'Present a different path' | New GVI director working to keep Louisvillians from a life of crime

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nearly a third of Louisville's shootings come from gangs and group violence, according to Mayor Craig Greenberg.

Making connections with those pulling the trigger could be the key to curbing the issue.

Michael Bogan, the new director for Group Violence Intervention, or GVI, program said the way to keep people out of jails and hospitals is to start at home.

"I've been on numerous crime scenes where a person is dead in the street," Bogan said. "I hear the screams of the mother or whomever finds out about it, and that's something that sticks with you."

The city has seen 87 murders so far in 2023. Bogan said it could be because people feel like they don't have options.

"I believe that for a lot of individuals, there's a level of hopelessness," Bogan said. "I'm here to say that we have a choice."

Through GVI, Bogan is offering that choice. The city program aims to reduce gun violence in Louisville by meeting face-to-face with people involved in crime.

"Gangs and groups are responsible for about 30% of overall shootings," Bogan said. "Juveniles are increasing their violence, but primarily it's 18- to 20-year-old young adults."

He said the goal is to give violent offenders support and resources to choose a different path.

"Once an individual chooses to exit the life and to take our resources, it's an ongoing, lifelong decision," Bogan said.

The GVI program was created in 2020. In the past three years, Bogan said it has helped keep more than 100 offenders from committing more crimes. He also said the community will be able to tell if this program is truly working.

"They'll be seeing a reduction in shootings," Bogan said. "Seeing the individual have a mindset change where they're choosing a different path is one of the ways that I see the community having success."

Bogan said the best way for him to make a difference is to be hands on in the process.

"One of the things I'm most proud of is I've had opportunities to actually engage with youth," Bogan said. "All I did was present fatherly advice. I would make visits and just speak life into them. And then they would choose to do a different path."

Though Bogan considers this a life-long program, he said he hopes it won't be necessary forever.

"We hope that we don't see them again," Bogan said. "Our goal is that we are so successful that this program goes away because people had chosen not to engage in gun violence."

To help keep people from inside Louisville's jail and hospitals, Bogan said the next step is expanding the program by filling the two open positions on his team.

He also wants to make changes to the program but said he will need at least 60 days to figure out which programs aren't working within. He's planning on hiring two more positions to help further the program.

Related Stories:

• Former LMPD officer named director of team that will help Louisville gang members change their paths

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