“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.”
Tag: prevention
Louisville Courier Journal — Louisville is Spending Millions to Stop Gun Violence Before it Starts. Here’s How it Works.
“The movement needs support with evidence and research, not just clever arguments,” Butts said.
ABC News — Lessons from a ‘Violence Interrupter’ as Shootings Continue to Ravage Chicago
“[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.”
The Trace — Can Eric Adams Square His Pro-Police Image With Support For Community-Led Solutions to Violence?
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.
WYPR Midday — Do Violence Interruption Programs Work? Some Critical Perspectives
Jeffrey Butts joins a discussion about the effectiveness of violence interruption programs in Baltimore and elsewhere.
City Watch. WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York City
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.