Editor’s note: In a profession that rarely slows down, carving out time to read, reflect and talk with others can be a powerful way to recharge. The Corrections1 Book Club series is about more than reviewing titles — it’s about starting conversations that help us think differently, share experiences and support each other through the challenges of the job. Each selection will include reviews, excerpts and discussion questions to guide meaningful conversations in your facility or among peers.
Book: “The End of Violence: Eliminating the World’s Most Dangerous Epidemic”
Author: Gary Slutkin, MD
Order: Available on Amazon
We all know what violence is and have experienced it directly or indirectly throughout our lives. Maybe we live in an inner city and are surrounded by it, or perhaps our exposure comes primarily through video games, the media and movies. We may have been the victim of, or witness to, a random act of violence - “the wrong place at the wrong time,” as they say. Perhaps our experience is vicarious, with our minds creating images based on stories shared by those who experienced violence firsthand. Unfortunately, the scenarios are limitless. What we do know is that violence is a problem that must be solved. But how?
In Dr. Gary Slutkin’s book, “The End of Violence,” he seeks to answer that question with an approach that has been decades in the making and continues to evolve. A physician, epidemiologist and former director of interventions at the World Health Organization, Slutkin founded and serves as CEO of Cure Violence Global, an organization that applies a public health approach to reducing and preventing violence. Drawing on his experience combating infectious diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world, he offers a perspective that has made a meaningful difference in communities across the globe. This work did not happen overnight.
A new way of understanding violence
The book opens with a strong introduction that establishes the foundation for Slutkin’s approach. He reflects on combating a tuberculosis outbreak in San Francisco during the late 1970s and describes the devastation he witnessed firsthand while fighting epidemics worldwide. Those experiences shaped him personally and professionally. He also recounts living in Chicago, where a newspaper headline about a murder first caught his attention, and explains how the senseless killing of an 11-year-old boy two decades later profoundly influenced his thinking. He began to wonder whether violence should be viewed as a disease — one that could potentially be contained using many of the same strategies employed to stop the spread of infectious illnesses.
Looking back on his childhood, Slutkin describes an early fascination with science and a desire to explain the unknown, interests that helped shape his understanding of the world. The narrative goes on to examine how anger and violence affect the brain, how repeated exposure to violence changes behavior and how those experiences influence whether someone is more likely to commit a violent act or respond to conflict in healthier ways.
The Violence Interrupter model
One of the book’s most compelling concepts is the introduction of “Violence Interrupters” as an alternative to attempting to suppress violence through force alone. Slutkin argues that responding to violence with more violence — an approach often used by military and law enforcement organizations — may suppress violence temporarily without addressing its root causes.
Through research and community engagement, the author found that even gangs, despite their association with violence, often wanted safer neighborhoods. That realization led to the idea of identifying and recruiting respected former gang members, many of whom had previous incarceration histories, to serve as Violence Interrupters. Slutkin determined that outsiders often lacked the credibility and trust needed to influence those most at risk. Individuals from within the community, however, already possessed the relationships necessary to intervene in conflicts before they escalated and to encourage meaningful cultural change. Although the approach has drawn criticism, the results described in the book demonstrate significant reductions in violence not only in Chicago, where the Cure Violence model originated, but in communities around the world.
A different perspective on prevention
Dr. Slutkin makes it clear that he has not done this work alone, but with the assistance of countless people whose passion and effort continue to make Cure Violence Global one of the world’s most important violence prevention organizations. Throughout the book, he identifies violence as a disease while presenting the methods his organization has used to reduce it in communities around the world.
There is far more in this book than can be covered in a single review. It is a rare work that leaves readers with both a deeper understanding of the causes of violence and practical ideas for making a meaningful difference in their communities.
Book club discussion questions
This book offers several concepts that can prompt discussion during in-service training, leadership meetings or academy classes.
- Dr. Slutkin compares violence to an infectious disease. How does that perspective change the way we think about violence in correctional settings?
- The author describes how repeated exposure to violence can shape behavior. How does that concept relate to the population you supervise?
- The book discusses using trusted community members to interrupt violence. What lessons, if any, could apply within a correctional facility?
- The author argues that preventing violence requires more than simply suppressing it. How does your facility balance immediate response with long-term prevention?