WEAPONS AND MINORITY YOUTH VIOLENCE

• NCJ Number: 145349
• Journal: Public Health Reports Volume: 106 Issue: 3 Dated: (May-June 1991) Pages: 254-258
• Author(s): P J Cook; P Juarez; R K Lee; C Loftin; D A Marshall; W A Murrain; J A Roth; J Ryan; G K Smith; H Spivak; S P Tereet; M Walker; G J Wintemute; M L Rosenberg; D Johnson; L A Daily
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Adapted in part from background paper by Education Development Center, Inc.

Annotation

This paper summarizes the discussion of a committee that focused on the relationship between weapons and violence among youth, especially minority youth, and lists the committee's recommended priorities for intervention and research.

Abstract

Weapons such as guns and knives are used in more than 80 percent of the homicides involving youth in the United States and are increasingly associated with deaths and disabilities among minority youth. The main consequence of firearms is to worsen the consequences of violence. Weapon ownership and use involve deeply rooted social, economic, and racial issues, and crucial elements at the community level must be adequately represented in planning and implementing any intervention. In addition, strategies must reflect understanding of the impacts of racism and classism and must contain a long-term investment in prevention. Priority interventions should include developing a community consensus regarding the possession and use of weapons, improving security and safety in high-risk environments, requiring firearm safety courses as prerequisites to obtaining a license to possess a gun, banning certain weapons, educating the community regarding product liability litigation against gun manufacturers, and increasing efforts to restrict illegal trafficking in guns. List of research priorities and 14 references