Reducing Youth Gun Violence

• NCJ Number: 162421
• Date Published: August 1996
• Length: 30 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Teleconference Videotapes
• Grant Number(s): 95-JN-MU-0001
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)

Annotation

After an overview of the problem and some community responses to juvenile gun violence, this two-part video of a teleconference profiles promising programs that have used law enforcement-based, hospital-based, and court-based approaches.

Abstract

An opening summary of the problem of juvenile gun violence includes a focus on risk factors and possible community program objectives and strategies. One of the promising programs described is the Handgun Intervention Program, a Detroit-based intervention program operated by volunteers. Operated out of Michigan's 36th District Court, the program aims to educate and confront defendants charged with carrying a concealed weapon with the consequences of gun violence, the personal risks of gun carrying, the importance of nonviolence and personal responsibility in African-American heritage, the realities of prison life, and alternatives to violence. Another program described is conducted by the Boston Police Department in cooperation with the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard University. The goal of the intervention is to reduce gun violence in Boston by using a problemsolving approach that focuses on the disruption of illegal firearms markets and reducing fear. The third program described is the Prince George's Hospital Center Shock Mentor Program of Prince Georges County, Md. The program aims to educate young men and women about the repercussions of violence and other high-risk behavior, and it encourages youth to avoid violent acts, as well as the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. The program includes youth watching trauma teams at work. Youth are encouraged to perform volunteer service at the Hospital Center and with other community groups. The video also promotes the availability of publications and initiatives sponsored by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Question-and-answer sessions between a panel of experts and teleconference participants are included, and a participant guide accompanies the video.