Jeffrey Butts, who runs the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College, says setting up cure violence programs in a way that generates evidence of what methods work to reduce shootings will be essential going forward… Continue reading The City — Adams Anti-Gun Blueprint Puts ‘Cure Violence’ Groups Center Stage
Jeffrey Butts said the fact that America is awash with guns — there are an estimated 400 million of them in the country, more than the population — makes it prone to deadly violence. Continue reading Barrons: Violent Killings Shock NY, Bring Back Bad Memories
“They should not operate in hostility to law enforcement…but they need to operate almost autonomously,” said Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “If the neighborhood starts to think that these programs are in cahoots with law enforcement, the young people in the neighborhood will stop talking to the workers.” Continue reading Toledo Blade — Violence Interrupters: How to Measure Success in Toledo and Beyond
“The movement needs support with evidence and research, not just clever arguments,” Butts said. Continue reading Louisville Courier Journal — Louisville is Spending Millions to Stop Gun Violence Before it Starts. Here’s How it Works.
“[Violence interrupters] are from the same streets, grew up in the same areas and had the same experiences as young people and so they just have more access and access means influence,” said Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “The possibility of influencing someone’s behavior and attitude is stronger if you come at them as an equal.” Continue reading ABC News — Lessons from a ‘Violence Interrupter’ as Shootings Continue to Ravage Chicago
Proponents say that the number of shootings they prevented is difficult to track, and benefits like better community-police relations are hard to quantify. Despite that, a review by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that average monthly shootings decreased 28 percent across CMS sites in the first two years of the effort. Continue reading The Trace — Can Eric Adams Square His Pro-Police Image With Support For Community-Led Solutions to Violence?
Jeffrey Butts joins a discussion about the effectiveness of violence interruption programs in Baltimore and elsewhere. Continue reading WYPR Midday — Do Violence Interruption Programs Work? Some Critical Perspectives
On the September 19, 2021 episode of City Watch on WBAI 99.5 FM, Host Jeff Simmons focused on gun violence prevention with guests: Erica Ford, Founder and CEO of Life Camp Inc., New York City Councilmember Adrienne Adams, and Dr. Jeffrey Butts, Research Professor and Director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Continue reading City Watch. WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York City
I often wonder, how did we get here — ending August with 357 homicides, on track to be our deadliest year recorded for shooting deaths?… Other cities, like New York and Oakland, Calif., have been where we are today but made improvements. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A report published last year by John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Research and Evaluation Center, authored by a diverse group of academic consultants, lays out a framework for action I believe we can apply in Philadelphia. Continue reading Philadelphia Inquirer — Philly Doesn’t Need to Reinvent the Wheel to Reduce Homicides | Opinion
New York City’s Cure Violence programs found shootings and gun injuries dropped in two neighborhoods where such programs were in place between 2013 and 2017, according to an evaluation led by Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Continue reading Philadelphia Tribune — Gun Violence is a Disease that Needs a Vaccine
Sheyla Delgado, deputy director of analytics for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation Center, has studied Cure Violence programs in New York City for the past decade and says they do improve public safety. Continue reading Associated Press — Community ‘Violence Interrupters’ Work to Stem Rising Crime
Jeffrey Butts was interviewed by NBC News for a story about community-based violence prevention efforts in New York City. Continue reading NBC News — Activist Group Works to Combat Gun Violence in NYC
