Crime On The Upper West Side Over the Decades

“Crime is constantly fluctuating,” said Dr. Jeffrey Butts, a research professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in a recent phone interview. “The numbers go up and they go down,” he said, and looking at short-term changes doesn’t reflect meaningful trends. “You never understand the history of something until you can look at it with a little bit of distance.” Continue reading Crime On The Upper West Side Over the Decades

Bystanders in a Crowd: Main Street Shooting Among Many Similar Incidents

[Jeffrey] Butts is a research professor at the John John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He said prevention efforts have focused on youth intervention and economic disparity. “That was all designed for a pre-pandemic world,” Butts said. “An erosion of civilization happened with the pandemic. It seemed like society was coming apart. People were scared.” Continue reading Bystanders in a Crowd: Main Street Shooting Among Many Similar Incidents

Republicans Insist Most Gun Violence Happens in Democratic Cities – The Figures Tell a Different Story

Between 2008 and 2014, 21 of 33 states with sufficient gun violence data showed equal or greater gun violence in rural areas compared with large metro areas, according to an analysis from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice — even in favoured GOP punching bags like Californa and Illinois. Continue reading Republicans Insist Most Gun Violence Happens in Democratic Cities – The Figures Tell a Different Story

Podcast — Are violence interrupters more effective than police?

Gun violence is a massive problem in American communities. And after decades of failed policies, some community members are taking matters in their own hands and working as violence interrupters. In this episode of Beyond Black History Month, we meet members of Save Our Streets, or SOS. We find out how some of the same people who once caused neighborhood violence are dedicating their lives to stopping it. Continue reading Podcast — Are violence interrupters more effective than police?

‘Defund the Police’ Is Dead But Other Reform Efforts Thrive In U.S. Cities

“My main concern is that [politicians] don’t care about the details, they just want to have a good sound bite and a good promotional campaign,” says Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Continue reading ‘Defund the Police’ Is Dead But Other Reform Efforts Thrive In U.S. Cities

NYC Will Spend $9 Million on ‘Violence Interrupters’ to Curb Violence in City Schools

“If we don’t do this type of a program… the only thing we have is police and formal policies and protocols, and that’s no way to run a society,” said Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College who has studied the Cure Violence programs. Continue reading NYC Will Spend $9 Million on ‘Violence Interrupters’ to Curb Violence in City Schools

Onondaga County Considering “Violence Interrupter” Program, First of its Kind in Syracuse

Dr. Jeffrey Butts, the director of research at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has studied violence interruption programs at the national level. He explained that it’s difficult to quantify just how effective these programs are, as violence interrupters in other cities primarily deal with trying to change the community culture through relationships to avoid violence. Continue reading Onondaga County Considering “Violence Interrupter” Program, First of its Kind in Syracuse

CURBING CHICAGO CRIME, ONE JIGSAW CUT AT A TIME

“There’s a whole garden of approaches, with different styles and modalities and theories of change,” says Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “What’s new, or seems new, is that we’ve reached the point that relying on law enforcement for all of our public safety problems became too obviously problematic.” Continue reading CURBING CHICAGO CRIME, ONE JIGSAW CUT AT A TIME

Conceptualization, Implementation, and Management of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety

New York City officials responded to adverse conditions in NYCHA developments by launching the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety in 2014. The initiative was designed to enhance the social and physical environment of housing developments in ways that improve public safety. Continue reading Conceptualization, Implementation, and Management of the New York City Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety

Louisville is Spending Millions to Stop Gun Violence Before it Starts. Here’s How it Works.

Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, is evaluating two crime reduction initiatives at the behest of New York City, which has been investing in a targeted focus on people involved in gun violence. They found the organizations funded through the city’s Office of Criminal Justice “don’t have enough information” because programs “aren’t asked to generate or collect data.” “Everyone is running around doing what they think is right,” he said. “Every neighborhood says they know their people, their guys, their culture. But that makes it impossible to say whether the program itself is responsible for improvements in public safety.” Continue reading Louisville is Spending Millions to Stop Gun Violence Before it Starts. Here’s How it Works.