It’s a sentiment Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says makes good sense. We’ve known for years, he says, that the biggest risk factor for being a victim of a gun injury is having a gun in the home. “Gun ownership is still primarily a risk to the gun owner,” Butts says, and that’s been a part of the debate that has gotten little attention. He thinks the media is starting to more frequently highlight instances of neglect by gun owners — like the case of a Washington woman accidentally shot and killed by a toddler who got hold of a pistol in the woman’s purse — though not as much as it could be. “Those stories used to be ignored by the press because they seem to be aberrant,” Butts says, but data like that compiled by VPC shows they’re far from it. Continue reading Village Voice—New York Has Third Lowest Gun Death Rate in Nation

Jeffrey A. Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, echoed Gibson’s assertion that knowing the streets is key for SOS employees. “They have to have some connection to the community that doesn’t make them seem like an outside meddler or do-gooder,” explained Butts. Researchers at his school are currently evaluating the Cure Violence model and its implementation in Crown Heights and the South Bronx. “Some of the programs have successful employees who’ve never been arrested, but they might be the son of a well-known gang leader,” he said. Continue reading Bronx Ink—‘Violence Interrupters’ Answer SOS in South Bronx

At the same time as the Hoboken assault, a flood of national ­stories appeared about the knockout game, according to Jeffrey A. Butts, a head researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Butts said the stories indicated a heightened interest by the media but not necessarily a rise in the number of incidents, which he said are rare. Continue reading The Record – North New Jersey