NCJ Number
234937
Date Published
2008
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This technical report presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation of Las Vegas's Safe Village Initiative (SVI), which began in January 2007 in an effort to counter firearm violence in Clark County, NV.
Abstract
The SVI was modeled after Operation Ceasefire, a program successfully implemented in Boston, Chicago, and Newark. The evaluation of SVI's impact on reducing violence in targeted communities suggests that it is an effective community-oriented policing strategy. A 37-percent reduction in targeted calls-for-service in the study area occurred after the implementation of the SVI. The overall decline in calls-for-service was attributed to a 32-percent decline in calls-for-service that involved persons with a gun, a 42-percent reduction in calls-for-service that involved an assault/battery with a gun, and a 46-percent reduction in calls-for-service that involved an illegal shooting. After the implementation of the SVI, a slight decline occurred in the average monthly number of gunshot and stabbing patients admitted to the trauma unit serving the study area. Important qualitative differences were measured in the SVI that may explain why outcomes of this program differed from similar programs implemented in other communities throughout the country. The SVI combined the resources of criminal justice agencies, social service organizations, local clergy, and citizens in order to disrupt the cycle of violence that involved both fatal and non-fatal shootings. The SVI is the result of both experiential and empirical evidence that gun violence is clustered among high-risk people living in high risk places at high-risk times. SVI activities consistent with Operation Ceasefire models in other cities included the involvement of community residents in any crime-reduction initiative. Mobilizing and organizing communities affected by guns and violence is especially important, because the trust of the community is essential for assisting law enforcement solve cases, particularly those involving repeat offenders. 3 tables, 11 figures, and appended maps showing targeted areas and pre- and post-implementation of the SVI map