Date: November 22, 2024 Fri

Time: 11:54 am

Results for violent crime

789 results found

Author: Bryant, Colleen Title: Risk Factors in Indigenous Violent Victimisation Summary: This study examines victimization rates for specific types of violence using demographic, psychological, sociological, and cultural factors within the indigenous population. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2008 Source: AIC Technical and Background Paper 30 Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 113254 Keywords: Indigenous Peoples Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Johnsson-Latham, Gerd Title: Patriarchal violence: An attack on human security: A broad survey of measures to combat patriarchal violence and oppression, particularly acts committed in the name of honour directed at women, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender persons Summary: This report, commissioned by the Swedish government, is a broad survey of measures to combat patriarchal violence and oppression, particularly acts committed in the name of honour directed at women, homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender persons. Details: Stockholm: Government Office of Sweden, 2005 Source: Year: 2005 Country: Sweden URL: Shelf Number: 103038 Keywords: Bias Crimes Homosexuality Violent Crime

Author: Huhn, Sebastian Title: Contested Cornerstones of Nonviolent National Self-Perception in Costa Rica: A Historical Approach Summary: Crime, violence, and insecurity are perceived as society's biggest problems in contemporary Costa Rica. This degree of priority is especially remarkable because the country has always been considered the peaceful exception in the violent Central American region. In this paper the author analyzes four cornerstones of the nonviolent national self-perception in the 1940s and 1980s as the fundamental basis for the current talk of crime: the civil war, the abolition of the military, the proclamation of neutrality, and the peace plan for Central America and the subsequent granting of the Nobel Peace Prize. The result of the analysis is the determination that these historical cornerstones were not publically discussed as expressions of the nonviolent identity for which they are today cited as evidence. Details: Hamburg, Germany: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 2009 Source: GIGA Research Programme: Violence, Power and Security; GIGA Working Papers No. 101 Year: 2009 Country: Costa Rica URL: Shelf Number: 115816 Keywords: Violent Crime

Author: Huhn, Sebastian Title: The Culture of Fear and Control in Costa Rica (I): Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement Summary: The Costa Rican talk of crime is fundamentally based on the assumption that crime rates have increased significantly in recent years and that there is today a vast and alarming amount of crime. On the basis of this assumption, fear of crime, the call for the "iron fist," and drastic law enforcement actions are continually increasing. While crime statistics are the logical basis for the hypothesis on the far-reaching extent of delinquency, they are used in a problematic way in the talk of crime. In this paper, the author discusses Costa Rican crime statistics, their development, and their utilization in the talk of crime against the background of criminological theory. The theses of the paper are that a) the informative value of crime statistics regarding Costa Rican reality is far more questionable than the common utilization of them implies and b) when they are used as argumentation, these crime statistics do not provide evidence of the oft-proclaimed rising crime wave. Details: Hamburg, Germany: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 2009 Source: GIGA Research Programme: Violence, Power and Security; GIGA Working Papers No. 104 Year: 2009 Country: Costa Rica URL: Shelf Number: 115816 Keywords: Crime Statistics Violent Crime

Author: Huhn, Sebastian Title: The Culture of Fear and Control in Costa Rica (II): The Talk of Crime and Social Changes Summary: The Costa Rican talk of crime is fundamentally based on the assumption that a formerly explicit nonviolent nation has been transformed into a battleground for social violence - that is, on the belief that an alarming "crime wave" is occurring today while there is no crime at all in the past. On the basis of this assumption, the fear of crime and the call for zero tolerance and drastic law enforcement actions have been increasing. In this paper the author discusses the Costa Rican talk of crime from a historical perspective to demonstrate that crime has always been a topic that has generated pervasive feelings of insecurity and social pessimism. Huhn argues that social changes in Costa Rican society and the paradigmatic shift in economic and social-welfare politics since the 1980s have been essential in the transformation of the talk of crime. As a part of this transformation, the politicization of crime since the 1990s has been one of the most powerful changes in the dominant discourse. Details: Hamburg, Germany: GIGA: German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 2009 Source: GIGA Research Programme: Violence, Power and Security; GIGA Working Paper No. 108 Year: 2009 Country: Costa Rica URL: Shelf Number: 115816 Keywords: Fear of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Delgado, Fernando Riberio Title: Lethal Force: Police Violence and Public Security in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo Summary: The Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have been plagued for years by violent crime, much of it carried out by illegal drug-trafficking gangs. Reducing this violence and containing these gangs represents a daunting and at times dangerous challenge for the police forces. Too often, however, rather than curbing the violence, police officers in both states have contributed to it through the unjustifiable use of lethal force. The Rio and Sao Paulo police have together killed more than 11,000 people since 2003. In nearly all these cases, the officers involved have reported the shootings as legitimate acts of self-defense. In Brazil, these cases are referred to as "resistance" killings. Given that police officers in both states do face real threats of violence from gang members, many of these "resistance" killings are likely the result of the use of legitimate force by the police. Many others, however, are clearly not. After a comprehensive, two-year investigation into policing practices in Rio and Sao Paulo, Human Rights Watch has concluded that a substantial portion of the alleged resistance killings reported in both states are unlawful extrajudicial executions. In addition, some police officers are members of "death squads" or, in the case of Rio, illegal armed militias, which together are responsible for hundreds of murders each year. In many purported resistance killings and killings by death squads, police officers take steps to cover-up the true nature of the killing, and police investigators often fail to take necessary steps to determine what has taken place, helping to ensure that criminal responsibilty cannot be established and that those responsible remain unpunished. Impunity for extrajudicial executions committed by police officers remains the norm. A principal cause of this chronic impunity is the fact that the criminal justice systems in both states rely almost entirely on police investigators to resolve these cases. So long as this arrangement remains unchanged, police impunity will prevail, police killing rates will stay high, and the states' legitimate efforts to curb violence and lawlessness will suffer. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2009 Source: Year: 2009 Country: Brazil URL: Shelf Number: 117402 Keywords: Police Misconduct Police Use of Force Violent Crime

Author: Bencomo, Clarisa Title: Entrenching Impunity: Moldova's Response to Police Violence During the April 2009 Post-Election Demonstrations Summary: Moldovan police beat and otherwise ill-treated at least 300 peaceful protesters of the nearly 700 they detained following the parliamentary elections in April, according to this report released by the Soros Foundation--Moldova. In at least 100 cases, the ill treatment took place inside police commissariates. This report documents personal accounts of people who suffered beatings, sleep deprivation and verbal abuse at the hands of police after the April demonstrations. This report is the most extensive collection of information available to date on the number of individuals police apprehended during the April events. Peaceful demonstrations to protest the outcomes of the parliamentary elections in April turned violent when a small number of rogue elements in the crow; by the evening of April 7 they started a horrible campaign of mass arrests, which lasted a few days. The report also offers recommendations for the new government to end impunity and restore confidence in the justice system. They include creating a truly independent public commission to continue investigations into the events in April, make public recommendations for reforms, and promote accountability. Details: Chisinau, Moldova: Ed. Cartier, 2009 Source: Open Society Institute; Soros Foundation--Moldova Year: 2009 Country: Moldova URL: Shelf Number: 117404 Keywords: Human Rights Police Misconduct Violent Crime

Author: McIlwain, Gillian Title: Sustaining a Reduction of Alcohol-Related Harms in the Licensed Environment: A Practical Experiment to Generate New Evidence Summary: Aggression and violence in and around drinking establishments remains a significant problem in most parts of the world, especially as the night-time economy expands. This report is aimed at achieving two objectives - the development of a comprehensive prevention model capable of reducing alcohol related violence and aggression, and a scientifically defensible research design to test the model in a variety of licensed environments in Australia and New Zealand. Details: Brisbane, Australia: Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University, 2009 Source: Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 117324 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime Violent Crime

Author: Ward, Liz Title: Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) Phase 1: Overview of Key Trends from a Monitoring Programme Summary: The Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) was a Home Office-led intensive, time limited initiative which aimed to reduce the carrying of knives, related homicides and serious stabbings among teenagers (aged 13-19). It was launched in response to a number of high profile knife-related murders and serious stabbing among young people. The programme was implemented in ten police force areas in England and Wales and was delivered in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the police and a range of other government agencies. Details: London: Home Office, Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, 2009 Source: Research Report 18 Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 115635 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Baltimore City Health Department. Office of Epidemiology and Planning Title: Examination of Youth Violence in Baltimore City, 2002-2007 Summary: Youth violence is a serious concern for Baltimore City officials. Especially important are discussions surrounding prevention, intervention, and treatment efforts which incur greater and greater financial and societal costs in terms of violence. This report, utilizing data from several Baltimore City agencies, takes a retrospective look at interactions in child-serving administrative Baltimore City agenices among youth victims and perpetrators of violence. Details: Baltimore City, MD: Baltimore City Health Department, 2009 Source: The Office of Youth Violence Prevention Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 116261 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Juvenile Victims Violent Crime

Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Access to justice for women victims of violence in the Americas Summary: This report on the situation of women victims of violence examines major obstacles that women encounter when they seek effective judicial protection to redress acts of violence. The report offers recommendations about what states need to do to act with due diligence necessary to offer an effective and prompt judicial recourse when incidents of violence occur. The analysis is based on findings drawn from the data compiled from a variety of sources, including the administration of justice systems, civil servants and government representatives, civil society, academia, and women of differing races, ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic circumstances. Details: Washington, DC: General Secretariat, Organization of American States, 2007 Source: Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 115187 Keywords: Female Victims Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Hensengerth, Oliver Title: Social and Political Fractures After Wars: The Role of Youth Violence in Post-1993 Cambodia Summary: This study examines the situation of juveniles and the origin in youth violence in the post-1993 socio-political set up, which has been dominated by a triple transformation process of democratization, market reforms, and pacification. This project aims at explaining the levels of youth-violence in Cambodia's post-war society. Details: Duisburg, Germany: Institute for Development and Peace, 2008 Source: Social and Political Fractures after Wars: Youth Violence in Cambodia and Guatemala; Project Working Paper No. 4 Year: 2008 Country: Cambodia URL: Shelf Number: 114768 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime

Author: Dallakyan, Ani Title: Report on Nationwide Survey Findings: Domestic Violence and Abuse of Women in Armenia Summary: This document reports on a survey undertaken by the Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis in order to provide information for the development of the activities of the Women's Rights Center in the prevention of domestic violence against women. The purpose of the nationwide Armenian study is to determine women's attitudes towards domestic violence against women and understanding about its causes and solutions, and to assess the extent of domestic violence and abuse of women in Armenia. It is also aimed at revealing the recent incidents of physical abuse of women at home. Details: Yerevan, Armenia: Women's Rights Center, 2007 Source: Year: 2007 Country: Armenia URL: Shelf Number: 117380 Keywords: Domestic Violence Female Victims Violent Crime

Author: Restifo, Francesca Title: Violence Against Women and Children in Kenya: An Alternative Report to the Committee Against Torture Summary: The purpose of this alternative report is to address matters that make women and children vulnerability of women and children, as regards their exposure to torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. Furthermore, it draws attention to consistent human rights violations involving torture and ill-treatment inflicted on women and children by both State officials and non-State actors. It also addresses to what extent the Kenyan government fails to protect women and children from torture. In this respect, the present report provides the Committee with a legal and practical overview on women's and children's rights in Kenya in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: World Organisation Against Torture, 2008 Source: Year: 2008 Country: Switzerland URL: Shelf Number: 114859 Keywords: Female Victims Human Rights Juveniles Kenya Violent Crime

Author: Pearce, Jenny Title: Violence, Power and Participation: Building Citizenship in Contexts of Chronic Violence Summary: From the summary: "This paper is about civil society participation in two contexts of chronic violence: Colombia and Guatemala. It explores the extent to which civil society organisations can build citizenship in such contexts and simulataneously address violence. It argues that civil society organisations can play a vital role in building citizenship and confronting violent actors and acts of violence. The paper asks whether the promotion of non-dominating forms of power are needed if we are to tackle the damaging effects on human relationships and progress of willingness to inflict direct physical hurt on the Other. Non-dominating forms of power focus on enhancing everyone's power potential and capacity for action and promoting communication. If non-violence and non-dominating power gradually become the social norm, this might enhance citizenship and participation in ways that tackle other forms of violence, such as structural violence. Details: UK: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 2007 Source: Institute of Development Studies Working Paper 274; Citizenship DRC Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 113964 Keywords: Colombia Guatemala Violent Crime

Author: Naker, Dipak Title: Violence Against Children: The Voices of Ugandan Children and Adults Summary: From the report: "[t]his study examines the stories and opinions of 1,406 children and 1,093 adults from five diverse districts in Uganda. Five complementary research methods including questionnaires, focus group discussions, narrative role plays, key informant interviews, and journal writing served to engage a broad range of individuals in sharing their experiences and perspectives on violence against children. Children were asked about their experiences of the violence used against them. Adults were asked about their perspective of violence against children." Details: Kampala, Uganda: Raising Voices and Save the Children in Uganda, 2005 Source: Year: 2005 Country: Uganda URL: Shelf Number: 115386 Keywords: Juveniles Violent Crime

Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: Crime Counts: A Review of Data Quality for Offences of the Most Serious Violence: Technical Report. Summary: This report reviews the quality of the Most Serious Violence crime data nationally and compliance with U.K. Home Office Counting Rules and the National Crime Recording Standard. Details: London: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Source: Year: 0 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 117312 Keywords: Crime Analysis Violent Crime

Author: United States Department of Justice. Office of the Attorney General Title: Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas Summary: From the report: "This Report to Congress on the growth of violent street gangs in suburban areas was requested by the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations. The report provides a look at the types of gangs, the regions where they operate, and the relationships of these gangs with drug trafficking organizations." Details: Washington, DC: 2008. 65p. Source: Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 116521 Keywords: Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Torok, Michelle Title: Comparative Rates of Violent Crime Amongst Methamphetamine and Opioid Users: Victimisation and Offending Summary: Background There have been marked changes in methamphetamine use over the past decade as more potent forms of the drug have become increasingly available, particularly crystalline methamphetamine. A major concern of stronger potency methamphetamine is the increased potential for harm, such as psychotic symptoms and violent behaviour. Little is currently known about what effects methamphetamine use has on violent behaviour. The current research was undertaken to improve our understanding of the association between methamphetamine use and violent victimisation and offending. Comprehensive measures including prevalence, type of offence, circumstances surrounding victimisation and offending, and the predictors of violent behaviour were used to achieve a more complex understanding of the issues surrounding methamphetamine use and violence. Methodology A sample of 400 regular methamphetamine and heroin users from the greater Sydney region were interviewed face-to-face regarding their lifetime and most recent experiences of violent victimisation and offending. Participants in the study were recruited through advertisements placed in needle and syringe programs (NSPs), therapeutic communities, street press publications, and word of mouth. To be eligible for inclusion in the survey, respondents had to be at least 18 years of age, have a satisfactory understanding of English, and have used either methamphetamine or illicit opiates at least weekly over the past 12 months. The sample was categorised into three key groups based on whether they used methamphetamine or heroin most regularly: primary methamphetamine users (PM), primary heroin users (PH), and combined primary methamphetamine and heroin users (PMH). Only physical violence was measured in this study, which included assault, armed robbery, homicide, and sexual assault. Key findings Violent victimisation The lifetime risk of violent victimisation was nearly universal. Across the whole sample, 95% had ever been a victim of violence, and nearly half (46%) had experienced victimisation in the past 12 months. The overwhelming majority had been victimised on multiple occasions across a lifetime measure. Methamphetamine use was not a significant risk factor for violent victimisation. The results indicate that the major predictors of violent victimisation among illicit drug users were severity of alcohol use, a predisposition towards antisocial behaviour (i.e. a childhood history of Conduct Disorder), and drug dealing. The data indicates that being involved in illicit drug markets substantially increases the risk of victimisation and that, at some point, those who remain in these environments have a high risk of being assaulted Almost two-thirds of those who had been victimised were also under the influence of a substance at the time they were last victimised. The substances that were most commonly used prior to the most recent victimisation episode were alcohol (25%), psychostimulants (24%), and illicit opioids (24%). Nearly one-quarter of the respondents had used multiple substances prior to most recently being victimised. Violent offending The prevalence of violent offending was also high, with 82% having ever committed a violent crime, and approximately two in five having violently offended in the past 12 months. There were no group differences in the risk of lifetime offending. In the past 12 months, however, the PM group was more likely to have committed a violent crime than the PH group (51% v 35%). Nearly three-quarters (74%) of the sample had ever committed more than one violent crime. Methamphetamine use significantly increased the risk of violent offending in the past 12 months, particularly more frequent methamphetamine use. The increased risk of violent offending associated with methamphetamine use was consistent across a number of indicators, including being at greater risk for being arrested for assault and weapon offences in the preceding 12 months, and methamphetamine users being at greater risk of committing violent crime within the past month. Apart from methamphetamine use, other factors that were found to increase the risk of committing violence were heavier alcohol use, Conduct Disorder, selling drugs, and being younger. Risk perceptions of violence The majority of the sample perceived that it would be 'unlikely' or 'very unlikely' that they would be either a victim of violence (78%) or violent offender (87%) in the following 12 months, despite the high prevalence of violent victimisation and offending experienced in the previous 12 months. The majority of respondents had also witnessed high levels of victimisation and offending, and this also appears to have no impact on their own perceived risk of being exposed to violence in the future. Among those who had recently (i.e. in the last 12 months) been a victim of violence, or physically assaulted someone, the perceived risk of future victimisation and offending was higher than those who had not recently been exposed to violence. Key points: Summary of violent crime among illicit drug users - Violent victimisation was almost universal, with 95% of the sample having ever been victimised, and 46% having been a victim of violence in the past 12 months. - Violent offending was also highly prevalent, with 82% of respondents having committed a violent crime across their lifetime, and 41% having done so in the past 12 months. - Methamphetamine use did not increase the lifetime, or past 12 month, risk of violent victimisation. - Heavier methamphetamine use was associated with a significantly higher risk of violent offending in the past 12 months. - The main form of methamphetamine used did not affect risk of violent victimisation or offending. - The perceived risk of being a victim or offender of a violent crime in the following 12 months was very low, despite the high rates of victimisation, and of committing violent crime, in the past 12 months. Details: Hobart, Tasmania: National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund, 2008. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Monograph no. 32: Accessed April 17, 2018 at: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph32.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Australia URL: http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/monographs/monograph32.pdf Shelf Number: 117106 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Drug Abuse and Crime Drug-Related Violence Methamphetamines Opioids Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Golden, Megan Title: Cost-Benefit Analysis Summary: As part of the Advancement Project's effort to develop a comprehensive gang violence reduction strategy for the City of Los Angeles, the Vera Institute of Justice analyzed the costs of gang violence to government and potential savings that can result from investing in programs that have been shown empirically to reduce gang crime. This memo presents the results of that analysis. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2009. 35p. Source: Funding Analysis Cluster Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118311 Keywords: Cost-Benefit Analysis Costs of Crime Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Skaperdas, Stergios Title: The Costs of Violence Summary: The cost of violence on development is very high, but measuring this cost has received little attention. More effective measurements of these costs will help ensure that adequate attention is paid by government and civil society to the design and implementation of violence prevention policies and programs. The reviews presented in this publication are designed to contribute to a better understanding of where the international community stands on the debate over how best to measure the costs of violence on economics and societies. Details: Washington, DC: Social Development Department, World Bank, 2009. 102p. Source: Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118334 Keywords: Costs of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Canadian Human Rights Commission Title: Freedom of Expression and Freedom from Hate in the Internet Age Summary: This report provides a comprehensive analysis of a current debate: what is the most effective way to prevent the harm caused by hate messages on the Internet, while respecting freedom of expression? Details: Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government, 2009. 58p. Source: Special Report to Parliament Year: 2009 Country: Canada URL: Shelf Number: 118364 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Freedom of Expression Gun-Related Violence Hate Crimes Internet Organized Crime Violence (Latin America) Violent Crime

