Exploring the role of concentrated disadvantage and police-community relationships in shaping norms of violence that impact gun violence in high-risk urban areas

• In Event: Changing the Narrative for what Works to Prevent Violence in High Risk-high Need Communities

Abstract

The primary goal of this research project was to assess the impact of the Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) on preventing youth violence in 11 cities with the highest per capita violence rates in the Commonwealth. A Regression Discontinuity Design was used to examine changes in community-level violence and victimization from 2010 and 2015 between the 11 SSYI (treatment) communities and 21 comparison communities across the state. A second goal was to build knowledge about how police involvement in the SSYI impacts cultural norms for violence in neighborhoods marked by concentrated disadvantage. A mixed methods design was used to collect data through surveys, interview, focus groups, observations, documents, and official reports of crime and census data. A third goal of the study was to understand how existing local, state, and federal violence prevention outcomes in Boston were impacted by SSYI targeting the same communities. An Interrupted Time Series design was used to examine changes in official police reports of violence and victimization in Boston from 2008 to 2015, based on the introduction of SSYI and other violence prevention efforts from 2010 through 2014. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Authors

• Patricia Campie, American Institutes for Research

• Anthony Petrosino, WestEd

• Trevor Fronius, WestEd

• Nicholas Read, American Institutes for Research

• Mary Vriniotis, American Institutes for Research

• Sarah Guckenburg, WestEd