The Untold Impact of Nonviolence Work: How Success Gets Measured in Chicago’s Hardest-Hit Neighborhoods

“When you answer questions about violence and point to individuals at high risk, that makes politicians happy because they can blame those other people,” Butts said. “There are politicians who live off of getting one group of people to vote against the other group, and this individual-level approach sustains that political energy.” Continue reading The Untold Impact of Nonviolence Work: How Success Gets Measured in Chicago’s Hardest-Hit Neighborhoods

Community Safety Investments

Despite various shortcomings, the research team found important indicators that suggest positive benefits of the State initiatives to prevent crime and violence. When researchers analyzed violent and property index crimes (i.e., aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and larceny), the change in crime occurrences sometimes varied by the amount of funding received. Using 2010 as the base year and tracking crime rates through 2023, researchers found that total index crimes dropped 14 percent in counties receiving funding, but index crimes grew 13 percent in counties that received no funding for the three main initiatives. Continue reading Community Safety Investments

Minor Role III: Youth Under Age 18 and New York City Violence

If recent changes in crime were due to changes in the legal handling of youth under 18, marked age-specific patterns would be observable. Such effects are not found in arrest data from New York City. Thus, it does not appear to be accurate to attribute recent increases in violent crime to the State law known as “Raise the Age.” Continue reading Minor Role III: Youth Under Age 18 and New York City Violence