Author: Berk, Richard Title: The Role of Race in Forecasts of Violent Crime Summary: This paper addresses the role of forecasts of failure on probation or parole. Failure is defined as committing a homicide or attempted homicide or being the victim of a homicide or an attempted homicide. These are very rare events in the population of individuals studied, which can make these outcomes extremely difficult to forecast accurately. Building in the relative costs of false positives and false negatives, machine learning procedures are applied to construct useful forecasts. The central question addressed is what role race should play as a predictor when as an empirical matter the majority of perpetrators and victims are young, African-American, males. Details: Philadelphia: Department of Statistics, University of Pennsylvania, 2009. 29p. Source: Working Paper Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 118396 Keywords: Crime Forecasting Homicides Race Violent Crime

Author: Denning, Rebecca Title: Serious Violent Crime Investigations: A Systematic Literature Search and Technical Report Summary: The National Policing and Improvement Agency (NPIA) sought to understand the evidence base in relation to the effective investigation of serious crime to support its knowledge management strategy and National Improvement Strategy for Policing. This report which was prepared for NPIA presents a systematic search of the literature related to this topic, and designs and populates an associated evidence database on a range of topics relating to issue. Details: Brisbane: ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith University, 2009. 165p. Source: Prepared for the National Policing Improvement Agency Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 117298 Keywords: Police Investigations Serious Crime Investigation Violent Crime

Author: Kifer, Misty M. Title: To Protect and Serve: A Look at a Collaborative Effort to Address Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Summary: This is an evaluation of a collaborative project in Bingham County, Idaho. Since 1997, three agencies in Bingham County, Idaho have received STOP funding at one time or another. The Bingham County Sheriff's Office, the Bingham Crisis Center, and the Blackfoot Police Department (BPD) received grant money to develop and strengthen support services for victims of domestic violence as well as improving law enforcement strategies to convict perpetrators of violent crimes against women. The first agency to receive STOP funding was the Bingham Crisis Center. This set the course for a very innovative program designed to address domestic violence and sexual assaults. Funds received in 1997 helped to establish the Bingham County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force. This task force, comprised of thirteen key agencies, established a protocol in 1998 addressing each agency's responsibilities in cases involving domestic violence and sexual assaults. Task Force agencies include the Blackfoot Police Department, the Bingham County Sheriff's Office, the Bingham County Prosecutor's Office, 7th District Judicial Judges, local emergency room personnel, the Bingham Crisis Center and the Blackfoot City Prosecutors. The establishment of the task force allowed agencies to work together to identify problem areas, solutions, and opportunities for interagency training. In the following years, the Bingham County Sheriff's Office and the Blackfoot Police Department received funding for digital cameras and other recording devises to better document cases for prosecution. The Bingham County Sheriff's Office also received funding for a full-time domestic violence investigator. The Bingham Crisis Center received funding to provide victim services, such as individual and group counseling and bilingual/bicultural services for victims. Further, all three agencies participated in interagency training. This evaluation describes the project's genesis, its goals and structure, how it operated, the methods used to evaluate its success, and whether it met its goals. The majority of information provided in this evaluation is culminated from quarterly grant reports submitted by the three Bingham County subgrantees to the Idaho State Police Department of Planning, Grants and Research. These quarterly reports have consistently contained valuable information about project goals, objectives, and any obstacles or achievements reached by the program. Due to these self-evaluation efforts, resource and time restrictions, this report will utilize the data and information provided by these programs along with additional analysis of domestic violence offenses that have taken place within Bingham Countyand whether it met its goals. Information used in this report is taken from each project's quarterly program reports, the case management records of the Bingham Crisis Center and Bingham County Sheriff's Office, newspaper reports, as well as police reports submitted through Idaho's Incident-Based Reporting System (IIBRS). Details: Meridian, ID: Idaho State Police, Planning, Grants and Research Bureau, Statistical Analysis Center, 2008. 33p. Source: Accessed April 25, 2018 at: https://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/BinghamEvaluation6-24_001.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: https://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/BinghamEvaluation6-24_001.pdf Shelf Number: 117145 Keywords: Domestic Violence (Idaho) Family Violence Intimate Partner Violence Sexual Assault Victim Services Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Gewirtz, Marian Title: Juvenile Offenders with Weapon Charges Summary: This report explores the role weapons play in the picture of juvenile offenders processed in the adult courts in New York City. In accordance with New York State's Juvenile Offender Law, cases for 14- and 15-year old youths charged with selected serious felony offenses, and 13-year olds charged with second degree murder, are brought directly to the adult rather than the juvenile court for prosecution. This study compares juveniles with gun charges to those with other weapon charges and to those without weapon charges. The research addresses how these charges affect rates of re-arrest and length of time to first re-arrest and to the first violence re-arrest. Details: New York: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc., 2008. 47p. Source: Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 113049 Keywords: Guns Juvenile Offenders (New York City) Recidivism, Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Diprose, Rachael Title: Safety and Security: A Proposal for Internationally Comparable Indicators of Violence Summary: One of the challenges for academics, policy makers, and practitioners working broadly in programs aimed at poverty alleviation, including violence prevention, is the lack of reliable and comparable data on the incidence and nature of violence. This paper proposes a household survey module for a multi-dimensional poverty questionnaire which can be used to complement the available data on the incidence of violence against property and the person, as well as perceptions of security and safety. Violence and poverty are inextricably linked, although the direction of causality is contested if not circular. The module uses standardized definitions which are clear and can be translated cross-culturally and a clear disaggregation of different types of interpersonal violence (not including self-harm) which bridges the crime-conflict nexus. Details: Oxford, UK: Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE), University of Oxford, 2008. 61p. Source: CRISE Working Paper No. 52; Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 118575 Keywords: Criminal Statistics Inequality Poverty Victims of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Van Vleet, Russell K. Title: Evaluation of Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods: Final Report Summary: This report evaluates the Utah Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a comprehensive, multi-agency intervention designed to reduce gun crime. The evaluation determined the effectiveness of PSN Partnerships, examined successful gun prosecutions, evaluated changes in felony firearm use, and measured the effectiveness of the public awareness campaign, training, and outreach programs. Details: Salt Lake City, UT: Criminal and Juvenile Justice Consortium, College of Social Work, University of Utah, 2005. 154p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 111247 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence Juvenile Offenders Partnerships Publicity Campaigns Violent Crime

Author: Shepherd, Jonathan Title: The Cardiff Model: Effective NHS Contribution to Violence Prevention Summary: Emergency departments (EDs) can contribute distinctively and effectively to violence prevention by working with Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and by sharing, electronically wherever possible, simple anonimized data about precise location of violence, weapon use, assailants and day/time of violence. These data, and the contributions of consultants in CDRP meetings, enhance effectiveness of targeted policing significantly, reduce licensed premises and street violence, and reduce overall A&E violence related attendances - in Cardiff, by 40% since 2002. This protocol for Emergency Medicine involvement in community violence prevention sets out the reasons for contributing, how contributions can be made, what contributions have been found to be effective, who should contribute and when contributions are best made. Misconceptions and barriers to working with local violence reduction agencies are listed, together with ways of overcoming them which are consistent with ethical guidance to doctors and data protection legislation. Details: Cardiff: University of Wales, 2007. 20p. Source: Internet Resource; Prepared for Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, Member of Parliament for Kingston Upon Hull West and Hessle Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 118792 Keywords: Crime Reduction Partnerships Violence Prevention Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Poutvaara, Panu Title: School Shootings and Student Performance Summary: This paper studies how high school students reacted to the shocking news of a school shooting. The shooting coincided with national high-school matriculation exams. As there were exams both before and after the shooting, it was possible to perform a difference-in-differences analysis to uncover how the school shooting affected the text scores compared to previous years. The study found that the average score of young men declined due to the school shooting, whereas there was not a similar pattern for women. Details: Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2010. 20p. Source: Internet Resource; IZA Discussion Paper No. 5009 Year: 2010 Country: Finland URL: Shelf Number: 119136 Keywords: Gender School Shootings (Finland) School Violence Violent Crime

Author: Lauritsen, Janel L. Title: Gender and Violent Victimization, 1973-2005 Summary: This study examined long-term trends in violent victimization by gender and various socio-demographic data, using relevant data from the National Crime Survey and its successor, the National Crime Victimization Survey for the period 1973-2005. Details: Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2009. 86p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119159 Keywords: Crime Statistics Female Victims Victimization Surveys Violent Crime Violent Victimization

Author: Amnesty International Title: Ending Domestic Violence in Albania: The Next Steps Summary: This report analyses the progress made in addressing domestic violence in Albania over that last three years after the adoption of the Law on Measures against Violence in Family Relations. It concludes that more women now have confidence to report domestic violence to the authorities. Yet, despite the growing number of petitions made for protection orders, the Albanian government needs to take further measures to implement the law and ensure the prevention of, protection from, and prosecution of domestic violence. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2010. 16p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119167 Keywords: Domestic Violence (Albania) Favelas Gangs Police Reform Slums Violence (Brazil) Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Guatemala: Squeezed Between Crime and Impunity Summary: In recent years, Guatemala has been crippled by soaring levels of violent crime and impunity, which threaten the security of population and seriously undermine the country's institutions and state authority. While an outright return of civil war is not expected, the government of President Alvaro Colom has been unable to reduce violent crime. The widespread perception of a lack of government capacity to stem the violence has caused some communities to turn to brutal and extra-institutional vigilantism. This report is the first in a new series that will examine different aspects of the effort to recover the rule of law in Guatemala. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2010. 27p. Source: Internet Resource; Latin America Report No. 33 - 22 June 2010 Year: 2010 Country: Guatemala URL: Shelf Number: 119138 Keywords: Rule of Law Vigilantism Violence (Guatemala) Violent Crime

Author: Wilson, Jeremy M. Title: Community-Based Violence Preventoin: An Assessment of Pittsburgh's One Vision One Life Program Summary: This report assesses the implementation and impact of the One Vision One Life violence-prevention strategy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2003, Pittsburgh witnessed a 49-percent increase in homicides, prompting a grassroots creation and implementation of the One Vision One Life antiviolence strategy. This initiative used a problem-solving, data-driven model, including street-level intelligence, to intervene in escalating disputes, and seeks to place youth in appropriate social programs. Analysis of the program, which is modeled on similar efforts elsewhere, can help inform other efforts to address urban violence. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2010. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119164 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun Violence Homicides Problem-Solving Street Workers Violence (Pittsburgh, PA) Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Agostini, Giulia Title: Understanding the Processes of Urban Violence: An Analytical Framework Summary: As of this year half of the world’s population is estimated to be living in cities, therefore, an understanding of conflict and violence within an urban space is increasingly important. This paper’s output is an analytical framework, which examines the processes that lead from conflict to violence. Defining violence as the manifestation of distorted power relationships produced by the complex interaction between risk factors, the paper assumes that it is the interaction of these risk factors, which creates the processes that lead to violent outcomes. Risk factors are viewed as existing conditions that could potentially culminate in violence. Based upon a threefold taxonomy of violence, rooted in existing literature, three exemplary cities were chosen and analysed. These cities are Nairobi, Kinshasa, and Bogota, which respectively typify economic, political, and social violence. The cases demonstrate coinciding and context specific processes, with three significant points of overlap being identified: 1 The Primary Nexus: Is envisioned as the point where there is a significant alignment of common processes, and the point at which the potential for violence is extremely high. These processes are: a crisis of governance, unequal access to economic opportunity, economic decline, and the naturalisation of fear and insecurity. 2. Secondary Nexuses: Are the points of overlap between two of the case cities, where the potential for violence is significant, but not as likely as in the primary nexus. 3. Context Specific Processes: Highlight the unique manner in which risks factors interact to produce violence in each of the cities. This analysis led to the production of a two-stage analytical framework. These stages are not mutually exclusive, as an understanding of the first stage is essential for the second stage to be meaningful. The first stage is the contextualisation of the urban environment under examination, in order to understand the interaction between risk factors as they produce the processes leading to violence. While the second stage extracts these processes for the purpose of comparison to the processes that constitute the primary nexus. An alignment of processes should be viewed as an indicator of the high potential for violence within the urban environment being examined, however, processes are understood to be summative in nature, and thus, the more processes present, the more likely it is that violence will occur. In addition to the production of a framework, the analysis demonstrates how the interaction between risk factors creates processes leading to violent outcomes. As a policy conclusion, given that processes are the result of this interaction and that they are difficult to influence or change in and of themselves, a focus on prevailing risk factors is suggested in order to mitigate urban violence. Details: London: Crisis States Research Center, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics, 2007. 70p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2007 Country: Africa URL: Shelf Number: 118435 Keywords: Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Day, Tanis Title: The Economic Costs of Violence Against Women: An Evaluation of the Literature Summary: This brief provides an overview of the work that has been undertaken world-wide on the economic costs of gender-based violence. The focus of the analysis is to examine estimates of the costs of violence, to compare methodologies used, and to understand the scope of what has been accomplised to date. The paper analyzes existing studies, shows their geographic coverage, indicates the types of costs addressed, and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the methodologies used. Details: Vienna: United Nations, 2005. 66p. Source: Internet Resource; Expert Brief Year: 2005 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 119277 Keywords: Costs of Crime Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Zavala, Diego E. Title: Understanding Violence: The Role of Injury Surveillance Systems in Africa Summary: "This working paper applies a public health approach to engaging with injury prevention and identifies several public health methods for collecting data pertinent to violence control. The paper documents findings from a multinational project undertaken in 2007-2009 in five African countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia). This pilot project involved the creation of an injury surveillance system in five hospitals, one in each country. The analysis of the project offers valuable insight into what is required in order to successfully implement and sustain a hospital-based injury surveillance system under challenging circumstances. This paper is designed for a broad audience interested in armed violence prevention and reduction and it specifically speaks to African decision-makers, development practitioners, and medical professionals." Details: Geneva: Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2009. 52p. Source: Internet Resource; Working Paper Year: 2009 Country: Africa URL: Shelf Number: 119394 Keywords: Armed Violence Injury Surveillance Systems Violence Violent Crime

Author: Engel, Robin S. Title: Implementation of the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV): Year 1 Report Summary: The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) is a multi-agency and community collaborative effort initiated in 2007 designed to quickly and dramatically reduce gun-violence and associated homicides, as well as sustain reductions over time. The initiative is a focused-deterrence strategy which is modeled after the Boston Gun Project from the mid-1990’s. A partnership among multiple law enforcement agencies (local, state and federal), social service providers, and the community has been established to deliver a clear message to violent street groups: the violence must stop. This message is communicated through a number of different mechanisms, including call-in sessions with probationers and parolees; direct contact through street workers (street advocates), police, probation, and parole officers; community outreach; and media outlets. Law enforcement agencies have gathered intelligence on violent street group networks, and consequences are delivered to the street groups that continue to engage in violence. Those offenders seeking a more productive lifestyle are provided streamlined social services, training, education, and employment opportunities. The community and law enforcement are working as partners, and as a result, strengthening their relationship. This report documents the initiation of CIRV, initial assessments of CIRV activities, and future plans. Details: Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati Policing Institute, 2008. 55p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119449 Keywords: Gun Violence (Cincinnati) Homicide Violent Crime

