This chapter describes the roles of researchers in the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) in North Carolina, where researchers were successfully integrated into the local criminal justice system's planning process and assisted practitioners in developing gun-crime surveillance systems.
When the research partner grants became available and PSN was in the launching phase across the Middle District of North Carolina, the Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships (CYFCP) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro submitted an application. Subsequently, CYFCP began serving as the PSN research partner for the Middle District of North Carolina on October 1, 2002. The major research activities conducted were overall, cross-city data collection; initiation of crime incident review processes; evaluation and consultation on existing and new crime reduction strategies; and city-specific or event-specific research issues. In reflecting on key ingredients for successful research partnerships, this chapter focuses on the importance of clear, open, and readily accessible lines of communication in the university-community partnership; Federal support that recognizes the value, need, and usefulness of strategic, action-oriented research; and the interpretation and dissemination of findings, observations, and conclusions through multiple outlets and formats. 2 tables