How A Colombian Mayor Reduced Gun Violence In His City

In this 2014 file photo, Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they confiscated during the year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago. At a news conference Tuesday, March 1, 2016, Chicago police said there have been about twice as many homicides and shootings so far this year in Chicago as compared to the same period in 2015, but the number of illegal guns seized has dropped.
In this 2014 file photo, Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they confiscated during the year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago. At a news conference Tuesday, March 1, 2016, Chicago police said there have been about twice as many homicides and shootings so far this year in Chicago as compared to the same period in 2015, but the number of illegal guns seized has dropped. M. Spencer Green, File / AP Photo
In this 2014 file photo, Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they confiscated during the year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago. At a news conference Tuesday, March 1, 2016, Chicago police said there have been about twice as many homicides and shootings so far this year in Chicago as compared to the same period in 2015, but the number of illegal guns seized has dropped.
In this 2014 file photo, Chicago police display some of the thousands of illegal firearms they confiscated during the year in their battle against gun violence in Chicago. At a news conference Tuesday, March 1, 2016, Chicago police said there have been about twice as many homicides and shootings so far this year in Chicago as compared to the same period in 2015, but the number of illegal guns seized has dropped. M. Spencer Green, File / AP Photo

How A Colombian Mayor Reduced Gun Violence In His City

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Before Rodrigo Guerrero became Mayor of Cali, Colombia in 1992, no one had ever really thought of urban violence as a public health issue. 

But Guerrero is a Harvard trained epidemiologist, so as Mayor, he decided to analyse the data on murders in the city and use it to identify the biggest risk factors for violence. He then applied that data to his policies. 

One example: a firearms ban that made it illegal to carry a firearm outside the home on weekends.

Guerrero joins us to talk about the policies they’ve implemented in Colombia and the lessons learned that he hopes to apply in other cities around the world. He’s is in Chicago as part of the Urban Youth Violence in the Americas Action Tour, which takes place here this week.