Author: Barker, Justin Title: Dutch Courage: Young People, Alcohol and Alcohol Related Violence Summary: This report discusses the findings of a project aiming to investigate the experiences, perspectives and understandings of young people regarding alcohol related violence in Canberra. The project examined the patterns of alcohol consumption, the value, and role attributed to alcohol and violence in the lives of young people who socialise in Civic. The project used semi-structured focus group interviews and a survey with self-selected peer groups of young people aged 18 – 25 years. A ‘pathfinder,’ a key youth participant and contact, was used to identify the target groups, providing a means to access groups of young people, and arrange a familiar venue for the focus groups. This was a qualitative investigation that sought to not only obtain the subjective experiences and stories of the participants but also to engage the participants in an analysis of existing theories and models accounting for alcohol consumption and related behaviours by young people. The participants were encouraged to provide their own explanations, theories and analysis based on their own experiences and the information they were provided with. The findings of the qualitative analysis were presented to research participants to validate, verify, refute and add further insights and clarification. Two key findings emerged from the project. Firstly, two groups of young people were identified regarding alcohol related violence, referred to as Group A and Group B. These Groups do not represent distinct communities, but rather different relationships to alcohol and violence within the broader population, and not (necessarily) any other kind of cultural differentiation. Group A encompasses the vast majority of the target group (18 – 25 year olds) of this research project: young people who drink, or associate with other young people who drink, and socialise in Civic. Group A are constrained by negative association with alcohol related violence and a desire to avoid conflict and the negative consequences linked to violence. Group B value violence as a means to obtain status, empower them and claim a legitimate identity. The second key finding of the project outlines the ‘patterns of alcohol related violence’. These incidents of alcohol related violence are predominantly initiated by groups of young men aiming to bolster their status. Four phases were identified, including victim selection, justification, conflict and dispersal. Several approaches and potential ‘ways forward’ are identified in conclusion. Details: Lyneham, ACT, Australia: Youth Coalition of the ACT, 2010. 38p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 119476 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Vinck, Patrick Title: Building Peace, Seeking Justice: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes About Accountability and Social Reconstruction in the Central African Republic Summary: Decades of political instability, state fragility, mismanagement, and a series of armed conflicts have led the Central African Republic (CAR) to a state of widespread violence and poverty. This study provides a better understanding of the scope and magnitude of violence in CAR and its consequences, as well as a snapshot of what the citizens of CAR believe is the best way to restore peace. It also examines the issue of justice and accountability for the serious crimes that were committed. This report provides the findings from a survey of 1,879 adults, residents of CAR, randomly selected in the capital city of Bangui, and the prefectures of Lobaye, Ombella M’Poko, Ouham, and Ouham Pende. These prefectures encompass a large geographic area representing 52 percent of the total population of CAR and have experienced varying levels of exposure to the conflicts. Locally trained teams conducted the interviews between November and December 2009. This report provides a detailed analysis of results on a wide range of topics related to the population’s priorities and needs, exposure to violence, security, community cohesion and engagement, access to information, conflict resolution, reintegration of former combatants, transitional justice, and reparations for victims. Details: Berkeley, CA: Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, 2010. 41p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2010 Country: Central African Republic URL: Shelf Number: 119520 Keywords: Human Rights Transitional Justice Violence Violent Crime

Author: Geoff Berry Associates Title: Evaluation of the WMTTS Mediation Project in Birmingham Summary: The West Midlands Mediation and Transformation Service (WMMTS) was established in late 2004 and emerged from dialogue between police and community regarding the escalation of gun related violence. The scheme is now an integral part of an overall strategy designed to address gang violence across Birmingham. The aims of the scheme seek to both facilitate a cessation of gang related shootings and provide a pathway for those who wish to exit the gun and gang culture to do so. Operating with a team of six mediators, all trained and accredited, the scheme has three broad strands, namely; Proactive intervention: to facilitate negotiation between factions Post-event intervention: To mediate and prevent retaliation and escalation Facilitate delivery of support: to encourage those who wish to exit the gun and gang culture to do so. There is strong evidence that demand for the services of the scheme is growing and while strategic linkages have been made with a community based group, Increase the Peace UK (IPUK), it is important that demand is managed such that the team is not over-burdened. Details: Stafford, UK: Geoff Berry Associates, 2006. 27p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2006 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 119540 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs (Birmingham, UK) Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime

Author: Toon, Richard Title: System Alert: Arizona's Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence Summary: This report examines the issue of domestic violence with Arizona's families and communities. It examines the failures of the present system, and offers several suggestions for improvements that should be made to address the issue. Details: Phoeniz, AZ: Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Arizona State University, 2007. 123p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 8, 2010 at http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/SystemAlert-AZsCJRespToDV/view Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/SystemAlert-AZsCJRespToDV/view Shelf Number: 112712 Keywords: Domestic Violence (Arizona) Family Violence Violent Crime

Author: Klein, Andrew R. Title: Enforcing Domestic Violence Firearms Prohibitions: A Report on Promising Practices Summary: "This report highlights promising practices currently employed around the United States and in tribal jurisdictions that represent innovative approaches to enforcing domestic violence firearm prohibitions. It provides brief descriptions of programs that are located primarily in law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, courts, and probation departments. Because comprehensive legislation represents the first step toward disarming abusers, the document also profiles the work of one state legislature in enacting statutes to protect victims of domestic violence." Details: Sudbury, MA: Advocates for Human Potential, 2006. 116p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 8, 2010 at http://www.bwjp.org/files/bwjp/articles/Enforcing_Firearms_Prohibitions.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.bwjp.org/files/bwjp/articles/Enforcing_Firearms_Prohibitions.pdf Shelf Number: 119580 Keywords: Domestic Violence Firearms and Crime Victims of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Townsend, Dorn Title: No Other Life: Gangs, Guns, and Governance in Trinidad and Tobago Summary: Gun violence and gun-related homicides in Trinidad and Tobago have continued to increase over the last decade. The twin-island nation now has more gun-related deaths than Jamaica and a murder rate of 42 per 100,000. This report examines the interconnection between the gun violence and the present political situation in Trinidad and Tobago. The publication asserts that the crime-fighting measures of the police force are hampered by financial support to urban gangs via public welfare programs. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2009. 55p. Source: Internet Resource; Working Paper of the Small Arms Survey; accessed August 8, 2010 at http://smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/w_papers_pdf/WP/WP8-Gangs-Guns-Governance-Trinidad-Tobago-2009.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Trinidad and Tobago URL: http://smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/w_papers_pdf/WP/WP8-Gangs-Guns-Governance-Trinidad-Tobago-2009.pdf Shelf Number: 117633 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Gun Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Cissner, Amanda B. Title: Evaluating the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program: Preventing Gender Violence on a College Campus Summary: This report presents findings from a two-year evaluation of a gender violence prevention program known as Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP). The program was developed in 1993 at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts and, in an earlier evaluation, was found to produce significant positive changes in attitudes and predicted behaviors among high school age youth. The program is based on a peer leadership model, targeting not only potential perpetrators and victims, but also seeking to empower those who might otherwise be passive bystanders to potentially violent situations. The program relies on adult staff to train youth participants (“Peer Educators”), who in turn facilitate workshops attended by larger numbers of their peers (“Workshop Participants”). This study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, examines the replication of the MVP program with college fraternity and sorority members at Syracuse University. Accordingly, this study seeks to document whether the program is effective when implemented by individuals other than the original Boston-based staff, as well as whether the program can be effectively adapted for a college age population. The study includes both process and impact evaluations. The former is based on a combination of planning meeting and training session observations; interviews with program staff; and participant focus groups. The impact evaluation utilizes a quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test survey design to measure change in the attitudes and predicted behaviors of 424 program participants, including 103 Peer Educators and 321 Workshop Participants. In addition, 396 surveys were completed by a comparison group, composed of Syracuse University fraternity and sorority members who did not participate in the program. Data provided by Syracuse University was used to estimate program impact on official reports of violence. The impact evaluation was designed to test five hypotheses: 1. Students will have less sexist attitudes after completing the MVP program. 2. Students will have an increased sense of self-efficacy—a sense that they can act to prevent gender violence—after completing the MVP program. 3. Students will attribute less sexist attitudes to their peers after completing the MVP program. 4. The impact of the MVP curriculum will be greater among Peer Educators, who receive a more intensive version of the curriculum, than among Workshop Participants. 5. Due to the limited population targeted by the MVP program, no impact is anticipated on the overall incidence of reported violence on the Syracuse University campus. Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2009. 78p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 10, 2010 at http://www.courtinnovation.org/_uploads/documents/MVP_evaluation.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/_uploads/documents/MVP_evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 119587 Keywords: Campus Crime Crime Prevention Date Rape Dating Violence Gender Violence Mentoring Sexual Assault, College Campuses Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Cruz, Jose Miguel Title: Should Authorities Respect the Law When Fighting Crime? Summary: Ths study examines public support for the authorities’ respect for the law when fighting criminal violence. Using the 2008 round of the Americas-Barometer, 36,021 respondents from twenty-two countries in the Americas were asked whether authorities should always obey the law or, instead, if they can disregard the law in order to catch criminals. Details: Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, Latin American Public Opinion Project, 2009. 8p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 14, 2010 at: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/files/kroGfC/I0819%20Should%20Authorities%20Respect%20the%20Law%20When%20Fighting%20Crime%20English.pdf; AmericasBarometer Insights: 2009 (No. 19) Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/files/kroGfC/I0819%20Should%20Authorities%20Respect%20the%20Law%20When%20Fighting%20Crime%20English.pdf; AmericasBarometer Insights: 2009 (No. 19) Shelf Number: 119605 Keywords: Crime Policies Public Opinion (Latin America) Rule of Law Violent Crime

Author: McKinlay, William Title: Alcohol and Violence Among Young Male Offenders in Scotland (1979-2009) Summary: The purpose of this research is to inform and support the Scottish Prison Service’s alcohol desistance and violence reduction agenda. This research aims to develop our understanding of the use of alcohol, and violence, among male Young Offenders in Scotland. Understanding the reasons why young people now commonly accept that excessive drinking is the cultural norm and understanding young people’s perceptions of the disinhibiting effects that can lead to crime and violence, are central to the objectives of reducing offending and making Scotland a safer place to live. This report brings together the findings of four research studies carried out over the past 30 years. These are: 1) A survey of Young Offenders’ drinking conducted in 1979; 2) A survey of Young Offenders’ drinking and drug use conducted in 1996; 3) A survey of Young Offenders’ drinking, drug and weapon use conducted in 2007 and 4) Interviews with Young Offenders about the above issues conducted in 2008. Details: Glasgow: Scottish Prison Service, 2009. 122p. Source: Internet Resource: SPS Occasional Paper No. 1/2009: Accessed August 22, 2010 at: http://www.sps.gov.uk/MultimediaGallery/80c8249a-3305-41b7-96ba-970412a81c68.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sps.gov.uk/MultimediaGallery/80c8249a-3305-41b7-96ba-970412a81c68.pdf Shelf Number: 113961 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime and Disorder (Scotland) Violence Violent Crime Youthful Offenders

Author: Wunderlitz, Joy Title: Indigenous Perpetrators of Violence: Prevalence and Risk Factors for Offending Summary: This report focuses on Indigenous perpetrators of violence and aims to quantify the prevalence and nature of violent behaviour as well as examine empirical evidence on the relationship between violence and its associated risk factors. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2010. 129p. Source: Internet Resource: Research and Public Policy Series No. 105: Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/2/A/4/%7B2A48440C-E61B-41E4-AD8D-28F536F8B586%7Drpp105.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/2/A/4/%7B2A48440C-E61B-41E4-AD8D-28F536F8B586%7Drpp105.pdf Shelf Number: 119202 Keywords: Aboriginals Indigenous Peoples Violence (Australia) Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Radtke, Timothy Title: Operation Ceasefire in Clark County, Nevada: Evaluating a Cross-Jurisdictional Approach to Reducing Gun Violence Summary: This technical report contains information presented to stakeholders associated with Las Vegas’s Safe Village Initiative, which began in January 2007, in response to firearm violence in Clark County, Nevada. SVI was designed after Operation Ceasefire models developed in Boston, Chicago, and Newark (NJ). Las Vegas’s SVI represents an effort to combine the resources of criminal justice agencies, social service organizations, local clergy, and citizens to disrupt the cycle of violence that characterizes both fatal and non-fatal shootings. An evaluation of SVI’s impact on reducing violence in targeted communities, supported by Federal funding (2007-30243-NV-BJ), suggests that it is an effective community-oriented policing strategy. Highlights of the SVI evaluation include: 1) There was 37% reduction in targeted calls-for-service in the study area after the implementation of the SVI; 2) The overall decline in calls-for-service was attributed to a 32% decline in calls-for-service involving persons with a gun, a 42% reduction in calls-for-service involving an assault/battery with a gun, and a 46% reduction in calls-for-service involving an illegal shooting; 3) A slight decline was observed in the average monthly number of gunshot and stabbing patients admitted to UMC-Trauma Unit from the study area after the implementation of the SVI; and 4) Important qualitative differences were measured in the SVI that may explain why outcomes of this program differed from similar programs implemented in other communities throughout the country. Details: Las Vegas, NV: Center for the Analysis of Crime Statistics, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, 2008. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www.unlv.edu/centers/crimestats/pdf/OCF.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.unlv.edu/centers/crimestats/pdf/OCF.pdf Shelf Number: 119668 Keywords: Gang Violence Gun Violence (Nevada) Guns Violent Crime

Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: Preventing Violent Street Crime in Stockton, California: A Report to the Stockton Police Department Summary: In 2004, the City of Stockton was identified as the most violent city in California with a rate of 1,362 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. A recent 2005 analysis by the Stockton Police Department (SPD) revealed that Stockton remained the most violent city in California with a violent crime rate of 1,503 (10.4% increase over the previous year). The high violent crime rate has generated considerable concern among Stockton city leaders and residents. A number of factors, such as poverty, lack of education, unemployment, overcrowded jails, illegal drug use, and gangs, have been identified as important contributors to Stockton’s violent crime problem. In August 2005, the Mayor launched a Crime Suppression Initiative that included a series of innovative police strategies to reduce violence and established a Blue Ribbon Crime Prevention Committee to examine issues related to Stockton violence and make recommendations regarding community crime prevention. This study examines the nature of violent street crime in the city, reviews the violence prevention activities of the SPD, and makes recommendations on improving the police department’s response to violent street crime problems. Details: Cambridge, MA: Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2006. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://online.recordnet.com/pdconsultreport_07_06.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://online.recordnet.com/pdconsultreport_07_06.pdf Shelf Number: 119667 Keywords: Gangs Street Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Hipple, Natalie Title: The High Point Drug Market Initiative: A Process and Impact Evaluation Summary: The High Point Police Department in High Point, North Carolina has gained attention from the U.S. Department of Justice and police departments, prosecutors, and local governmental officials through a strategic problem solving intervention that has come to be known as the High Point Drug Market Intervention Program (DMI). The DMI seeks to focus on geographically-defined drug market locations and eliminate the overt drug market and the associated violence. The model includes a highly focused deterrence strategy coupled with police-community partnerships that seek to offer sources of social support to the subjects of the deterrence strategy while at the same time re-establishing informal social controls within the neighborhood in order to prevent the re-emergence of the drug market. HPPD has reported very significant declines in crime in the neighborhoods where the DMI has been implemented and an NIJ-supported study indicates strong support for the intervention among justice system officials and local residents. The purpose of this report is to test the impact of the intervention in the original DMI neighborhood through a rigorous outcome assessment. ARIMA time series models were used to test the impact of the DMI intervention. Trends in violent, property and drugs/nuisance offenses were compared for the 37 months prior to the intervention and 37 months following the intervention. Conservative time series estimates that controlled for prior trends in the data and examined the logged-crime incidents in the target community (in order to compress the skewed nature of the count data) indicated that violent crimes declined an average of 7.3 percent following the intervention, property offenses declined 9.1 percent (though this decline was not statistically significant when controlling for other trend influences), and drug and nuisance offenses declined roughly 5.5 percent between the pre and post intervention period, controlling for important trend influence factors. Perhaps most importantly, the decline in the trend in violent crime and in drug and nuisance offenses was marginally statistically significant (p < .10) meaning the observed post-intervention reduction was very unlikely to have been produced by chance. In future analyses these trends will be tested with comparison locations and similar analyses will be conducted in the other DMI intervention sites in High Point. The results of this analysis are consistent with the impressions of HPPD officials as well as residents of the affected neighborhood, the DMI intervention in the West End appears to have had a significant impact on the level of violent, drug, and nuisance offenses. When coupled with the results of a recent assessment of a similar intervention in Rockford, Illinois that was modeled on the High Point experience, these results suggest the DMI is a highly promising intervention for addressing the problem of illegal drug markets and deserves further implementation and evaluation. Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice, 2010. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Project Safe Neighborhoods Case Study #12; Accessed August 23, 2010 at: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointMSUEvaluationPSN12.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www1.cj.msu.edu/~outreach/psn/DMI/HighPointMSUEvaluationPSN12.pdf Shelf Number: 119670 Keywords: Drug Markets Drug Offenders Nuisance Behaviors and Disorders Pulling Levers Strategy Violence Violent Crime

Author: Clark, T.C. Title: Youth '07: The Health and Wellbeing of Secondary School Students in New Zealand. Findings on Young People and Violence Summary: Violence has significant health, social and economic costs for New Zealand communities. This report presents findings from Youth’07: The National Survey of the Health and Wellbeing of New Zealand Secondary School Students on how violence impacts on the health and wellbeing of young people and the factors that are associated with their exposure to violence. It discusses the role of protective factors in the lives of young people exposed to and involved in violent behaviours. The report presents findings from Youth’07 about: 1. The prevalence of a range of violent experiences and behaviours in various settings; 2. The experiences of students who witness violence; 3. The associations between experiencing violence, witnessing violence and being violent towards others; 4. Risk and protective factors associated with violence; and 5. Changes since the previous survey in 2001. Details: Auckland, NZ: University of Auckland, 2009. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, at: http://www.youth2000.ac.nz/publications/reports-1142.htm Year: 2009 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.youth2000.ac.nz/publications/reports-1142.htm Shelf Number: 119673 Keywords: School Crime School Safety School Violence (New Zealand) Violent Crime

Author: Colak, Alexandra Abello Title: Civil Society and Security Transformation in Medellin: Challenges and Opportunities Summary: Medellin, the second biggest city in Colombia, experienced an impressive transformation after 2002 when a combination of national and local initiatives succeeded in dramatically reducing acute levels of violence. After being the most violent city in the world, Medellin became a successful case of urban security transformation. The aim of this research was to explore the role played by civil society in that process. However, not long before this project began, the security situation started to deteriorate in the poor communities of Medellin. The vacuum of power created by the extradition of a demobilized paramilitary leader had triggered wars between gangs and criminal groups. This made it necessary to explore not only the limitations of the recent security transformation, which is now in question, but also the way this outbreak of violence is affecting communities and the role that civil society can play in this context. In the first section this document presents an overview of the insecurity context of Medellin prior to the transformation started in 2002. The second section discusses the problems with the role that civil society is asked to play within current frameworks for security transformation, such as Security Sector Reform (SSR) and current models of democratic security governance in Latin America. Details: Santiago, Chile: Global Consortium on Security Transformation, 2010. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: New Voices Series, no. 2: Available at: http://www.securitytransformation.org/gc_publications.php Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.securitytransformation.org/gc_publications.php Shelf Number: 119680 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gangs Violence Violent Crime

