Research-Based Practice Guide to Address Gang Violence, 9 U.S. states, 2018-2021 (ICPSR 38327)

Version Date: Sep 14, 2022

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Principal Investigator(s):
Jesse Jannetta, Urban Institute; Janine M. Zweig, Urban Institute

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38327.v1

Version V1

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Summary

The project focused specifically on strategies and approaches explicitly intended to reduce gun-related violence committed by young people between the ages of 10 and 25 who may also be associated with gangs/groups, including interventions that solely or primarily serve youth. The study team did not focus on all strategies designed to reduce youth violence, nor on gang prevention and intervention efforts not expressly intended to reduce gun violence and homicide. Based on this framing, the study team focused on interventions that are immediate responses to an acute problem, rather than those that address risk factors associated with violence broadly. This work drew on three main models of interventions: Spergel Model of Gang Intervention and Suppression ("Spergel")/Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model (CGM) intervention models, focused deterrence models, and public health models. Both the review of literature and scan of practice include some interventions that do not fit into any of these models.

The review of literature included identification and synthesis of research on the implementation and impact of relevant violence prevention, reduction, and control strategies. The literature review only included interventions that have published research about their efficacy. The scan of practice identified 14 interventions and conducted 13 virtual site visits including interviews and observations. Site selection was based on criteria and with input from a group of subject-matter experts, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and OJJDP. The scan of practice was not a comprehensive scan and did not include a representative sample by type or location of intervention.

Citation

Jannetta, Jesse, and Zweig, Janine M. Research-Based Practice Guide to Address Gang Violence, 9 U.S. states, 2018-2021. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-09-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38327.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2018-PB-FX-K002)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2018-10-01 -- 2021-12-31

Date of Collection

2020-09-01 -- 2021-05-31 (Environmental scan data collection dates)

Data Collection Notes

  1. ICPSR has zipped the 13 files (1 per site) in a qualitative data package, which is available for restricted download.

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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop a guide for using research-based practice to reduce youth gun and gang/group violence.

Study Design

The study design included two parts:

  • The review of literature included identification and synthesis of research on the implementation and impact of relevant violence prevention, reduction, and control strategies. The literature review only included interventions that have published research about their efficacy

  • The scan of practice identified 14 interventions and conducted virtual site visits including interviews and observations. Site selection was based on criteria and with input from a group of subject-matter experts, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The scan of practice was not a comprehensive scan and did not include a representative sample by type or location of intervention.

Sample

For the literature synthesis, the study team screened each resource for inclusion based on the following criteria:

  • The source was published between January 1, 1980 through October 31, 2019.
  • The source either included an empirical evaluation of an intervention that was administered to people ages 10 to 25 with the specific aim of reducing youth group and gun violence OR synthesized findings from other studies on such interventions.
  • The intervention prioritized people affiliated with groups at the time of the intervention rather than focusing solely on preventing youth from engaging in groups in the future (some interventions, like Spergel/OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model interventions, do both).
  • The source was published in English.

For the environmental scan, the study team vetted interventions based on the following criteria to arrive at a convenience sample:

  • Region: The study team aimed to have all regions of the United States represented.
  • Jurisdiction type: The study team included large, midsize, urban, suburban, exurban, and rural jurisdictions.
  • Expert recommendations: The study team prioritized sites that multiple experts recommended as innovative or critical to include.
  • Type of intervention: The study team ensured three main intervention categories (focused deterrence, public health, and the Spergel/OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model) were represented.
  • Jurisdictions fielding multiple interventions: The study team prioritized places where multiple strategies were being implemented to learn from the interactions of different interventions.
  • Program start date: The study team wanted a mix of interventions in the earlier stages of implementation and those that had already been implemented and may have evolved.
  • Amount of research on intervention: to fill gaps in the knowledge base, the study team aimed to include interventions that had not yet been researched.

The study sample included interviews with 105 stakeholders across 13 sites, who designed, developed, and implemented gun-violence-reduction strategies. Stakeholders included intervention leadership and local government officials (n = 11), intervention staff (n = 45), community partners and members including representatives from neighborhood associations and clergy (n = 32), law enforcement and probation officers (n = 16), and program participants (n = 1).

62 research articles and publications were part of the literature synthesis.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Young people between the ages of 10 and 25.

Unit(s) of Observation

Organization

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Response Rates

Not available.

Presence of Common Scales

Not available.

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Original Release Date

2022-09-14

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Weight

Not available.

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.