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How is the process of radicalization understood over time? Do current radicalization to violence differ from earlier waves? How can these understandings be utilized to prevent radicalization to violence and--equally important--understand the reach and impact of programs designed to do so? The overall goal of this project was to pursue the following aims:

• Aim 1: To understand how adversity and social bonds relate to changes in openness to violent extremism over time.
• Aim 2: To evaluate experience and perception of, and the effectiveness of, Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) activities.
• Aim 3: To evaluate mechanisms of change in violent extremism.
• Aim 4: To understand similarities/ differences in experiences and/or histories of Somali youth who joined Al-Shabab vs. those known to have been killed in Syria, fighting with ISIS and other terrorist groups.

The above aims were accomplished through extending an ongoing longitudinal research program to span 5 years, and expanding a psychological autopsy sample to include Somali youth who have left Minneapolis and been killed fighting with ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria. Data collection for the longitudinal study consisted of conducting an additional wave of structured interviews with Somali youth (between the ages of 21-33); interviews included assessments of structural adversity (resettlement hardships, trauma exposure, and discrimination), social factors (connection to the resettlement community and/or Somali diaspora community, internet use, and level of acculturation) delinquency, gang involvement, civic engagement, and support for legal and illegal (violent) actions in support of political change. The researchers used latent transition analysis (LTA), generalized estimating equation modeling, and linear regression modeling to accomplish Aims 1-3. Aim 4 was accomplished by using a combination of open source data analysis, psychological autopsy and case analysis methodology. The researchers expanded our current in-depth case studies of Somali youth who left Minneapolis to join al-Shabaab (N = 23, males aged 22-30) to include those who joined ISIS or Al-Nusra (N=4, males aged 18-29). Research questions associated with Aim 4 were analyzed using a psychological autopsy method of developing case histories. Case histories were coded for themes and analyzed for convergence or divergence with case histories of youth who joined Al-Shabab. Scholarly products include manuscripts in journals relevant to criminal justice, policy briefs, and interim and final reports. This project builds on partnerships between Boston Children's Hospital, Somali communities, and Georgia State University.

The National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice (the National Initiative) is a joint project of the National Network for Safe Communities, the Center for Policing Equity, the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, and the Urban Institute, designed to improve relationships and increase trust between communities and law enforcement.

Funded by the Department of Justice, this mixed-methods evaluation aimed to assess outcomes and impacts in six cities that participated in the National Initiative, which include Birmingham, AL; Fort Worth, TX; Gary, IN; Minneapolis, MN; Pittsburgh, PA; and Stockton, CA. The data described herein represent two waves of surveys of residents living in the highest-crime, lowest-income residential street segments in the six National Initiative cities.

The first wave was conducted between September 2015 and January 2016, and the second wave was conducted between July and October 2017. Survey items were designed to measure neighborhood residents' perceptions of their neighborhood conditions--with particular emphases on neighborhood safety, disorder, and victimization--and perceptions of the police as it relates to procedural justice, police legitimacy, officer trust, community-focused policing, police bias, willingness to partner with the police on solving crime, and the law.

The data described herein are from pre- and post-training assessment surveys of officers who participated in three trainings: 1) procedural justice (PJ) conceptual training, which is the application of PJ in the context of law enforcement-civilian interactions, as well as its role in mitigating historical tensions between law enforcement and communities of color; 2) procedural justice tactical, which provided simulation and scenario-based exercises and techniques to operationalize PJ principles in officers' daily activities; and 3) implicit bias, which engaged officers in critical thought about racial bias, and prepared them to better identify and handle identity traps that enable implicit biases. Surveys for the procedural justice conceptual training were fielded between December 2015 and July 2016; procedural justice tactical between February 2016 and June 2017; and implicit bias between September 2016 and April 2018. Survey items were designed to measure officers' understanding of procedural justice and implicit bias concepts, as well as officers' levels of satisfaction with the trainings.

Recognizing that violence can be an intractable problem in many communities and that there are numerous approaches to both an immediate violence problem and the range of root causes behind violence, the National Institute of Justice funded an investigation into what factors underlie violence and efforts being implemented to address those factors and potentially reduce violence at the community level. In this mixed methods study, the RAND Corporation drew on data from key informant interviews, community surveys, administrative data, and geographic data to examine specific factors that contribute to violence, as well as a range of anti-violence efforts that have been used to address violence levels in two U.S. communities: the Bullseye area of Durham, North Carolina, and the Northside (North Minneapolis) neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Specifically, the research project aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What are community level factors that can contribute to persistent violence?
2. What are the key factors in both cities that distinguish high violent crime areas compared to low violent crime areas?

This collection contains final analytic datasets for Durham (DS1) and Minneapolis (DS2), violent crime rate data (DS3), community survey data for Durham (DS4) and Minneapolis (DS5), and multiple datasets containing community-level contextual factors from the American Community Survey (ACS) and geographical data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2009-2018) that were used to build the final analytic datasets (DS6-DS11). Qualitative data from key informant interviews and GIS data are not available for download at this time. Access to Durham and Minneapolis community survey data is restricted.

Somalis in North America offer a window into the remarkable potential that can be realized by refugees/immigrants despite experiences of severe adversity as well as the challenges some subgroups encounter when adjusting to life in a new country. Somalia has endured one of the longest and most brutal wars of the past 30 years. This enduring conflict has led to millions of Somalis being dispersed as refugees across the globe. As refugees with limited resources, many Somalis in North America are resettled in poor urban neighborhoods where they are visibly different, not only because of race or ethnicity but also because of dress, especially for women who wear a Muslim head covering.

In addition, the community has been plagued by violence. While the number of Somali American youth joining these groups are small and while the majority of Somali Americans are law-abiding citizens, the terrorist groups' ability to recruit these youth and to convince some of them to engage in violent acts is concerning, not only to policymakers and law enforcement, but also to the Somali community, which fears losing more youth to violence or having the community's reputation sullied by being associated with terrorism.

While some of the social and cultural factors affecting Somalis are unique to that ethnic group, they also share experiences common to many immigrants, navigating identity development and duality as they move between home and host cultures, contending with discrimination as religious, racial and ethnic minorities, and striving to achieve their dreams while struggling to gain socioeconomic stability. Thus, understanding their developmental trajectories may inform the understanding of other immigrant and refugee groups as well.

No valid and reliable measurement for risk for violent extremism exists; there is no single profile or set of risk factors that can accurately determine who is most at risk for engaging in violent extremist acts. The study did not attempt to determine who is most at risk. Rather, the researchers sought to identify broad attitudes that would indicate a general openness to, or rejection of, the use of violence or illegal actions in support of a political cause.

The qualitative interviews feature experiences of formal (e.g. police) and informal (e.g. community) institutions over the past year. Examples of interview prompts include questions related to social bonds with family and community, and interactions with police.