Author: Keesbury, Jill Title: Comprehensive Responses to Gender Based Violence in Low-Resource Settings: Lessons Learned from Implementation Summary: From 2006-2009, the Population Council undertook a program of technical assistance and research to strengthen the evidence base on gender-based violence (SGBV) programming in sub-Saharan Africa. This project created an active network of implementers and researchers across sub-Saharan Africa, all of whom were charged with developing, implementing and evaluating core elements of a comprehensive, multisectoral model for strengthening responses for survivors of SGBV, especially survivors of sexual violence. The comprehensive model includes health, criminal justice, and psychosocial services required by survivors, and works to strengthen the linkages between these sectors. Seven organizations in six countries (Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Senegal) partnered with the Population Council to implement the comprehensive model in part or in whole, and an additional thirteen organizations actively participated in the South-South technical assistance network. Based on the experiences of these partners, this document reviews the findings, lessons learned, and promising practices in the provision of comprehensive SGBV services in sub- Saharan Africa. It draws on the data generated by the network partners to identify core issues in the provision of quality, comprehensive care for survivors of SGBV. These findings are intended to serve as a resource for programmers and policymakers throughout the region, and contribute to the emerging evidence-base on such program strategies. Details: Lusaka, Zambia: Population Council, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/2010RH_CompRespGBV.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Africa URL: http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/2010RH_CompRespGBV.pdf Shelf Number: 119690 Keywords: Child Sexual Abuse Gender-Based Violence Sexual Violence Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Vaillancourt, Roxan Title: Gender Differences in Police-reported Violent Crime in Canada, 2008 Summary: Police-reported data show that the risk of violent victimization among adult males (aged 18 years of age and over) is comparable to that of adult females. Adult females accounted for 51% or about 152,000 of the 298,000 victims of violent incidents reported to the police in 2008, while some 146,000 victims were male. There are many consequences associated with being a victim of a violent crime including injuries, increased stress levels and disruption to day-to-day activities. According to the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization, 24% of victims who sustained injuries due to a violent victimization sought medical attention and 20% required bed rest. In addition, 81% of victims experienced some form of emotional reaction such as anger, confusion or being fearful, and one-third reported having problems sleeping. This profile examines the nature and extent of gender differences in police-reported violent victimization between male and female adults aged 18 years and over. It analyses gender differences in victimization based on the prevalence across the provinces and territories, the type of violent offence, the location of the incident, the presence and type of weapon used, the level of injury to the victim, the victim’s relationship to the perpetrator, and the age of the victim. Details: Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2010. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics Profile Series: Accessed September 7, 2010 at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/85f0033m2010024-eng.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/85f0033m2010024-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 119753 Keywords: Crime Statistics Female Victims Gender Victimization Surveys Victims of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Dauvergne, Mia Title: Knives and Violent Crime in Canada, 2008 Summary: This article examines Canadian trends in police-reported violent crime committed with knives, with a particular focus on the period from 1999 to 2008. Data are drawn from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey and the Homicide Survey which collect information on crimes that have been reported to, and substantiated by, police services from across the country. In Canada, most crimes reported by police do not involve violence. Furthermore, among those crimes that are classified as violent, most are committed with physical force or threats (76%) rather than with a weapon (18%). When a weapon is used, however, a knife is the most common type. In 2008, a knife was used against 6% of all victims of a violent crime. Included in this category are other cutting instruments such as broken bottles, screwdrivers or scissors. In comparison, 3% of violent crimes were committed with a club or blunt instrument and 2% with a firearm. In 2008, police reported almost 23,500 victims of a violent crime with a knife. Homicides and attempted murders had the highest proportion of incidents involving knives, at about one-third. Details: Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2010. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Juristat Article, Vol. 30, no. 1: Accessed September 7, 2010 at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2010001/article/11146-eng.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Canada URL: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2010001/article/11146-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 119754 Keywords: Crime Statistics Knives and Crime Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Moser, Caroline Title: Violence in the Central American REgion: Towards an Integrated Framework for Violence Reduction Summary: This Report was commissioned by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and Swedish International Development Co-Operation (SIDA) as a background document to assist both agencies in developing both regional and country specific violence reduction strategies and programmes in Central America, The objective of this study is to provide a conceptual framework, and associated overview, for understanding regional violence in Central America. This is intended to contribute to the development of an integrated approach to violence reduction interventions in the region. The study aims to familiarise those working in this area with the complex multi-dimensional nature of violence. This will assist agencies in their efforts to undertake the following tasks: 1) Define a future over-arching framework when designing related programmes; 2) Mainstream such an understanding in all future development co-operation in Central America; and 3) Inform key partners of the current dynamics of violence as well as potential approaches to violence reduction. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2002. 77p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper 171: Accessed September 7, 2010 at: www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/1199.pdf Year: 2002 Country: Central America URL: Shelf Number: 119758 Keywords: Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cordeweners, Tom Title: Violence in Bogota, Colombia? A Rich Man's Problem? Summary: In this thesis, I will discuss how violence affected the lives of upper-middle class habitants of Bogotá, Colombia. For this, I will use the information that I obtained during four months of fieldwork. In Colombia, guerrilla movements, paramilitary organisations, drug cartels, youth gangs and common criminals all use violence to protect their interests. Economic violence is the sort of violence that most members of the upper-middle class encounter in a direct way. However, different forms of political violence also have certain consequences for Bogotá’s upper-middle class. Most people take personal measures and protect their houses in order to prevent being victim of a violent crime. Although some upper-middle class inhabitants cooperate with neighbours, the police or other state institutions, this is not the way most people deal with fear and insecurity. The security policies of both the national and the local government are generally seen as effective. However, most members of the uppermiddle class are not satisfied with the way the police tries to improve security. As we shall see, this is one of the reasons for the fact that Bogotá’s upper-middle class calls in the help of private security companies to make their environment safer. Details: Utrecht: Utrecht University, 2008. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed September 7, 2010 at: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0912-200805/UUindex.html Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0912-200805/UUindex.html Shelf Number: 119760 Keywords: Fear of Crime Private Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bannister, Jon Title: Troublesome Youth Groups, Gangs and Knife Carrying in Scotland Summary: Recent years have witnessed growing concern about the existence of youth gangs in Scotland and the engagement of their members in violent conflict involving knives and other weapons. However, there is limited reliable evidence relating to the nature, form and prevalence of youth ‘gangs’ and knife carrying in Scotland. Recognising these information shortfalls, the research reported here set out to: Provide an overview of what is known about the nature and extent of youth gang activity and knife carrying in a set of case study locations; Provide an in-depth account of the structures and activities of youth gangs in these settings; Provide an in-depth account of the knife carrying in these settings; and too offer a series of recommendations for interventions in these behaviours based on this evidence. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2010. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 10, 2010 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/324191/0104329.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/324191/0104329.pdf Shelf Number: 119778 Keywords: Gangs Knives and Crime Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Goodman, Colby Title: U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico: New Data and Insights Illuminate Key Trends and Challenges Summary: Recent news reports that 72 people were summarily executed by an organized crime group in northern Mexico highlight again the horrific violence that has gripped much of the country. The victims (mostly migrants) are the latest tragic reminder that large amounts of sophisticated firearms and ammunition in the hands of violent criminals have made their enterprise more deadly and have complicated law enforcement efforts to bring them under control. It is not surprising, then, that the government of Mexico has made curbing firearms trafficking a top priority in its efforts to dismantle organized crime. Additionally, Mexico has made disrupting arms trafficking networks from the United States a priority issue in the U.S.-Mexico security cooperation agenda. This report provides answers to some of the critical questions about U.S. firearms trafficking to Mexico. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mexico Institute; San Diego, CA: University of San Diego, Trans-Border Institute, 2010. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series on U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation: Accessed September 14, 2010 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/U.S.%20Firearms%20Trafficking%20to%20Mexico-%20Goodman%20Final.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/U.S.%20Firearms%20Trafficking%20to%20Mexico-%20Goodman%20Final.pdf Shelf Number: 119791 Keywords: Firearms Trafficking Organized Crime Trafficking Weapons Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: Rosenthal, Stuart S. Title: Violent Crime, Entrepreneurship, and Cities Summary: This paper estimates the impact of violent crime on the location of business activity and entrepreneurship in five U.S. cities. Central to our analysis is the idea that different sectors of the economy will sort into high- and low-crime areas depending on their relative sensitivity to crime. We illustrate this by comparing retail industries to their wholesale counterparts, and highend restaurants to low-end eateries. Because retail industries are dependent on pedestrian shoppers, they are expected to be especially sensitive to violent crime. Because high-end restaurants are dependent on evening business, they are expected to be especially sensitive to violent crime over the prime dinner hours. Findings indicate that retail, wholesale, high- and low-end restaurants are all more active in areas with higher local rates of violent crime, even after conditioning on an extensive set of model controls. This could arise because violent crime is attracted to our target industries. This also likely reflects that other sectors of the economy outbid our target industries for safer locations (e.g. residential). Further analysis confirms such sorting behavior. Retailers are more likely to locate in safer locations as compared to wholesalers in the same industry. Among restaurants, an increase in violent crime during the prime dinner hours equivalent to the sample max/min range would decrease the high-end share of local restaurants by roughly 40 percentage points. These findings indicate that entrepreneurs take violent crime into account when bidding for locations within a city. These finding also indicate that efforts to make distressed portions of cities more vibrant must give consideration to the need to ensure that such areas are safe. Details: Syracuse, NY: Department of Economics, Syracuse University, 2009. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2010 at: http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/2/2409/papers/rosenthalfinal.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/2/2409/papers/rosenthalfinal.pdf Shelf Number: 119804 Keywords: Businesses Economics Neighborhoods and Crime Retail Crime Violent Crime

Author: Finkelhor, David Title: Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey Summary: This Bulletin describes the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), a nationwide survey of the incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to violence. NatSCEV estimated both past-year and lifetime exposure to violence across a number of categories, including physical assault, bullying, sexual victimization, child maltreatment, dating violence, and witnessed and indirect victimization. The NatSCEV study showed high levels of exposure to violence among a nationally representative sample of youth. More than three in five reported being direct or indirect victims of violence in the past year, and of those, nearly two-thirds were victimized more than once. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2009. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227744.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/227744.pdf Shelf Number: 119807 Keywords: Abused Children Bullying Child Maltreatment Child Sexual Abuse Children, Crimes Against Domestic Violence Violent Crime

Author: Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress Title: The Face of Urban Violence in Central America Summary: Central America has been identified as a sub-region displaying post-conflict characteristics; with some stages successfully completed, while other have failed or are still in progress. A notable dilemma, however, remains unaddressed: the relationship between violence and youth. Traditionally, this relationship has been perceived as a symbiotic, with youth perceived as violent, as a logical consequence of their presumed lack of maturity or experience. According to this study, the victims of violence in Central America - and worldwide - are youths aged 13 to 29, who come from economically depressed regions, and pockets of urban poverty. They tend to belong to ethnic or racial minorities, live in densely populated areas marked by unemployment, high birth rates and little access to schooling. Many of these youths, both victims and assailants, have been victimized themselves. They have been abused, suffered domestic violence; they have been abandoned, or had little access to education and culture, and are incapable of entering the job market in conditions of equality or security. Details: San Jose, Costa Rica: Arias Foundation for Peace on Human Progress, 2006. 276p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.arias.or.cr/download/INGLES.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Central America URL: http://www.arias.or.cr/download/INGLES.pdf Shelf Number: 116550 Keywords: Gangs Juvenile Offenders Socioeconomic Status Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Menard, Scott Title: Victimization and Illegal Behavior Summary: Research has shown that individuals involved in illegal behavior are more likely to be victims than are those not involved in such activities. The temporal order of the victim-offender relationship has been a focus of interest in recent years. Violent victimization has been found to be an important risk factor for subsequent violent offending. The current study furthers our understanding of this sequence by analyzing waves of the National Youth Survey. The relationship between violent victimization and offending was found to change from adolescence to adulthood. Clearly, if violent victimization is a risk factor for engaging in illegal behavior, policies and programs aimed at preventing victimization may be one of the most effective strategies for at-risk youth. Details: Huntsville, TX: Crime Victims' Institute, Sam Houston State University, 2009. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2010 at: http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/documents/VictimizationandIllegalBehaviorpress.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/documents/VictimizationandIllegalBehaviorpress.pdf Shelf Number: 119829 Keywords: At-risk Youth Illegal Behavior Juvenile Offenders Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Catalano, Shannan Title: Victimization During Household Burglary Summary: This report presents findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on the characteristics of burglary, with comparisons between households where members were present and not present. It also examines the extent to which individuals in the residence are violently victimized when at home during these encounters. The NCVS classifies victimization as personal, rather than property crime, when a household member is present and experiences violence during a household burglary. This report classifies these violent burglaries differently so that they may be compared to traditionally classified burglaries. It also discusses crime characteristics such as household structure, location and type of residence, method of entry, time of day, type of violence, weapon use, injury, and reporting to police. Data on nonfatal violent victimization (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) are drawn from the NCVS. Data on homicides are drawn from the Supplementary Homicide Report of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Highlights of the report include the following: An estimated 3.7 million burglaries occurred each year on average from 2003 to 2007; Offenders were known to their victims in 65% of violent burglaries; offenders were strangers in 28%; and Serious injury accounted for 9% and minor injury accounted for 36% of injuries sustained by household members who were home and experienced violence during a completed burglary. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Accessed October 5, 2010 at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vdhb.pdf Shelf Number: 119860 Keywords: Burglary Victimization Surveys Victims of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Ringland, Clare Title: Domestic Homicide in NSW, January 2003 - June 2008 Summary: This brief examines trends and characteristics of domestic homicides in NSW over the period January 2003 to June 2008. During this time, there were 215 victims of domestic homicide, 115 females and 100 males. The rate of domestic homicide per year remained stable, ranging from a low of 0.46 per 100,000 population in 2004 to a high of 0.63 per 100,000 population in 2006. Forty-three per cent of domestic homicide victims (70 females and 23 males) were killed by intimate partners, and 19 per cent by parents. Stabbing was the most common act causing death, with knives used in over one-third of domestic homicides. The use of knives increased over the period, while the use of firearms decreased. Over three-quarters of offenders were male, and one-third of offenders may have had a history of mental illness and/or been suffering from mental illness at the time of the homicide. Twenty-six per cent of offenders were persons of interest in a violence-related incident in the 12 months prior to the homicide, and 52 per cent in the five years prior. In the 12 months prior to the homicide event, only 10 per cent of victims had been identified as a victim in a violence-related incident where the homicide offender was identified as a person of interest. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2009. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief, Issue Paper No. 42: Accessed October 11, 2010 at: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb42.pdf/$file/bb42.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb42.pdf/$file/bb42.pdf Shelf Number: 118552 Keywords: Domestic Violence Family Violence Homicide Victims of Crime Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Dziedzic, Michael Title: Haiti: Confronting the Gangs of Port-au-Prince Summary: Although ostensibly criminal in nature, the gangs of Port-au-Prince were an inherently political phenomenon. Powerful elites from across the political spectrum exploited gangs as instruments of political warfare, providing them with arms, funding, and protection from arrest. Beginning in 2006 and reaching its culmination in February 2007, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) conducted a series of successful military and police operations against armed gangs, based in sanctuaries in Cité Soleil and other urban slums, that had terrorized the populace. The campaign resulted in the arrest of principal gang leaders and some eight hundred of their followers. UN operations followed a public announcement by Haiti’s president, René Préval, that the gangs must “surrender or die,” and a private request to the United Nations to take armed action. Préval’s call for action came after efforts to negotiate with the gangs proved futile. Antigang operations involved the Haiti National Police (HNP), the country’s only security force. HNP support for, and direct engagement in, these operations was essential to their success. Haitian police SWAT teams arrested most of the gang leaders. Although the UN assaults resulted in civilian casualties and extensive property damage, the great majority of Cité Soleil residents surveyed believed that the UN crackdown was justified. If MINUSTAH had not been willing and able to confront the gang threat, the likely consequences would have been the collapse of the Préval administration and the failure of the UN mission. The United Nations must be capable of mounting assertive operations to enforce its mandates, and it can succeed in such operations under the proper conditions if it summons the necessary resolve. MINUSTAH’s success in confronting the gang threat suggests that the conditions needed for successful mandate enforcement include unity of effort among mission leadership, local buy-in and support, actionable intelligence to guide operations, effective employment of Formed Police Units (FPUs), integrated planning of military, police, and civilian assistance efforts to fill the void left by the displacement of illegal armed groups, and holistic reform of, and international support for, the legal system. Details: Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2008. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Reprot 208: Accessed October 12, 2010 at: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/sr208.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Haiti URL: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/sr208.pdf Shelf Number: 119927 Keywords: Gangs Policing Violent Crime

