Shootings in New York: 2010-2013
by Sheyla Delgado and Evan Misshula
Research & Evaluation Center
August 1, 2014
With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the New York City Council, the Research & Evaluation Center at John Jay College is conducting a program of studies known as NYC Cure. One study involves a partnership with the Center for Court Innovation (CCI) to evaluate the efficacy and outcomes of the Cure Violence model of violence reduction. The Cure Violence model is inspired by the public health approach to violence reduction.
Researchers are collecting survey data from young men (ages 18-30) about violence and public safety. With funding from RWJF, surveys are being administered in six particular neighborhoods in New York City. In two of these areas — one in the South Bronx and another in Brooklyn — the Center for Court Innovation recently launched new Cure Violence programs supported by RWJF. The study is collecting the same survey data in four other areas (chosen to resemble the two implementation areas). Each study area is denoted with a yellow boundary in the interactive map displayed below.
Other bordered areas are catchment areas for pre-existing gun violence reduction programs based on the Cure Violence model, including those funded by the City Council of New York and by federal grants. These include S.O.S. Crown Heights, S.O.S. South Bronx, Life Camp, Inc., Harlem SNUG at Mission Society, and Man Up! in Brooklyn.
The map below portrays an index of shooting incidents that occurred between 2010 and 2013. The Research & Evaluation Center calculated an index that represents the total number of shootings during this period in which a civilian was injured. The index is calculated to weigh recent shootings more heavily than shootings from earlier years. The numbered ranges in the map legends are not the actual number of shootings, but the value of the R&E Center’s shooting index expressed in per capita terms — i.e. controlling for population size.
Shooting information is mapped at the level of U.S. Census Tracts. The census tracts are bounded in turn by green lines that portray the borders of the city’s police precincts (NYPD). When a census tract within the five boroughs of New York City does not have shading (i.e. it is white on the map), this indicates that the tract reported no shootings from 2010 to 2013. Areas with pale yellow shading may have reported shootings, but their resident populations were too small to permit the calculation of a reliable per capita index.
Areas of the map shaded entirely in green are properties managed by the New York City Housing Authority — i.e. public housing communities.
Per Capita Index of Shootings in New York City (2010-2013) within NYPD Precinct Boundaries