U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

National Evaluation of the Youth Firearms Violence Initiative, Research in Brief

NCJ Number
184482
Author(s)
Terence Dunworth Ph.D.
Date Published
November 2000
Length
16 pages
Annotation

This report presents the findings of a national evaluation of the Youth Firearms Violence Initiative (YFVI), a program implemented by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to combat the rise of juvenile firearms violence.

Abstract

COPS provided up to $1 million to 10 participating cities to fund interventions that employed community policing approaches to decrease the number of violent firearms crimes committed by young people, including gang-related and drug-related offenses. The YFVI recognized that, between 1985 and 1994, the rate of violent criminal acts committed by young people rose sharply at a time when violence committed by adults was declining. During that time period, while the adult homicide rate fell by 25 percent, the homicide rate for 18- to 24-year-olds doubled and the homicide rate for 15- to 17-year-olds more than tripled. More specifically, juvenile homicides committed with a handgun more than doubled, while juvenile homicides committed with other weapons remained essentially the same. The national evaluation of the YFVI showed a unit dedicated to preventing youth firearms violence may have a greater effect on gun-related crime than a unit focused on traditional tactics and the use of patrol officers on a rotating basis. When employed as part of the YFVI, traditional enforcement tactics did not produce significant changes in firearms violence. 10 notes and 8 exhibits