Author: Tedesco, Laura Title: Urban Violence: A Challenge to Institutional Strengthening. The Case of Latin America Summary: Urban violence in Latin America has been related to the increase in social, political and economic exclusion experienced by much of the population. This Working Paper offers an analysis of the causes of violence, presenting a study that considers the possibility of stateless territories within states. Various examples of the region are presented, with a particular focus on the rapid increase of violence in Mexico. The conclusions and recommendations given in this document point to the need to create an agenda for citizen security between Europe and Latin America that would put the emphasis on the exchange of ideas and local programmes. Details: Madrid: Fundacion para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Dialogo Exterior (FRIDE), 2009. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 78: Accessed October 13, 2010 at: http://www.fride.org/publication/573/urban-violence:-a-challenge-to-institutional-strengthening Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://www.fride.org/publication/573/urban-violence:-a-challenge-to-institutional-strengthening Shelf Number: 119947 Keywords: Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Mclean, John Title: Jamaica - Community-Based Policing Assessment Summary: This assessment follows on from a stakeholders’ workshop convened by USAID and held on December 11 2007. This workshop was significant in making efforts to deal with the differences of opinion about Grants Pen in a way that was constructive, action-orientated and forward looking. This report seeks to continue to move this process forward by identifying lessons learned and making recommendations for progressing CBP in Grants Pen and throughout Jamaica. Personal safety is a primary concern for many Jamaicans and reducing the country’s high rates of violent crime has been and continues to be a challenge for the Government of Jamaica and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). For the past ten years, community-based policing (CBP) has been an espoused policy of the JCF with several past attempts at implementation. Lessons from these previous programmes have been included in this assessment. While past CBP reforms have typically not been sustained, they do provide a platform for the country-wide CBP expansion that is now a major priority for the new JCF Commissioner of Police. Currently, the JCF is working to roll out CBP more widely throughout the country. USAID has supported community policing in Kingston, and specifically in Grants Pen, for the past five years: through the 2002-05 CBP pilot activity, the Community Policing Initiative (CPI), implemented by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and through the current Community Empowerment and Transformation Project (COMET), implemented by Management Systems International (MSI). The CBP model piloted in Grants Pen under the CPI was part of a larger strategy by USAID and its partners. The intent was to apply the lessons learned and best practices from the Grants Pen pilot to assist in the JCF’s roll out of community policing island-wide. Some basic elements of CBP were introduced in Grants Pen and the pilot succeeded in having an impact, albeit temporary, on the community-police relationship. The assessment team found that Grants Pen is not a “model” either in terms of success or replicability but that there are valuable lessons to be learned which can assist with the ongoing development of CBP throughout Jamaica. The invaluable work of the private sector in supporting CBP in Grants Pen is particularly note worthy although there are lessons to be learned regarding roles and responsibilities. While CBP has been attempted in various forms and at various times in the history of Jamaican policing there has never been a significant, sustained implementation programme. A number of factors have been identified to be addressed to make such an implementation of CBP more effective. These include leadership and accountability within the JCF; effective partnership working; clear policy support direction; enhanced corporate communications and increased organizational capacity. Nonetheless, while there are inhibitors to change various circumstances referenced in the report suggest that the time is opportune to progress the implementation of CBP in Jamaica. In this respect, the roles of the international donor community and the private sector are significant. This assessment recommends that USAID expands its work on community policing and supports the implementation of CBP within the JCF in several ways, including developing its organizational capacity. A consistent theme recognized by the team during field work was a shortage of resources that constrains the JCF in the most fundamental ways. We recognize that good policing can be expensive. However, good policing is essential to improving the livelihoods of all citizens. As a result, we wish to stress the need for consistently greater resource allocation and accountability on the part of the Government of Jamaica for the JCF. Good intentions and plans are important; resources are critical. The coordinated and focused support of the business community and international donor community in providing resources for the development of CBP has proved important in the past and will be even more so in the future. Any further community policing efforts by USAID or the JCF must be accompanied by effective monitoring and evaluation (Section V and Annex IV and V), which will serve as the foundation for increasing the effectiveness and the impact of any programme and by close coordination and collaboration, not only with donors but also the private sector, which has resources and skills to contribute to community policing, crime prevention, and community development. The assessment team recognizes the difficulty associated with measuring many of the aspects of programme performance in the police environment. However, if initial monitoring and evaluation is designed with focus and simplicity, the utility of the initial results will encourage follow up and further refinement. From a more general perspective, the assessment team believes that while there are likely those in Jamaica who would not support improving police performance, there are a number of factors currently present that do support reform. The new JCF Commissioner has publicly made CBP a top priority. In general, the public supports improved policing, as does the private sector. DFID is conducting a complementary modernization project in both the Ministry of National Security and the JCF, which the USG should encourage to continue beyond its scheduled summer 2008 end date. EU budget support can be used by the GoJ to support the implementation of GoJ policies related to security (including community policing). Lastly, the current USAID COMET project provides a ready mechanism for supporting reform in the JCF. The team agrees that the goals of reform are not in question. That the JCF knows the goals is also not in doubt. How change is to be implemented and accomplished is the primary obstacle. The state of the JCF as an institution presents the most significant challenge. In theory, control of the operational philosophy rests with management. In practice, however, if supervision, process, structure, policy, implementation, accountability, leadership, and all the other components of an effective organization are inadequate, effective management of even routine operations is a significant problem. These daily obstacles are even more daunting when sustained operational reform is the goal. When functioning properly, the foundation of institutional management provides sufficient leverage for change to be accomplished. The JCF foundation is in serious need of rebuilding which can best be accomplished from the inside while taking advantage of support from the outside. Part three of this report contains an analysis of CBP particularly in relation to Grants Pen. Part four of the report examines, in particular, the experience the JCF has had with CBP and looks at current organizational impediments to change and makes proposals for overcoming these. Part five highlight the importance of monitoring and evaluation. In addition, Annex I identifies the key roles for the international donor community and private sector in Jamaica; Annex II details the individuals and organizations consulted during the assessments and Annex III sets out the literature review. Annex IV and V are relevant to the monitoring and evaluation recommendations. The assessment team found there is significant experience to draw on in progressing CBP in Jamaica. While there are many hurdles and barriers to be overcome a significant momentum has been gathered which, with the support of USAID and other partners, should overcome these. For ease of reference, two matrices have been prepared which detail the lessons learned and the recommendations of the assessment team; these are attached as Annexes VI and VII. Details: Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development, 2008. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://usaid-comet.org/reports/FINAL%20CBP%20Assessment%20Report%20-%20April%20%209%202008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Jamaica URL: http://usaid-comet.org/reports/FINAL%20CBP%20Assessment%20Report%20-%20April%20%209%202008.pdf Shelf Number: 119992 Keywords: Community Policing Police Reform Violent Crime

Author: Truman, Jennifer L. Title: Criminal Victimization, 2009 Summary: This bulletin presents the annual estimates of rates and levels of violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault), property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft), and personal theft (pocket picking and purse snatching) in the US. The report describes the year-to-year change from 2008 and trends for the 10-year period from 2000 through 2009. The National Criminal Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. During 2009, 38,728 households and 68,665 individuals were interviewed twice for the NCVS. This report also includes data on the characteristics of victims of crime; estimates of intimate partner violence; and use of firearms and other weapons during the crime. Highlights include the following: An estimated 4.3 million violent crimes, 15.6 million property crimes, and 133,000 personal thefts were committed against U.S. residents age 12 or older in 2009; Violence against males, blacks, and persons age 24 or younger occurred at higher or somewhat higher rates than the rates of violence against females, whites, and persons age 25 or older in 2009; About half (49%) of all violent crimes and about 40% of all property crimes were reported to the police in 2009; and Violent crimes against females (53%) were more likely to be reported than violent crimes against males (45%). Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, October 2010: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv09.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv09.pdf Shelf Number: 119995 Keywords: Crime Statistics Property Crime Victimization Surveys Victims of Crimes Violent Crime

Author: Berg, Louis-Alexandre Title: Crime, Politics and Violence in Post-Earthquake Haiti Summary: Crime and violence are on the rise in Port-au-Prince due to prisoner escapes during the earthquake. Youth gangs and other armed groups are regaining strength in the most vulnerable neighborhoods and spreading to other areas of the city. In the tent camps around Port-au- Prince, displaced people—especially women — remain vulnerable to crime. These factors have contributed to an increasing sense of insecurity. As political tensions rise in the run-up to elections, armed groups, criminal enterprises and vulnerable youth could once again be mobilized by political forces to fuel violence or disrupt the political process. Gangs and their involvement in criminal and political violence are deeply rooted in Haitian politics, and fueled by widespread poverty, inadequate police presence, government weakness, and social and economic inequities. Prior to the earthquake, criminal violence had begun to decline due to a combination of political reconciliation, law enforcement operations and investment in marginalized neighborhoods. These fragile gains have been reversed since the earthquake and public confidence in the police has been shaken. Directing resources toward mitigating violence while addressing the underlying sources of crime and violence should remain a priority in post-earthquake reconstruction. Details: Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2010. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Peace Brief, no. 58: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/PB%2058%20-%20Crime%20Politics%20and%20Violence%20in%20Post-Earthquake%20Haiti.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Haiti URL: http://www.usip.org/files/resources/PB%2058%20-%20Crime%20Politics%20and%20Violence%20in%20Post-Earthquake%20Haiti.pdf Shelf Number: 119996 Keywords: Gangs Natural Disasters Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cahill, Meagan Title: Aggravated Assault in the District of Columbia: Patterns and Trends, 2000-2009 Summary: Over the past decade, aggravated assaults in the District of Columbia have steadily declined to levels last reached in the late 1960s. That decline mirrors that of serious violent crime — such as homicide — with a small peak in the early 1970s and a larger peak in the early 1990s. The analysis found that the Seventh Police District (7D) had the most assaults of all districts but also one of the largest declines between 2000 and 2009. In 7D, hot spots of crime were located in both commercial and residential areas, but dissipated over the course of the decade studied. Details: Washington, DC: District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute, 2010. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Brief, No. 3: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001451-dcpi-assault-brief.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001451-dcpi-assault-brief.pdf Shelf Number: 119998 Keywords: Assaults Crime Statistics Hot Spots Violent Crime

Author: Wilkinson, Deanna Title: Event Dynamics and the Role of Third Parties in Urban Youth Violence Summary: This report presents a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected from 1995 through 1998 as part of the New York City Youth Violence Study. The current study’s goal was to identify situational factors and contingencies that facilitated violence among 416 young violent male offenders from the South Bronx and East New York, two of the most violent neighborhoods in the Nation. Details: Columbus, OH: Ohio State University, Depratment of Human Development and Family Science, 2009. 188p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/227781.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/227781.pdf Shelf Number: 120008 Keywords: Gun Violence Urban Areas Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Dreyfus, Pablo Title: Small Arms in Brazil: Production, Trade, and Holdings Summary: It is not difficult to find evidence of Brazil’s high levels of armed violence. The proof is in the grim statistics of the country’s hospitals, morgues, and prisons. This Special Report looks at two aspects of this problem. First, it explores the thriving Brazilian small arms industry, which, together with international trafficking networks, contributes to control failures and fuels small arms violence. Second, it maps out weapons holdings—by weapon type, holder, and location Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2010. 170p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR11-Small-Arms-in-Brazil.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR11-Small-Arms-in-Brazil.pdf Shelf Number: 120035 Keywords: Guns Illegal Trade Trafficking in Weapons Violence Violent Crime

Author: Harriott, Anthony Title: Controlling Violent Crime: Models and Policy Options Summary: The increase in the levels of crime and violence in Jamaica has been traumatic for the nation’s citizens. The scourge of crime has penetrated even our schools as the youth solve their problems in an aggressively confrontational manner which too often has ended in the death of one of the contenders. The problem of crime is not confined to Jamaica but is one that the entire region has had to confront. This Lecture, which will focus on models and policy options for the control of crime, is timely and should provide practical recommendations to contribute to the lessing of crime in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Details: Kingston, Jamaica: GraceKennedy Foundation, 2009. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.gracekennedy.com/files/doc/GRACE-Lecture-2009.pdf.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.gracekennedy.com/files/doc/GRACE-Lecture-2009.pdf.pdf Shelf Number: 120018 Keywords: Criminal Justice Policy Violence Violent Crime

Author: Aguirre, Katherine Title: Assessing the Effect of Policy Interventions on Small Arms Demand in Bogota, Colombia Summary: In Bogotá, some 50,000 people died in firearm-related events between 1979 and 2009. This constitutes roughly 8% of the total number of deaths, by natural or external causes, registered in the Colombian capital. While the impact of firearms in Bogotá is smaller than in Colombia as a whole, where approximately 11% of deaths have been attributed to firearms, Bogotá contributed 10% of all firearms deaths in Colombia over the period 1979 to 2009. In Bogotá as in the rest of Colombia, homicides are the primary event through which firearms deaths occur (more than 90% of cases). In 2009, there were over 15,000 homicides registered in Colombia. Despite an impressive reduction since 2002 (26.8%), and this figure being the lowest in more than 20 years, the homicide rate in Colombia continues to rank as one of the highest in the world, if not the highest. Improvements in the city of Bogotá have contributed substantially to the overall reduction in homicides. The city has experienced an impressive reduction of homicide violence since its peak in 1993, when the number of homicides rose from 3,000 in 1992 to almost 4,500, a 33% increase. According to the National Police, the figure of 2009 of Bogotá was 1,327 a reduction of around 70% with respect to the 1993 level. The current homicide rate of 18 per 100,000 inhabitants is still quite high, but contrasts with the rate of 1993 of 80 per 100.000. The contribution of Bogotá to the total number of homicides of the country has not declined at the same speed as the level of homicides. For the 2007, the Ministry of Defence says that the capital contribute with 32.7 per cent in the decrease of the homicides in the whole country. Violence in Colombia is a result of two interconnected complex social phenomena. The first is the prevalence of entrenched criminal organisations, mainly involved in the production and transport of illegal narcotics. The second is the three-sided armed conflict between the government, guerrilla groups and paramilitary groups. The situation in Bogotá is influenced more by common urban delinquency by conflict dynamics. In this document, we assess the market associated with the criminal use of firearms. Recent academic studies highlighted demand for firearms for violent use. This assessment will distinguish demand for firearms along two main axes: the markets in which they can be obtained (legal and illegal markets) and how individuals use them (criminally and non-criminally). Specifically, we will explore the impact that active antigun policies and other security interventions, established in the mid-1990s, had on reducing firearm-related homicides in Bogotá. After reviewing the general context, we will introduce the policies that have been implemented by local administrations during the period in which the homicide rate fell drastically. We then use a variety a statistical methods to assess the impact of gun-carrying and violence reduction interventions on homicide in Bogotá. Details: Bogota, Colombia: CERAC - Centro de Recursos para el Analisis de Conflictos, 2009. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Documentos de CERAC, No. 14: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.cerac.org.co/pdf/CERAC_WP_14_DemandBogotaFinal.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.cerac.org.co/pdf/CERAC_WP_14_DemandBogotaFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 120022 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence Guns Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Siebel, Brian J. Title: No Check. No Gun. Why Brady Background Checks Should be Required For All Gun Sales Summary: Since the Brady Bill was passed in 1994, Brady background checks have prevented 1,631,000 attempts by criminals and other dangerous people to purchase guns. Of these 1.6 million denied attempts to purchase, 51.6% were denied for felony charges, 14.5% had a history of domestic violence, and 4.2% were fugitives from justice. While Brady background checks likely contributed to lowering gun violence across the country, an estimated 40% of gun purchases still do not require background checks. Requiring background checks at all sales at gun shows is popular among the American public: a 2008 poll revealed that 87% of people favor requiring everyone who purchases a gun at a gun show to undergo a criminal background check with 83% of gun owners agreeing. As 95% of all background checks are completed within several minutes, this process does not inconvenience law-abiding citizens. Background checks should be required for all purchases. Details: Washington, DC: Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2009. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/no-check-no-gun-report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/reports/no-check-no-gun-report.pdf Shelf Number: 119969 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence Guns Violent Crime

Author: Yemen Armed Violence Assessment Title: Under Pressure: Social Violence Over Land and Water in Yemen Summary: This Yemen Armed Violence Assessment (YAVA) Issue Brief provides an overview of the dynamics and impacts of land- and water-related social violence, highlighting likely future trends. It elaborates on the particular contribution of small arms and light weapons as a cross-cutting factor shaping social violence. The Issue Brief also considers government initiatives to contain civilian gun use, and highlights the many linkages between social violence and other systemic challenges confronting Yemeni society. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, Yemen Armed Violence Assessment, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Small Arms Survey, Issue Brief, No. 2; Accessed October 20, 2010 at: http://yemenviolence.org/pdfs/Yemen-Armed-Violence-IB2-Social-violence-over-land-and-water-in-Yemen.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Yemen URL: http://yemenviolence.org/pdfs/Yemen-Armed-Violence-IB2-Social-violence-over-land-and-water-in-Yemen.pdf Shelf Number: 120019 Keywords: Gun Violence Guns Violent Crime

Author: Albright, Danielle Title: Results from the New Mexico Gang Threat Assessment Summary: Project Safe Neighborhoods began in 2001 as a federal initiative to reduce gun violence in the U.S. The initiative brings together local, state, and federal law enforcement partners with the goal of providing a comprehensive strategy for prevention, intervention, and suppression of gun related crime. In 2006, PSN added an anti-gang component to its existing strategy. In the District of New Mexico comprehensive data on gang-related crime and violence is limited, complicating efforts to shift the focus of PSN activities in the State towards anti-gang efforts. To facilitate this shift and determine how the current PSN infrastructure built through the anti-gun initiative could be expanded to include anti-gang activities, the District’s PSN task force allocated a portion of its PSN research funds towards the development and implementation of a statewide gang threat assessment survey. The survey was designed to identify how law enforcement personnel across the state: 1) perceive the nature and extent of the gang problem in New Mexico; 2) collect information on gangs, gang members, and gang crime within their agencies; 3) identify resources available, both within their agencies and the community at large, for combating the gang problem in their jurisdictions, and 4) how they think the State should prioritize future anti-gang activities. This report was prepared for the New Mexico PSN Task Force for use in developing research driven policy and program initiatives, to serve as a benchmark for future gang threat assessment research, and to identify the direction of future research and media outreach campaigns. Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, Institute for Social Research, University of New Mexico, 2008. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 21, 2010 at: http://nmsac.unm.edu/contact_information/nmsac_publications/ Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://nmsac.unm.edu/contact_information/nmsac_publications/ Shelf Number: 120048 Keywords: Gangs Gun Violence Guns Violent Crime

