says the Fraternal Order of Police is to blame
By Mensah M. Dean
Life in Poverty, Punctuated by Gun Violence
Philadelphia’s status as the nation’s poorest big city is a major cause of its gunfire.
By Mensah M. Dean
The Intergenerational Fallout of Gun Violence
Gunfire in Philadelphia has taken grandfathers, brothers, cousins, and children. The losses reflect what’s at the root of America’s shooting epidemic
By Mensah M. Dean
Breaking the Curse of Gun Violence
Homicides are down more than 45 percent this year, while all shootings have dropped more than 35 percent. How did that happen — and who is most affected?
By Mensah M. Dean
The Common Sense Gun Laws Stuck in Pennsylvania’s Senate
For the first time in a decade, three gun violence prevention bills passed the state house this year. Here’s why they still might not become law
By Mensah M. Dean
A Pastor Forgave the Young Shooter Who Killed His Son …
… Now, Reverend Christobal Kimmenez helps others do the same, while calling for greater services for survivors of crime and the formerly incarcerated
By Mensah M. Dean
What’s Behind The Drop in Philly’s Shootings?
Gun violence is significantly down in Philly this year, including among young people. But residents aren’t celebrating just yet
By Mensah M. Dean