NCJ Number
253094
Date Published
February 2019
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This report describes the purposes, features, and activities of a researcher-practitioner team that explored the intersection of the healthcare and criminal justice systems in the treatment of violently injured young Black men.
Abstract
The practitioner was the Capital Region Violence Intervention Program (CRVIP), a hospital-based violence intervention program at the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center (UM-PGHC), Capital Region Health. The principal investigator (researcher) for the study is an expert on violence and trauma among violently injured young Black men. He is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Medical Anthropology in the Department of African-American Studies and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. Richardson is also the Program and Research Director for the Capital Region Violence Intervention Program (CAP-VIP) at the UM-PGHC. In order to explore the intersection of the healthcare and criminal justice systems among violently injured young Black men, Dr. Richardson selected 10 young Black men (ages 18-34) participating in the Capital Region Violence Intervention Program. Sample members were identified and recruited based on a previous history of a gunshot wound and incarceration. A sub-sample of 5 of the men were trauma recidivists, and several of the participants were under community supervision during the study. Focus groups were developed to complement the individual interviews through a sharing of experiences in surviving a gunshot wound. Dr. Richardson worked closely with a practitioner violence intervention specialist in recruiting the sample and facilitating the interviews. The findings suggest that participants experience continuous complex traumatic stress over their life-course. Participants noted that their relationship with the Violence Intervention Specialist played a critical role in changing their lifestyles, keeping them engaged in mental health services, and assisting them in accessing legal assistance. Implications of this researcher-practitioner project for policy and practice are discussed.