Author: Dekker, Sonja Title: Aging and Violent Crime in New Zealand Summary: This report documents trends in age-sex-specific offence and apprehension rates for violent crime in New Zealand, and estimate the impact of population change on offence rates and justice sector expenditure for violent crime. The main data source is New Zealand Police data on recorded offences and apprehensions for violent crime between 1994 and 2008. These data are combined with Statistics New Zealand population data, and published estimates of government expenditure per offence. The impact of population change is assessed using demographic decompositions. Complex visualisations of the data allow trends and impact to be examined. The age-sex profile of violent offending in New Zealand has been changing, with the largest growth rates occurring at age 30 years and over, and among women. Changes in population age-sex structure have moderated increases in violent offence rates since 1994. Prospective changes in age-sex structure should moderate future growth in offence rates and justice sector expenditure. Details: Wellington, NZ: Statistics New Zealand, 2010. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistics New Zealand Working Paper No. 10-01: Accessed October 22, 2010 at: http://www.stats.govt.nz/surveys_and_methods/methods/research-papers/working-papers/ageing-violent-crime-nz-workingpaper-10-01.aspx Year: 2010 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.stats.govt.nz/surveys_and_methods/methods/research-papers/working-papers/ageing-violent-crime-nz-workingpaper-10-01.aspx Shelf Number: 120055 Keywords: Age Offenders Offense Statistics Violence Violent Crime

Author: Graham, Lauren Title: Ending the Age of Marginal Majority: An Exploration of Strategies to Overcome Youth Exclusion, Vulnerability and Violence in Southern Africa Summary: As part of its focus on human security, the Southern Africa Trust (the Trust) has sought to understand the extent of youth violence and crime in the SADC region, as well as the underlying or contributing factors that can explain the levels of youth violence. To this end, it commissioned research on the extent and drivers of youth violence and the possible interventions that might be necessary to deal with this and related challenges, within a holistic understanding of the issue. The research involved a review of literature pertaining to youth and violence in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as a fieldwork component, which sought to assess youth violence in more detail within five selected countries – the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The findings from both of these components were also shaped by inputs from three stakeholders – One Voice Mobilisation, the Southern Africa Youth Movement (SAYM), and the Youth Development Network (YDN) – during two stakeholder consultation meetings held at different points in the research and data analysis process. In many respects this research is a starting point for understanding youth violence regionally. It is the first study of this type in the SADC region and the exploratory work begun in this research process should be complemented with further research that can establish regional trends more fully. What became clear in the research process was the complexity of youth violence, particularly when a holistic approach is taken to the issues that underpin its manifestation. Rather than providing quick answers about what might provide the most appropriate programming or policy interventions, the research uncovered a range of debates and issues that need to be taken into consideration in designing policy and programme initiatives in respect of youth violence. Details: Midrand, South Africa, Southern Africa Trust, 2010. 195p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 23, 2010 at: http://www.southernafricatrust.org/docs/Youth_violence_civic_engagement_SADC_2010-Full.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Africa URL: http://www.southernafricatrust.org/docs/Youth_violence_civic_engagement_SADC_2010-Full.pdf Shelf Number: 120058 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Blasi, Gary Title: Has the Safer Cities Initiative in Skid Row Reduced Serious Crime? Summary: The “Safer Cities Initiative” launched in Los Angeles’ Skid Row in September, 2006, represents one of the most intense concentrations of police resources anywhere, anytime. Although the initiative evolved from earlier plans targeting the homeless population in Skid Row, at its launch and thereafter the Safer Cities Initiative (“SCI”) was publicized as a highly successful crime reduction effort, one relying on the “broken windows” thesis. According to this theory, a crackdown on less serious violations (as in the 1,000 citations per month being written in Skid Row for littering, crosswalk violations, etc.) will lead to a reduction in more serious crime. And, indeed, crime has fallen in Skid Row. An earlier report documented the history and results of the Initiative, but raised questions about whether the observed reduction in crime was in fact the result of the SCI. Only limited data were considered, however, In order to address this question more fully, we obtained the crime report data for every serious or violent crime reported to LAPD as having occurred in LAPD’s Central Area (which includes Skid Row), between January 1, 2005 and May 21, 2008. In order to simplify statistical analysis and avoid the effects of seasonal variations in crime, we examined in detail the data regarding crimes in the year prior to the launch of SCI (September 26, 2006) and the year after. We compared the data on crimes occurring in Skid Row with those occurring in the remainder of Central Area. We found that, as to overall serious or violent crime, the reduction in crime in the SCI deployment area was not statistically significant from the reduction in the non-SCI area. When we analyzed the data for each category of crime, we found only one area of significant difference: the reduction in robberies was slightly lower in Skid Row. The size of the effect, however, was not impressive: a reduction of about 1 robbery per year for each of the 50 officers assigned to the SCI. Reducing the number of robberies by any number is a positive development. However, given that that Central Area as a whole accounts for less than 5% of the robberies in the City, and that even before SCI, Skid Row accounted for only a fraction of the robberies in Central Area, we question whether the costs of this extended deployment of officers in a 50 square block area justify the results. Details: Los Angeles, CA: University of California - Los Angeles, School of Law, 2008. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2010 at: http://cdn.law.ucla.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/missing%20files/did_safer_cities_reduce_crime_in_skid_row.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://cdn.law.ucla.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/missing%20files/did_safer_cities_reduce_crime_in_skid_row.pdf Shelf Number: 120069 Keywords: Crackdowns Crime Prevention Homelessness Policing Robberies Violent Crime

Author: Wells, Matthew Title: Afraid and Forgotten: Lawlessness, Rape and Impunity in Western Cote d'Ivoire Summary: This report documents the often brutal physical and sexual violence in the western administrative regions of Moyen Cavally and Dix-Huit Montagnes. The widespread criminality has been fueled by the disintegration of legal institutions, a failed disarmament process that has left the region awash with arms, and state officials’ refusal to respond to attacks. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2010. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2010 at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/10/22/afraid-and-forgotten Year: 2010 Country: Cote d'Ivoire URL: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/10/22/afraid-and-forgotten Shelf Number: 120072 Keywords: Gun Violence Rape Sexual Assault Violent Crime

Author: Keaton, Sandy Title: San Diego Violent Crime Victims and Suspects in 2009 Summary: This SANDAG CJ bulletin, one of three in a series presenting 2009 annual crime information, includes crime and arrest report data from local law enforcement agencies regarding characteristics of violent crime victims and suspects. Analyses are presented regarding which population subgroups were more likely to report being victimized in 2009, as well as how victims and suspects differed by crime type in terms of their ethnicity, age, and gender. Details: San Diego: SANDAG, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 25, 2010 at: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1503_11722.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.sandag.org/uploads/publicationid/publicationid_1503_11722.pdf Shelf Number: 120077 Keywords: Crime Statistics Victims of Violent Crime Violent Crime

Author: Hughes, Ed Title: Community Safety and Small Arms in Somaliland Summary: Between August 2008 and August 2009, data was collected and analysed across Somaliland in order to improve understanding of community safety and small arms and light weapons in Somaliland. Data has been collected from 157 communities in 32 districts and the data set includes a total of 2846 household questionnaires and 281 focus group and key informant interviews with key players in the field of community safety, such as the police, civil society organisations, the UN and traditional and religious leaders. The publication is a joint effort by DDG and the Small Arms Survey. The findings of the survey are presented in this report along with contextual interpretations of the results and information that may be of use to practitioners. For the purposes of this summary and because of the representativeness of the data sample, the results from the household survey have been generalised for the whole population and percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number to facilitate reading. Details: Copenhagen: Danish Demining Group; Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2010. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2010 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/E-Co-Publications/SAS-DDG-2010-Somaliland.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Somalia URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/E-Co-Publications/SAS-DDG-2010-Somaliland.pdf Shelf Number: 120090 Keywords: Community Safety Gun Violence Violence Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Fraser, Alistair Title: Youth Violence in Scotland: Literature Review Summary: Youth violence remains a contentious public and political issue. A great deal of media attention and public debate is devoted to the phenomenon of youth violence. Yet very little is known about the scale or nature of violence committed by youth, trends in violent youth offending, or the role played by violence in the everyday lives of children and young people in Scotland. The aim of the review is to identify and collate available qualitative and quantitative research data and information about youth violence in Scotland, in order to construct a research-informed picture of ‘what is currently known’ about youth violence in this country. It will form part of a wider programme of work on youth violence currently being conducted within the Scottish Government and, in particular, will complement an ongoing audit of official data sources. This review is intended to facilitate an enhanced awareness of potential gaps in recording procedures within the Scottish Government for capturing data on youth violence, identify areas in which there is a particular dearth of information about youth violence, and suggest areas for future research. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2010. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 1, 2010 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/326952/0105428.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/326952/0105428.pdf Shelf Number: 120141 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violence Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Trans-Border Institute, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego Title: Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis from 2001-2009 Summary: Mexico closed the decade with an unprecedented level of violence, and a record number of drug-related killings in 2009. In light of the spectacular nature of this violence and the challenge it represents for the Mexican state, it raises serious concerns for the Mexican public, for policy makers, and for Mexico's neighboring countries. This report provides an overview of the trends found in available data on drug-related killings in Mexico, and offers some brief observations about the causes of violence and the effectiveness of recent efforts to combat organized crime. Details: San Diego, CA: Trans-Border Institute, 2010. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2010 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/2010-Shirk-JMP-Drug_Violence.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/2010-Shirk-JMP-Drug_Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 120171 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Regional Office Brazil Title: Country Profile Summary: The Federal Government Multi-year Plan (PPA), 2004-2007, entitled - A Brazil for All - laid out the country's vision for a more equitable, sustainable, and competitive Brazil. Equity is undermined by high crime rates, which affect the poor more deeply. Crime and violence in slum areas remain high and solutions remain elusive. The Government recognizes that crime and violence causes serious economic and social problems that need to be addressed along four broad lines of actions. First, over the long term, social progress at the macro level, with more and better income opportunities would help reduce crime. Second, in the near term, community-based approaches involving the local population and local governments have shown results. Third, urban upgrading programmes in slum areas can also be an entry point for community and cultural activities, micro-credit, and other opportunities. Fourth, improving performance of the police and judiciary will also help lower impunity and crime rates. In opinion polls and consultations, crime and violence are mentioned as one of the most pressing concerns facing Brazilians today. Crime prevention at the local level, combining elements of traditional responses with the targeting of risk factors - such as: easy access to firearms, drugs, and alcohol; high levels of school dropout and unemployment, family violence; and the media portraying violence - represent the emerging international consensus on combating crime and violence. The primary responsibility lies not only with the police, but also with municipalities, state governments and communities. Partnership at all levels needs to be actively engaged. It is important to point out that the average homicide rate of 23.8 per 100,000 inhabitants in Brazil does not provide a complete picture of the situation. This average does not reflect the inequalities that exist between areas in the cities where the middle to upper class population live and the tourists visit - where rates of 5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants is prevalent while in slums, rates of 100 homicides and above are registered per 100,000 inhabitants. If we consider that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), for every homicide at least 20 people get injured, the magnitude of the crime and violence in small and big cities acquires a serious dimension. From a gender perspective 82 per cent of the homicides are related to males, and the most affected age group is between 15-29 years old with high incidence in the Afro-Brazilian ethnic group. Unequal distribution of wealth among youth of the upper-middle- class (with the millions of young people living in slums) is a reflection of an unequal society. In this society, 1 per cent of the rich population receives 10 per cent of total national income and 50% of the poor population receives 10% of the national income. Crime prevention experts in Brazil agree that inequality and social exclusion, more than poverty, are the main causes of the involvement of youths in criminal activities. Sustainable development is undermined when crime goes unpunished, since it increases the - Custo Brazil, - (broadly defined as impediments and obstacles to Brazilian competitiveness). Crime depletes resources that could be used for education, health, public safety, generation of employment, etc. Criminal groups are now active in moneylaundering, theft of art and cultural objects, theft of intellectual property, illicit arms trafficking, insurance fraud, computer crime, environmental crime, trafficking in persons, illicit drug trafficking, fraudulent bankruptcy, infiltration of legal businesses, corruption and bribery of public or party officials, etc. These crimes, of a national and transnational nature, provide the criminal groups with most of their illicit money. The national dimension of the economic and social cost of crime has never been assessed. However, based on the sparse data available, it could represent 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product. Some of these crimes are white-collar crimes involving mostly middle to upper class, well educated professionals, who count on impunity and low risk of being sentenced for their crimes against the public treasury, financial institutions, etc. Over the last two years, the Brazilian Government has given priority to fighting white-collar crimes with some degree of success. Much remains to be done to recover stolen assets in Brazil and abroad as a measure to show that crime does not pay. Promotion of public ethics is also a work in progress. The success story of Brazil continues to be the control of HIV/AIDS. The mortality from AIDS is now limited to 6 cases in every 100,000 inhabitants. HIV among injecting drugs users has been reduced by half in the last 10 years. A similar national effort is required to control and reduce by half the homicide rate by the year 2015. Details: Brasilia, Brazil: UNODC Regional Office Brazil, 2005. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 4, 2010 at: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/brazil/COUNTRY%20PROFILE%20Eng.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/brazil/COUNTRY%20PROFILE%20Eng.pdf Shelf Number: 120180 Keywords: Crime (Brazil) Criminal Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Thaler, Kai Title: Weapons, Violence and Personal Security in Cape Town Summary: Given the high levels of crime and violence in South Africa, there may be a temptation for citizens to arm themselves for protection. Using quantitative survey data from the Cape Area Panel Study and qualitative interviews with residents of high-violence neighborhoods, this paper examines the question of who carries weapons outside the home in Cape Town and what the effects of weapon carrying may be. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the significance of possible socioeconomic drivers of weapon carrying and the results are discussed in the South African social context. Weapon carrying is found to be associated with both assault perpetration and victimization, suggesting that it is part of a violent lifestyle in which weapon carriers are likely to use their weapons both offensively and defensively. Possible weapon-related policies for violence reduction are also discussed. Details: Brighton, UK: Households in Conflict Network, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, 2010. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: HiCN Working Paper 85: Accessed November 5, 2010 at: http://www.hicn.org/papers/wp85.pdf Year: 2010 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.hicn.org/papers/wp85.pdf Shelf Number: 120191 Keywords: Gun Violence Guns Socio-Economic Conditions Violence Violent Crime Weapons (South Africa)

Author: Cavallaro, James Louis Title: Crime, Public Order and Human Rights Summary: Crime and street violence cross borders, ideologies, classes, ages and gender. In many societies, ordinary crime and victimisation have come to be perceived not merely as a high priority problem requiring technical resources. A new discourse has developed, emphasising crime as a threat to individual personal security and a potential source of state instability. In addition, where crime is a problem, a pattern has emerged wherein as a result of rising crime, hardline law and order policies attract public support. Increasingly, punitive and authoritarian methods of control and punishment are suggested or implemented without much public opposition. This report examines the problems that surges in criminality pose for the provision of security and the safeguard of human rights. While the perspective and responses of authorities are considered, the report focuses on the role of civil society and the particular issues it faces in this environment. The varied responses of the state — from collaborative efforts with civil society to attacks on rights groups, tolerance of police abuse or vigilantism — provide the context in which rights groups must manoeuvre. The main aim is to analyse the challenges that human rights groups must address in the context of rising crime. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: International Council on Human Rights Policy, 2003. 144p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2010 at: http://www.ichrp.org/files/reports/8/114_report_en.pdf Year: 2003 Country: International URL: http://www.ichrp.org/files/reports/8/114_report_en.pdf Shelf Number: 120198 Keywords: Human Rights Workers Street Crime Vigilantism Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bruce, David Title: Tackling Armed Violence: Key Findings and Recommendations of the Study on the Violent Nature of Crime in South Africa Summary: This report is the sixth and final product of a study on the violent nature of crime undertaken by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in terms of an agreement entered into with the Minister of Safety and Security. The agreement provides for CSVR to produce six reports and that the last report should be a summary report on key findings and recommendations. This report therefore may be regarded as representing the “high level” findings of the study. This report is essentially concerned with how we understand violent crime in South Africa. By using the best empirical evidence that is available, the report aims to provide a solid footing for understanding violent crime so as to ensure the effectiveness of efforts to address it. The bulk of the report is directed towards meeting this purpose, after which the report puts forward a set of recommendations for addressing violent crime. Details: Pretoria: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2010. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 22, 2010 at: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/study/6.TAV_final_report_13_03_10.pdf Year: 2010 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/study/6.TAV_final_report_13_03_10.pdf Shelf Number: 120280 Keywords: Armed Robbery Homicide Violence (South Africa) Violent Crime

Author: Leslie, Glaister Title: Confronting the Don: The Political Economy of Gang Violence in Jamaica Summary: Jamaica’s murder rate—62 per 100,000 in 2009— is one of the highest in the world. The small island grapples with violent crime within a context of gangs, guns, and allegations of political and police corruption. This report presents an overview of the history, prevalence, and distribution of gangs, focusing in particular on their involvement in international drug and arms trafficking and the possible influence of deportees from the United States. It finds that there is a dense social web connecting highly organized, transnational gangs to loosely organized gangs whose activities are often indistinguishable from broader community violence. Persistent facilitation of gang activity by politicians continues to hinder targeted violence reduction efforts, despite the government’s public condemnation of crime and violence, and official support of violence reduction. The report’s findings include: There are around 268 active gangs operating throughout the island, five times the number estimated in 1998; Gangs are accused of being responsible for as much as 80 per cent of all major crimes in Jamaica; Over the past decade, murders committed in Jamaica have almost doubled, and gun-related murders have driven the increase; Most firearms seized in Jamaica are traced back to three counties in the US state of Florida, all of which have large Jamaican populations. Most small arms used in crimes are believed to have entered the country illegally, but much of the ammunition appears to have entered the country legally before being transferred to illicit markets. The discovery in early 2010 of large amounts of illegal ammunition and firearms — all originating from the police force’s central armoury—has conclusively linked security forces to the distribution of ammunition and weapons to criminals. Reductions in Jamaica’s violence will be short-lived unless the linkages between politicians, organized crime, and gangs are severely eroded. Community policing may offer an important alternative to security forces’ more repressive approaches to crime control. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2010. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Small Arms Survey Occasional Paper no. 26: Accessed November 29, 2010 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP26-Jamaica-gangs.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/B-Occasional-papers/SAS-OP26-Jamaica-gangs.pdf Shelf Number: 120297 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gang Violence Gangs (Jamaica) Illegal Trade Trafficking in Weapons Violent Crime

