Publications

Recent Publications

Group Violence Reduction Strategy Policy Brief

Tags: Violence Prevention

Community Gun Violence is one of the most serious issues facing US cities today. It is not only responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries every month—it hinders education, limits the effectiveness […]

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Prosecutor Initiatives to Reduce Gun Violence

Tags: Violence Prevention

Prosecutor offices can play a significant role in decreasing gun violence. An increase in gun violence across the United States has left communities and city governments uncertain about how to respond effectively. […]

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Focused Deterrence, Strategic Management, and Effective Gun Violence Prevention

Tags: California Violence Prevention

The evaluation literature suggests that focused deterrence strategies are effective in reducing gun violence. However, focused deterrence is notoriously difficult to implement and sustain. The history of focused deterrence implementation failure raises […]

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Key Actions for Citywide Gun Violence Reduction: A Three-City Case Study

Tags: Baltimore Indianapolis Philadelphia Violence Prevention

Cities that take a holistic, strategic approach to violence reduction with strong management and accountability practices can drive down violence and keep violence low. To explore this idea in depth, this case […]

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Analyzing the Impact of Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy in the Western District

Tags: Baltimore Violence Prevention

The team’s preliminary estimates are that, in the 18 months after its introduction in January 2022, GVRS was responsible for reducing homicides and shootings in the Western District by roughly a quarter, […]

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Disorder Policing to Reduce Crime: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Tags: Police Reform Violence Prevention

Research Summary: Broken windows theory suggests that police can prevent serious crime by addressing social and physical disorder in neighborhoods. In many U.S. cities, recent increases in disorder, fear, and crime have […]

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Streetwork at the Crossroads: An Evaluation of a Street Gang Outreach Intervention and Holistic Appraisal of the Research Evidence

Tags: Community Justice Violence Prevention

Spurred by the success of public health violence interventions, and accelerated by policy pressure to reduce violence without exacerbating overpolicing and mass incarceration, streetwork programs—those that provide anti-violence services by neighborhood-based workers […]

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Philadelphia’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI) Strategy – A Policy Brief

Tags: Philadelphia Violence Prevention

In February 2023, the University of Pennsylvania Criminal Justice Police Lab (CJP) released an evaluation of the City of Philadelphia’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI) strategy. The purpose of this brief is to […]

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An Evaluation of the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) in Philadelphia

Tags: Philadelphia Violence Prevention

This evaluation suggests “the current GVI implementation in Philadelphia has been associated with significant reductions in group member involved firearm violence. The continued effectiveness of the implementation will likely depend on a range of factors, including necessary adjustments to evolving group activity and firearm violence.”

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Crime Prevention Through Intelligence and Information Sharing: An Evaluation of an Information Intervention at the Philadelphia Police Department

Tags: Philadelphia Police Reform

“The evidence on the effectiveness of the phones is mixed. On the one hand, it is clear that a year after the phones were deployed, relatively few officers are using their phones […]

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