Toledo Blade — Violence Interrupters: How to Measure Success in Toledo and Beyond

“They should not operate in hostility to law enforcement…but they need to operate almost autonomously,” said Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “If the neighborhood starts to think that these programs are in cahoots with law enforcement, the young people in the neighborhood will stop talking to the workers.” Continue reading Toledo Blade — Violence Interrupters: How to Measure Success in Toledo and Beyond

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.