Author: Koenders, Sara Title: Between Trust and Fear: Mothers Creating Spaces of Security Amid Violence in Vila Cruzeior, Rio de Janeiro Summary: In interaction between the gang, the police and the residents of Vila Cruzeiro a cycle of violence, fear, and insecurity is produced and maintained. This interaction is based on images the actors hold of one another and that are at the same time the product of this interaction. The police and the gang are creating, acting upon and reinforcing structures of domination, signification, and legitimation which have allowed for the militarization of policing and increasing presence of traffickers enforcing a ‘law of the favela.’ The cycle of violence is so persistent mainly because the police not only fails to guarantee security, but is often directly involved in the perpetuation of crime. At the same time, the ‘war on crime’ is used to legitimize repressive and indiscriminate policing that poses a serious threat to the lives of the residents. This leadsr esidents to rely more and more on the traffickers. Thus, although the relations between gang members and residents are multiple and highly ambiguous, residents tend to be more sympathetic towards the traffickers with whom they live on a day-to-day basis. The traffickers use the negative image of the state to gain support from the residents, while state involvement in criminality sustains the presence of the drug gang. Hence, in interaction between police, gang and residents an environment of violence, fear, and insecurity is created and constantly reproduced. Faced by these challenging and precarious circumstances, women trying to protect and provide for their children create spaces of security. To create these ‘safe’ spaces mothers cultivate, arrange and create social relations with other actors in the community. I claim that in a context of high-risk and violence, social capital plays an important but limited and ambiguous role in this process of coping. Informal and formal social relations carry and produce social capital and are therefore valuable to the creation of spaces of security. From information exchange, reciprocity, norms, rules and trust constituted through these relations a sense of security can be drawn. Strengthening and employing the relations with their children, relatives and a careful choice of friends therefore contributes to the construction of a sense of safety in the face of violence. At the same time people negotiate their relations with social organizations in order to create spaces of security. Education is considered crucial to ensure a better future for children. It keeps them off the street and ideally provides a way out of the context of violence. Churches also take an important place in the coping strategies of mothers; many women see the church as a safe alternative environment in which to raise their children, a place where they learn ‘the good’. Religion can be seen as a gendered form of oppositional culture; one that keeps youngsters out of gang life, or provides a way out of the traffic. The community center is also seen as a secure space to leave their children, and a place where they are offered alternative activities. In addition, it is platform to meet with other women and discuss problems they encounter. Moreover, the members of the neighborhood association are among the few people in the community challenging violence. Details: Utrecht, The Netherlands: Utrecht University, 2008. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 30, 2010 at: http://www.laruta.nu/files/uploads/23/document_document/between%20trust%20and%20fear.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.laruta.nu/files/uploads/23/document_document/between%20trust%20and%20fear.pdf Shelf Number: 118782 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gang Violence Gangs (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Security Violent Crime

Author: Sagant, Valerie Title: Violence Prevention in Guatemala Summary: The report presents the findings of a mission to Guatemala. The aim was to conduct an assessment of violence in Guatemala to help OSI identify the main lines of action to confront the problem strategically. This report for Open Society Institute presents the main conclusions of the mission, and emphasizes the following: - Elements that could reinforce the actions of OSI and Fundacion Soros-Guatemala in the field of violence prevention; - Identification of actors who are well-positioned to pilot actions; and - Coordination methods that are considered pertinent. This report does not aim to describe the situation and the causes of violence in the country, but aims rather to propose courses of action for defining the future violence prevention strategies of OSI and Fundacion Soros-Guatemala. Details: Montreal: International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, 2009. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2010 at: http://www.crime-prevention-intl.org/uploads/media/Guatemala_Report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.crime-prevention-intl.org/uploads/media/Guatemala_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 120326 Keywords: Crime Prevention Violence (Guatemala ) Violent Crime

Author: Moraes de Castro, Anderson Title: Drug Control and Its Consequences in Rio de Janeiro Summary: Although Rio de Janeiro (Rio) has not been the capital of Brazil since the 1960s, it is a beautiful city known internationally for its fireworks show on New Year's Eve on Copacabana beach and its carnival parades in the Sambadrome. The local violence associated with police repression and illicit drugs - known as Rio's urban war - is also known well beyond Brazil's national borders. This article presents the challenges of responding to the illicit drug market and its associated violence in Rio, highlighting the characteristics and dynamics of the markets, the impacts of the current drug policy approach adopted by the State of Rio on the scale of the illicit market, and its implications for the human rights and security of affected populations, in particular for the slum dwellers. Details: London: International Drug Policy Consortium, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: IDPC Briefing Paper: Accessed December 1, 2010 at: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/IDPC%20Briefing%20Paper%20Violence%20in%20Rio.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.idpc.net/sites/default/files/library/IDPC%20Briefing%20Paper%20Violence%20in%20Rio.pdf Shelf Number: 120332 Keywords: Drug Markets Drug Policy Drug Violence Drugs (Rio de Janeiro) Violent Crime

Author: Barolsky, Vanessa Title: Case Studies of Perpetrators of Violent Crime Summary: The promise offered by South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994 was that, with the end of apartheid, levels of violence in South African society would drop significantly. However, various forms of social violence at all levels of society, ranging from armed robbery to sexual violence and murder, have remained at extremely high levels. Although the rate of murder has declined slightly from approximately 20 000 a year to about 18 000 in 2007, South Africa still has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world. It is in this context that the current study needs to be located. While violent crime has elicited widespread media coverage as well as considerable research attention, we still know very little about who participates in violent crime. Perhaps understandably, in the popular media violent perpetrators tend to be portrayed as faceless and nameless “monsters”; the brutality of their actions appears completely inexplicable, the result of a senseless evil. While these may be very reasonable responses when the public is confronted with the often horrifically violent deeds that occur during the course of many crimes in South Africa, such emotive reactions do little to further an informed understanding of who actually perpetrates violent crime. This type of understanding is crucial if we are to design interventions that respond effectively to violent crime, both in terms of understanding the ways in which we can prevent it and the ways in which we need to respond. So far, little research in the South African context has engaged in depth with the question of who violent perpetrators are. While there have been several studies that have given us a very good overall profile of the most significant characteristics of violent offenders — for example, that they are usually young and male, these studies have not yet gone beyond outlining a general typology of offenders. While this is a useful starting point, we need to go further than this general characterisation to a more specific understanding of the nuances that lie beneath the category of “violent offender”. This is critically what this study attempts to address. Through in-depth interviews with 20 violent offenders, which explore three key thematic concerns, namely, the life history of each participant, their involvement in violence and their experience of incarceration, this study seeks to unpack and, importantly, individualise the category of male offender. In doing this, this research is concerned with elucidating some of the complexities that underpin the involvement of young men in violent crime, through exploring their own stories of their lives and their motivations for violence. It is important to note that the experiences of these offenders cannot be generalised to the entire population of offenders, as the study is based on a small, non-representative sample of offenders. The sample may be biased by a number of factors, for example, informed consent was required from participants and participants were selected for the study based on selection interviews. This may have biased the sample towards offenders who were more willing to engage with interviewers and reflect on their actions than the average member of the prison population. Nevertheless, we feel that the stories of these offenders add important nuance and depth to our understanding of violent offenders, which we believe will provide insights that can help elucidate policies to address violent crime. Details: Braamfontein, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation; Pretoria, South Africa: Secretariat for Safety and Security, 2008. 157p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 3, 2010 at: http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Document-3838.phtml Year: 2008 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.hsrc.ac.za/Document-3838.phtml Shelf Number: 120379 Keywords: Violence (South Africa) Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Steel, Nerissa Title: Information Sharing Aimed at Reducing Violent Crime: A Survey of Community Safety Partnerships Summary: This report describes findings from a survey of Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) across England and Wales on the extent and nature of information sharing arrangements that were introduced to prevent and reduce violence and other crime types. The questionnaire investigated the types of information sharing arrangements in place, CSP’s understanding of and adherence to the legislative framework surrounding data sharing, and levers and barriers of effective data sharing. The findings suggest that, at the time of the survey (late 2009), arrangements involving the sharing of either anonymised or personalised data were being widely used by CSPs to prevent and reduce crime. In general, personalised information sharing arrangements were perceived to be working effectively. In comparison, some anonymised information sharing arrangements – particularly the sharing of data on assault related attendances at Emergency Departments - may require further development in order to become widely effective tools for violence and crime reduction. Details: London: Home Office, 2010. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Home Office Research Report 45: Accessed December 9, 2010 at: http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/horr45c.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/horr45c.pdf Shelf Number: 117765 Keywords: Community Safety Partnerships Data Sharing Information Sharing (U.K.) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Small Arms Survey Title: Fault Lines: Tracking Armed Violence in Yemen Summary: In Yemen, armed violence is conditioned by the widespread availability and proliferation of small arms and light weapons. It is also exacerbated by structural factors such as weak rule of law, the limited political legitimacy of public institutions, and rapid natural resource depletion. Similarly, it is tolerated due to prevailing sociocultural norms sanctioning certain forms of violence, and because of competing geopolitical interests. As a result, many observers are concerned about the likelihood of increased instability in Yemen and its implications for the region as a whole. Drawing on intensive research and analysis, this Issue Brief first briefly reviews Yemen’s political and economic environment. It considers a range of key risk factors shaping contemporary and future instability, then provides a short assessment of arms availability and use. Finally, the Issue Brief provides a typology to conceptualize the manifestations of armed violence and the interaction of key risk factors. While preliminary, the typology facilitates a more structured analysis of armed violence dynamics in Yemen and identifies opportunities for strategic engagement leading to preventive and reduction strategies for both Yemeni actors and their international partners. A 13 page supplement presents a timeline covering incidents reported in the media over the 12-month period from September 2008 to August 2009, inclusive. Both printed and online publications were monitored, primarily but not exclusively in English. Yemen’s press was classified as ‘Not Free’ in the 2009 Freedom of the Press Index and Yemen was ranked 172nd out of 195 countries (Freedom House, 2009). In particular, the government has imposed considerable restrictions on reporting political developments in the south since early 2009, and more generally on the war in Sa’dah. The 199 incidents documented below should therefore be read as indicative of the manifestation of armed violence in Yemen rather than as a comprehensive audit. Nevertheless, they encompass incidents in which approximately 740 people were killed and at least a further 734 injured. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2010. 12p., supplement Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Available December 13, 2010 at: http://www.yemenviolence.org/pdfs/Yemen-Armed-Violence-IB1-Tracking-armed-violence-in-Yemen.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Yemen URL: http://www.yemenviolence.org/pdfs/Yemen-Armed-Violence-IB1-Tracking-armed-violence-in-Yemen.pdf Shelf Number: 120450 Keywords: Domestic Violence Gun Violence Guns Violence (Yemen) Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Jamaicans for Justice Title: For Want of a Nail: Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) Submission to The Jamaican Justice System Reform Initiative February 28, 2007 Summary: Violent and organised crime threatens to overwhelm our beautiful island nation and our current justice system is weak, dysfunctional and no match for the tasks it faces. Few would argue that the Jamaican justice system isn’t in a state of crisis. The Jamaican Justice System Reform initiative has laudable goals which Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) supports: a modern justice system that is efficient, accessible, accountable, fair and able to deliver timely results in a cost-effective manner. None-the-less, there have been many excellent studies and proposed reforms that came before this initiative and they have, inevitably, failed to be implemented. Jamaicans For Justice sincerely hopes the insights, recommendations and strategies resulting from this initiative will appropriately address the issues and, further, actually receive the political will and support necessary for change. JFJ believes that as we address unfairness and inaccuracy in the criminal justice system we must do so with a holistic approach. Police and court reform must take place in juxtaposition to be successful and to result in ensuring that even the most vulnerable in our society can access justice and be guaranteed fair and equal treatment. Since its inception in 1999, JFJ has accumulated a considerable amount of data relating to the justice system, including information on issues regarding arrest and detention, access to legal aid, the performance of investigative bodies, and the functioning of the courts. We have witnessed far too many grave injustices and inordinate delays endured by Jamaicans in their quests for justice. It is unacceptable. Jamaicans have lost faith in the system of justice in their country, if indeed they ever had it, and they so desperately want and need to have that faith. We are committed to creating a justice system that will serve all Jamaicans equally and fairly and thereby establish or regain their confidence. We hope that the data and recommendations we present in this submission will assist the nation in moving forward in the right direction: towards a justice system that will bring peace to Jamaica by adherence to the rule of law and to human rights as set out in the Jamaican Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Details: Kingston: Jamaicans For Justice, 2007. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 13, 2010 at: http://www.jamaicansforjustice.org/docs/080609195FJ.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.jamaicansforjustice.org/docs/080609195FJ.pdf Shelf Number: 120485 Keywords: Criminal Justice Systems (Jamaica) Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Falu, Ana, ed. Title: Women in the City: On Violence and Rights Summary: The texts included in this volume are adaptations of presentations given by participants in the Second International Seminar of the Regional Programme ‘Cities without Violence against Women, Safe Cities for All’, which was held in Buenos Aires from July 23 to 25, 2008. The goals of the Seminar were the following: to provide a space for continued reflection and knowledge-sharing regarding violence in cities from a gender perspective, to facilitate dialogue between a diversity of actors in order to broaden and deepen proposals, to generate results reflective of the conceptual debates underway and to develop new strategies for action in the region. Details: Santiago, Chile: Women and Habitat Network of Latin America/Ediciones SUR, 2010. 177p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.redmujer.org.ar/pdf_publicaciones/art_40.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Central America URL: http://www.redmujer.org.ar/pdf_publicaciones/art_40.pdf Shelf Number: 120493 Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence Rape Sexual Violence Violence Against Women (Latin America) Violent Crime

Author: Doyle, Charles Title: Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. 924(e)): An Overview Summary: The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), requires imposition of a minimum 15-year term of imprisonment for recidivists convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Section 924(e) applies only to those defendants who have three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Violent felonies for purposes of section 924(e) are those that either (1) have an element of threat, attempt, or use of physical force against another or (2) that involve burglary, arson, or extortion, or some similar offense. Serious drug offenses are those punishable by imprisonment for 10 years or more. Constitutional challenges to the application of section 924(e) have been generally unsuccessful, regardless of whether they were based on arguments of cruel and unusual punishment, double jeopardy, due process, grand jury indictment or jury trial rights, the right to bear arms, or limits on Congress’s legislative authority. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2010. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41449.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41449.pdf Shelf Number: 120496 Keywords: Armed Career Criminal Act Felony Offenders Firearms and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Gathings, M.J. Title: Evaluation of the Durham Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. Notification Program Summary: This report summarizes an evaluation of the Durham S.T.A.R.S. Notification Program. Based upon data for 246 offenders that participated in call-in sessions from March 2000 to December 2004, this report examines changes in rate and type of offense as a result of program participation. Based on the findings reviewed here, it appears this program has a positive impact on crime reduction in the City of Durham. Specifically, analyses indicated the following key findings: The overall rate of offending, as indicated by encounters with the court system, decreased by 36%; The rate of weapon offenses per month decreased by 57% after notification. Before notification, 46% of all offenses involved a weapon compared to 32% of all offenses after notification; The rate of violent offenses per month decreased by 75% after notification. Before notification, 28% of all offenses were violent compared to 18% of all offenses after notification; The rate of drug offenses per month decreased by 33% after notification; The rate of crimes against person(s) decreased by 40% after notification. Details: Greensboro, NC: Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.uncg.edu/csr/pdfs/starseval2005final.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://www.uncg.edu/csr/pdfs/starseval2005final.pdf Shelf Number: 120499 Keywords: Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Muggah, Robert Title: Timor-Leste Armed Violence Assessment Final Report Summary: This report brings together research and analysis produced for the Timor- Leste Armed Violence Assessment (TLAVA) over the period 2008–10. The TLAVA was a two-year field research-based project to explore pressing security issues in Timor-Leste, with a specific focus on the dynamics of armed violence. Co-sponsored and administered jointly by the Small Arms Survey and ActionAid Australia (formerly Austcare) with support from AusAID, the project produced five Issue Briefs and two legal analyses, as well as workshops and consultations with key domestic Timorese and international stakeholders. The overarching goal of the project was to marshal existing and new research to systematically examine the gap between real and perceived armed violence in Timor-Leste, and produce accessible publications to inform interventions. Based on consultations with stakeholders in Timor-Leste, the project focused on three specific areas: an assessment of the risk factors, impacts, and socio-economic costs of armed violence in relation to population health—particularly women, children and male youths, and internally displaced persons (IDPs); a review of the dynamics of armed violence associated with ‘high-risk’ groups such as gangs, specific communities in affected districts, petitioners, veterans, and state institutions, and potential triggers such as elections; and the role of arms (e.g. bladed, home-made or ‘craft’, and manufactured) as a factor contributing to armed violence. In addition to the reports generated by the TLAVA, the research team sought to ensure the transfer and exchange of skills and training for sustainable research on armed violence, and to strengthen domestic monitoring and information management capacities in the public health and security sectors to prevent and reduce armed violence. This report is organized by thematic area, reviewing specific topics covered in the Issue Briefs, specifically the presence and control of small arms in Timor-Leste, group-related violence and state and civil society efforts to control it, and sexual and gender-based violence and recent developments in addressing it. Owing to important developments since the publication of the original Issue Briefs, researchers and contributors provided updates on these topics in 2010. While not all substantive areas of the TLAVA could be revisited, the conclusion reflects on future directions for research on armed violence in Timor-Leste. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2010. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 14, 2010 at: http://www.timor-leste-violence.org/pdfs/Timor-Leste-Violence-Special-Report-12.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Asia URL: http://www.timor-leste-violence.org/pdfs/Timor-Leste-Violence-Special-Report-12.pdf Shelf Number: 120508 Keywords: Gangs Gun Violence Guns Violence (Timor-Leste) Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Jacobson, Mireille Title: Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services Summary: Between 1973 and 2003, abortion providers in the United States were the targets of over 300 acts of extreme violence, including arson, bombings, murders and butyric acid attacks. After a period of decline, abortion clinic violence is on the rise again. The recent murder of Dr. George Tiller has brought attention back to the role of extreme violence in the anti-abortion movement. Using unique data on attacks and on abortions, abortion providers, and births, we examine how anti-abortion violence has affected providers' decisions to perform abortions and women's decisions about whether and where to terminate a pregnancy. We find that clinic violence reduces both abortion providers and abortions in the areas where the violence occurs. Once travel is taken into account, however, the overall effect of the violence is much smaller. On net, roughly 90 percent of the fall in abortions in targeted areas is balanced by a rise in abortions in nearby areas. Thus, the main consequence of this violence is a displacement rather than an elimination of abortions, a presumed goal of this terrorism. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series: Working Paper 16603: Accessed December 15, 2010 at: http://www.nber.org/~jacobson/JacobsonRoyer6.2.10.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/~jacobson/JacobsonRoyer6.2.10.pdf Shelf Number: 120518 Keywords: Abortion Violence Violent Crime

