Hundreds walked the red carpet in front of the Byrd Theater Sept. 8 at the premiere of “Stop the Pain 804,” a documentary by the Richmond Police Department. Community leaders and several members of the police force were in attendance.
The documentary was produced by photojournalist and reality television producer Craig Santy and Maj. John Venuti of the Richmond police. Venuti said the film aims to reduce violence, drug trafficking and other crimes.
“Stop the Pain 804” features interviews with members of the Richmond Police Department, community leaders, ex-convicts, victims of crime and families of victims. These interviews highlight the consequences of crime, from legal repercussions to emotional damage suffered by victims, their families and those convicted of crimes.
Richmond has seen 475 homicides since 2003, and its prisons currently contain more than 30,000 people. Many become involved with crime at a young age, according to the documentary and several speakers.
As an initiative to stop crime at its root, “Stop the Pain 804” focuses on an adolescent demographic, and will be shown in Richmond city high schools this academic year.
“(Young people) are the future of this city,” Venuti said.
Venuti is part of the Support Services Division of the RPD.
“People need to see the pain people go through when they lose a loved one,” said Alicia Rasin, the founder of Citizens Against Crime.
Rasin said “Stop the Pain 804” will make people think twice before picking up a gun.
Radio personalities Community Clovia of KISS FM, and DJ King Tutt and Sean Anthony of I Power FM praised the documentary as starting a “revolution.”
Anthony said the “war going on in our streets”
can be attributed to negative influences surrounding youth, such as the portrayal of violence and crime through television and music.
“(The documentary) is competing with a lot of high dollar media campaigns with negative messages,” Venuti said.
To engage a younger audience, Venuti said the project sought out local musicians to counter other popular musicians who sometimes promote a negative message. The music was incorporated into the documentary and three local singers performed at the event.
Throughout the evening, young people in attendance were urged by both the documentary and speakers to get involved in their communities, and to seek help if they are succumbing to negative influences.
The community response to “Stop the Pain 804” has been overwhelming, said Venuti, and the Richmond Police Department is developing plans to have it distributed and shown again throughout the community as much as possible.
Beverly Baker, the mother of two homicide victims, spoke at the premiere. She asked each audience member to imagine police asking them to identify the photo of a loved one who had been murdered. Recounting her personal experience of losing two sons, Baker concluded by exhorting attendees to do what they could to “stop the pain.”
“If you can change the way people think about a particular topic,” Venuti said, “you can change the way they act.”