Weapons Violations

This was a focused deterrence intervention designed to reduce the presence of gun violence and gang activity. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in confirmed shots fired, residents’ reports of hearing gunshots, and residents’ reports of seeing gang activity. However, there was no statistically significant impact on calls for service for shots fired.

This was an urban-based intensive supervision program in which high-risk, gang-affiliated youths (ages 12–19) were assigned to work with a probation officer who was paired with a paid “street mentor.” The program is rated Promising. Youths in the program were significantly less likely than those in the comparison group to have a new conviction in the follow-up period of up to 3 years and remained offense-free for a longer period.

This initiative involves proactive policing, enhanced enforcement, sentences for individuals who repeatedly offend, and collaboration among multiple stakeholders. The program’s goal is to reduce violent crime and gun violence. The program is rated Promising. The implementation of the program led to a statistically significant reduction in violent crime in the treatment group relative to the control group. However, there was no statistically significant impact on the rate of gun crimes.

This is a prosecutor-led pretrial diversion program to rehabilitate individuals convicted of misdemeanor or felony offenses who are at medium risk of reoffending. The program is rated No Effects. There were statistically significant reductions in cases dismissed for treatment group individuals, compared with control group individuals. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the 2-year rearrest rate or days to first rearrest.

This is a temporary outdoor street-lighting program designed to reduce nighttime crime in public housing developments experiencing elevated crime rates. The program is rated Promising. Installing additional light towers in treated developments resulted in statistically significant reductions in complaints of index crimes, felony crimes, assaults, homicides, and weapons crimes at night, compared with control developments. There were no statistically significant differences in misdemeanor crimes.

This environmental crime-prevention measure was enacted as a city ordinance and required property owners of abandoned buildings (that often serve as havens for illicit drugs and related crime) to install working doors and windows in all structural openings or be subject to significant fines. This program is rated Promising. The results show that the program was associated with statistically significant citywide reductions in overall crimes and all nuisance crimes, but not in violent gun crimes.

A crime reduction strategy in Richmond, Virginia implemented to deter former and persons with the potential to commit a crime from carrying and using firearms, with an overall goal of reducing firearm-related homicides. The project is rated Promising. Firearm-related homicides decreased significantly in the target area, compared with other U.S. cities where the program was not implemented.

Transfer of serious and violent juveniles from juvenile court to adult court based on criteria, such as age, seriousness of offense, and use of a deadly weapon. The program is rated No Effects. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that transferring juveniles to adult court had no impact on measures of arrests.

A culturally focused, gender-specific program that provides young females, primarily Mexican American, alternatives to substance abuse and gang involvement. The program is rated Promising. The program significantly reduced self-reports of damaging property; stealing more than $50; and buying, selling, or holding stolen goods. However, it had no impact on self-esteem, grades in school, concealing of weapons, and stealing less than $50.

This is a problem-solving police strategy, which was designed to reduce gang violence, illegal gun possession, and gun violence in communities in Boston, Mass. The program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions in youth homicide, citywide gun assaults, calls for service, and recovered new guns following implementation of the intervention.

This mail campaign aimed to deter illegal firearm transactions in Los Angeles, Calif., using a letter outlining the regulations and laws surrounding firearm ownership. The program is rated Promising. Those who received a letter were more than twice as likely to report their firearms stolen than those who did not receive the letter. However, there was no statistically significant impact on whether the firearm was later used in a crime.

This was a special police unit that conducted raids of crack houses to reduce crack-related crime and improve public order in Kansas City, Mo. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in calls for service (including calls for violent, property, and disorder offenses) and reported offenses (including violent and property offenses).

This is a court program in western Michigan designed to divert people convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) from jail, eliminate substance use, and reduce recidivism. The program is rated Promising. At the 2-year follow up, program participants were less likely to be rearrested and had longer time to first-rearrest, compared with control group participants. These differences were statistically significant. However, there were no significant differences between groups for alcohol or drug

This was a policing initiative that targeted specific gangs in the Hollenbeck area of Los Angeles, California, through aggressive enforcement and problem-oriented policing. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in overall violent crimes in targeted blocks, compared with matched comparison blocks. However, there was no statistically significant effect on gang crimes or gun crimes.