The pull — and pain — of Boston street gangs

Boston saw an explosion of gun violence and bloodshed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, driven by street gangs of young men and fueled by the crack epidemic gripping US cities at that time.

Following a 28-year career with the Boston Police Department, Paul Joyce, who helped lead the city's effort to combat gang violence as head of the department's Youth Violence Strike Force, turned his focus to understanding the forces that pulled young men into gang life — and the effort it took to leave it. Now the chair of the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at Salve Regina University, Joyce is the author of It Started with the Hats, a book based on in-depth interviews with 30 men at the center of the gun violence of that period.

Trusting Joyce with their stories, these men allow him to probe the factors that drew them into gang life — and share what it took to put this chapter behind them and start to rebuild their lives.

Joyce will deliver a brief overview of his book and then take part in a panel discussion moderated by CommonWealth Beacon executive editor Michael Jonas. The panelists will discuss what we learned from that bloody period in Boston's history and how those lessons are being put to use today through the network of outreach programs that have been developed to combat gang violence.

• Paul Joyce, former Boston police officer, currently chair of the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department, Salve Regina University.
• Roy Martin, one of the 30 former gang members Joyce interviewed for his book, now director of the Boston Public Health Commission's Safe and Successful Youth Initiative.
• Larry Mayes, former cabinet chief of Human Services under Mayor Menino, now senior vice president for government and community relations at Catholic Charities Boston.

• Michael Jonas, executive editor, CommonWealth Beacon

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