Author: Anderson, D. Mark Title: The Effects of Poverty on the Susceptibility to Crime in South Africa Summary: Crime is a major economic and social problem in most developing countries. However, the research devoted to victims is sparse. This paper examines the effects of household-level poverty, measured by household expenditures per capita, on the susceptibility to crime in South Africa. An instrumental variables strategy combined with community fixed effects are used to account for potentially endogenous expenditures and unobserved community heterogeneity, respectively. Across all model specifications the probability a South African household is robbed is increasing in expenditures. When using instrumental variables, the positive effect of expenditures on the susceptibility to robbery increases substantially. In addition, the effect of expenditures remains positive and significant if the sample is restricted to “nonwhite” areas. This suggests that robberies are not only a problem for the rich who live in gated communities and hire private security, but also for the relatively “wealthy” that reside in poorer neighborhoods. Finally, this paper fails to find a statistically significant relationship between expenditures and the susceptibility to violent crimes such as murder, rape, and assault. Details: Seattle, WA: Department of Economics, University of Washington, 2009. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 20, 2010 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1289648 Year: 2009 Country: South Africa URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1289648 Shelf Number: 120555 Keywords: Economics and Crime Poverty (South Africa) Robbery Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Browne, Angela Title: Anticipating the Future Based on Analysis of the Past: Intercity Variation in Youth Homicide, 1984-2006 Summary: Homicide researchers at the Vera Institute of Justice, RTI International, and the Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies, University of California conducted a comprehensive study of trends in youth homicide offending from 1984-2006 for youth 13 to 24 years of age in 91 of the 100 largest cities in the United States (based on the 1980 Census). The study extends previous work on the perpetration of youth violence by modeling city-specific explanatory predictors influencing annual changes in youth homicide offending within cities during the youth homicide epidemic in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, applying the specified model to emerging trends in youth homicide perpetration for 2000-2006, assessing whether the model applies equally well for juveniles 13 to 17 and young adults ages 18 to 24, and analyzing whether the scope of the model can be extended to perpetration of nonlethal youth violence, particularly robbery and aggravated assault. A unique comprehensive data file representing youth lethal and nonlethal offending by males ages 13 to 24 at the city-level over this 23-year period was also constructed for public use. Findings showed that homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault trends for both juveniles and young adults followed the same general trend between 1984 and 2006. There was an escalation in lethal and nonlethal violence arrest rates in the early years, followed by a significant downturn after the early 1990s, and then a subsequent and significant upturn in the more recent years of the time period. While some factors were consistently associated with youth violence across offense type, time period, and analytic technique, others were significant in only certain situations. Specifically, structural disadvantage was consistently associated with variation in homicide and robbery among juvenile and young adult perpetrators during both the initial escalation of violence in the mid-1980s and early 90s and in more recent years. Additionally, gang presence –activity and drug market activity were consistently associated with the escalation in homicide offending among both juveniles and young adults during both early and later years. Details: Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2010. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed Decembe4r 21, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232622.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232622.pdf Shelf Number: 120560 Keywords: Homicide Juvenile Offenders Robbery Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: New York City Police Department, Counterterrorism Bureau Title: Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation Summary: Active shooter attacks are dynamic incidents that vary greatly from one attack to another. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” In its definition, DHS notes that, “in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.” The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has limited this definition to include only those cases that spill beyond an intended victim to others. The type of police response to an active shooter attack depends on the unique circumstances of the incident. In the event of such an attack, private security personnel should follow the instructions of the first-responders from the NYPD. Because active shooter attacks are dynamic events, the NYPD cannot put forward a single set of best-practices for private security response to such incidents. However, the NYPD has compiled a list of recommendations for building security personnel to mitigate the risks from active shooter attacks. The recommendations draw on previous studies of active shooter attacks and are presented in Part II. The NYPD developed these recommendations based on a close analysis of active shooter incidents from 1966 to 2010. This Compendium of cases, presented in the Appendix, includes 281 active shooter incidents. It is organized chronologically by type of facility targeted, including office buildings, open commercial areas, factories and warehouses, schools, and other settings. The NYPD performed a statistical analysis on a subset of these cases to identify common characteristics among active shooter attacks. This analysis is presented in Part III and the underlying methodology is presented in Part IV. The analysis found a large degree of variation among attacks across some broad categories, including: sex of the attacker, age of the attacker, number of attackers, planning tactics, targets, number of casualties, location of the attack, weapons used, and attack resolution. Details: New York: New York City Police Department, 2011. 179p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2011 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/counterterrorism/ActiveShooter.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/counterterrorism/ActiveShooter.pdf Shelf Number: 120664 Keywords: Policing Private Security Security Guards Shooting Terrorism Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Willis, Matthew Title: Non-disclosure of Violence in Australian Indigenous Communities Summary: Violent crime statistics drawn from police data do not show the large amount of violent crime and victimisation that is never disclosed to police. Within this ‘dark figure of crime’ are human experiences that can leave victims without help and support, perpetrators not coming to justice and cycles of violence continuing unbroken. This paper explores some of the reasons for the high rates of non-disclosure of violence in Indigenous communities. It begins by examining reasons for nondisclosure in the broader Australian community before discussing how factors specific to Indigenous Australians influence individual decisions to disclose violence. As well as using Australian and international literature to build an understanding of why people choose not to disclose, the paper uses scenarios developed by the Australian Crime Commission from their work with Indigenous communities to illustrate the circumstances in which these choices are made. The paper concludes by considering ways of encouraging disclosure through services, training and education and community responses. It emphasises the need to locate these within broader efforts to address the cycles of intergenerational violence that can so heavily impact the lives of Indigenous Australians. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2011. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 405: Accessed February 2, 2011 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/9/1/2/%7B912F0370-E989-4041-8867-A18BB33A4089%7Dtandi405.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/9/1/2/%7B912F0370-E989-4041-8867-A18BB33A4089%7Dtandi405.pdf Shelf Number: 120668 Keywords: Crime Statistics Indigenous Peoples (Australia) Violent Crime

Author: Lemieux, Andrew Michael Title: Risks of Violence in Major Daily Activities: United States, 2003-2005 Summary: The routine activity approach, lifestyle perspective, and environmental criminology, all argue the risk of violence is not distributed evenly across time and space. This dissertation quantifies the risk of violence for different activities and types of place. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey and American Time Use Survey, activity- and place-specific rates of violence are calculated to determine (a) which activity or type of place is the most dangerous, (b) the relative risk of activities and types of place, and (c) how activity- and place-specific risks vary between demographic subgroups. Time-based rates are used to account for the reality that Americans do not spend equal amounts of time in activities and types of place. The activity-specific analysis showed sleeping was the safest activity in America; going to and from school was the most dangerous. The risk of violence during the school commute is 285 times higher than it is while sleeping. The place-specific analysis indicated home was the safest place to be while the street was the most dangerous; the risk of violence on the street was 51 times higher than it was at home. When rates of violence were calculated for demographic subgroups of the American population, the race and sex of individuals were found to have little effect on the risk of violence. Age was the only demographic variable included in the analysis that had substantial impact on the risk of victimization in different activities and types of place. These findings indicate crime prevention strategies cannot neglect the role lifestyles play in an individual’s risk of victimization. Because the risk of violence varies greatly between activities and types of place it is inappropriate to label demographic subgroups as high risk based on the population size alone. This research indicates it is what people do, not who they are, that determines their risk of violence. Additionally, this research shows risk assessments that do not account for the transient nature of Americans in time and space can produce misleading information as to which activities and types of place are the most dangerous. Details: Unpublished Dissertation, Rutgers University, School of Criminal Justice, 2010. 549p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232436.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232436.pdf Shelf Number: 120744 Keywords: Routine Activities Victimization Violence Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: How an Arms Trade Treaty Can Help Prevent Armed Violence Summary: Over the past decade, there has been growing international momentum to conceptualise, document and address the various manifestations of “armed violence”. To date the discourse has focused largely on the causes and effects of armed violence and explored the range of available programming options to prevent and reduce it. Discussions on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) currently underway in the United Nations (UN) provide an important opportunity to examine armed violence in the context of decisions concerning international transfers and the export and import of conventional arms used in armed violence. One of the objectives of the ATT is to address the “absence of common international standards on the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.” As the UN General Assembly has noted, this absence contributes to “conflict, displacement of people, crime and terrorism” thereby undermining peace, reconciliation, safety, security, stability and sustainable development.” In other words, the absence of such common international standards contributes to armed violence. Common international standards in the ATT should require States to establish and maintain effective national regulatory mechanisms. The ATT should also require States to licence or otherwise authorise exports and other international transfers of conventional weaponry, munitions and related equipment (“conventional arms”) in conformity with an agreed list of clear criteria that take into account the potential risks stemming from such transfers. An ATT establishing such standards and rigorous procedures will help generate consistency in national arms control regulations. Importing States should be required to authorise imports of conventional arms into their jurisdiction. Such authorisations must be in conformity with each State’s primary responsibility to provide for the security of all persons under its jurisdiction and to promote respect for and observance of human rights as affirmed in the UN Charter and in other relevant international law. This report is divided into two parts, and includes three case studies drawn from recent examples of armed violence in Bangladesh, Guatemala and the Philippines. Part I examines how an ATT with a clearly elaborated risk assessment process can make a contribution to the prevention and reduction of armed violence. After a brief discussion of the definitions of armed violence and several forms of armed violence documented in recent years, the report examines the role an ATT can play in preventing and reducing those forms of armed violence in which conventional arms are used and which result in serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Part II focuses on one form of armed violence: firearms-related homicide. Discussions of armed violence have repeatedly noted that the use of firearms in non-conflict settings is the most prevalent form of armed violence and the form that results in the most deaths and injuries. This fact underscores the importance of adopting an approach to addressing armed violence that will encompass violence outside of armed conflict settings. The ATT should be one component of this approach. It should specify and address the serious violations of international law and other harmful impacts caused by conventional arms. Further, if an ATT is to make a significant contribution to the reduction of armed violence, it should require, prior to the issuance of an import authorisation or export licence, an assessment of the risk that the transfer of conventional arms will entail, including the risk presented by a pattern of significantly high levels of firearms-related homicides within the importing State. Details: London: Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms, 2011. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2011 at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT30/030/2011/en/d68a9f66-dc78-4ed0-8792-16c1d83a44b8/act300302011en.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT30/030/2011/en/d68a9f66-dc78-4ed0-8792-16c1d83a44b8/act300302011en.pdf Shelf Number: 120930 Keywords: Arms Control Firearms and Crime Homicides Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Filho, Claudio C. Beato Title: Crime, Police and Urban Space Summary: The Brazilian agenda of priorities in the area of public security in the last decade has focussed on the interconnections between three great subjects: (a) violent urban crime, with all the implications of disaggregation and social disorder; (b) urban space, with an emphasis on exclusion, marginality and disorganization; and (c) the police, protagonist of multiple crises and probably one of the most frequent actors in all areas of urban space. In this context, a crucial question is what has been the impact of the police in the control of the violence in Brazil’s urban centres? Few public agencies have such deep participation in the diverse environments of the cities, such frequent interaction with their inhabitants, as the police. This paper will explore the interconnections between these three dimensions of public security, analysing the experience of Belo Horizonte, a Brazilian city of two million inhabitants. We will analyze the impact of a program of police management in which the use of maps was a central strategy. The project was carried out over twenty months, and the results of the evaluation using time series analysis indicate that it had a significant impact on violent crimes rates. Details: Oxford, UK: Centre for Brazilian Studies, University of Oxford, 2005. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. CBS-65-05: Accessed March 15, 2011 at: http://www.brazil.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/9356/Claudio20Beato2065.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.brazil.ox.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/9356/Claudio20Beato2065.pdf Shelf Number: 121004 Keywords: Crime Mapping Policing Urban Areas Violence (Brazil) Violent Crime

Author: Schnitzler, Antina von Title: Guardians or Gangster? Mapogo a Mathamaga: A Case Study Summary: Since its launch in 1996, the anti-crime group Mapogo a Mathamaga has been embroiled in controversy. Set up by a group of businessmen in the Northern Province in response to a spate of murders and armed robberies, the group soon became known for its illegal and strong-arm tactics when dealing with criminal suspects. Consequently, Mapogo is now commonly referred to as a vigilante group. This report provides insight into the organisation from a range of perspectives offered by those living and working in the Northern Province. This includes the views of Mapogo members (both current and former), traditional leaders, and other political, civic and trade union leaders, as well as the policing authorities and victims of Mapogo. The report examines the political and social context from which Mapogo has emerged, how the organisation was set up, who was involved and some of the key factors that have influenced its development. With crime remaining a major political issue, the report looks at how the criminal justice system is coping in the Northern Province, and examines some of the reasons suggested as to why people take the law into their own hands. It also explores how the intergenerational conflict that characterised aspects of the political revolt of the 1980s continues to manifest itself in the ideology of Mapogo. The report looks at the structure of the organisation, the methodology of Mapogo's practices and the extent to which the organisation is in control of its constituent parts. The report considers Mapogo's various fields of operation from private security services to property recovery, from punishment beatings to intimidation of farm workers. It also tackles the contested terrain of Mapogo's popular appeal and considers how reference to 'African justice' is used as a justification for brutal behaviour. The report also examines the government's seemingly ambiguous response to the criminal conduct of Mapogo during the late 1990s, and explores the implications of Mapogo and its leader's connections to other political parties and rightwing organisations. Despite negative publicity and internal conflict, Mapogo continues to grow and now claims to have over 40,000 members and over 90 branches operating in 5 provinces. This report offers some understanding of the complexities that continue to influence the development of and reaction to South Africa's most popular vigilante group. Details: Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2001. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Violence and Transition Series, Vol. 3: Accessed March 16, 2011 at: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/vigilantism/guardianorgangster.pdf Year: 2001 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/vigilantism/guardianorgangster.pdf Shelf Number: 121022 Keywords: Gangs Vigilantism Violence (South Africa) Violent Crime

Author: Dugard, Jackie Title: From Low Intensity War to Mafia War: Taxi Violence in South Africa (1987 - 2000) Summary: This report presents the results of a case study of South Africa's 'taxi wars', a series of violent conflicts that have marked the largely black-owned and black-operated minibus taxi industry since its deregulation in 1987. Prior to 1994, these taxi wars were relatively few in number and were predominantly linked to state-orchestrated violence. Since then, however, taxi violence has become more widespread, decentralised and criminal in character. Behind this shift are changes in the organisation of the taxi industry that broadly reflect the evolving relationship between state and society in post-apartheid South Africa. This report sets out an historical overview of the taxi phenomenon during the period 1987-2000. It focuses on the development of the taxi industry and its associated violence in the late-apartheid era, up to the present day. Case material is drawn from an in-depth longitudinal study of taxi violence in the Cape Peninsula area, but the research findings reflect taxi violence more generally. The generalised findings can be summarised as follows: • Taxi violence has its roots in the policies of deregulation and destabilisation pursued by the apartheid regime during the late 1980s and early 1990s. • As the state's control over the economy and society has weakened in the course of South Africa's transition, taxi associations have developed as informal agents of regulation, protection and extortion. • Violent taxi associations called 'mother bodies' have been allowed to develop and expand virtually unchecked by the authorities. These organisations are behind most of the violence that has come to be associated with the industry. Mother bodies have used their considerable firepower and weight to resist recent government attempts to re-regulate the taxi industry and they are symptomatic of more generalised rising levels of organised crime in post-apartheid South Africa. • Official corruption and collusion are major factors contributing to the continuation of taxi violence. In particular, the ownership of taxis by police and other government personnel directly aids criminality in the industry and exacerbates attempts to resolve the violence. Beyond providing an historical overview of the genesis of, and reasons for, taxi violence, this report also details the latest developments in the government's ongoing attempt to curb taxi violence; namely its plans to restructure the industry in terms of a recapitalisation programme that envisages replacing the existing taxi fleet of 16-seater vehicles with new, yet-to-be manufactured 18- and 35-seater vehicles, and which discusses the potential impact of such developments in this volatile yet necessary sector. Details: Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2001. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Violence and Transitions Series, Vol. 4: Accessed March 16, 2011 at: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/taxiviolence/fromlowintensity.pdf Year: 2001 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/taxiviolence/fromlowintensity.pdf Shelf Number: 121023 Keywords: Corruption Organized Crime Taxi Violence (South Africa) Violent Crime

Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn Title: Promising Practices of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department Summary: In recent years, Washington, DC has experienced sizable declines in violent crime. These declines have outpaced national trends across most violent crime categories. To explore the role of the Metropolitan Police Department in the violent crime decline, researchers conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with department leadership and staff to understand the critical components within the department's violent crime strategy. Approximately fifty initiatives were discussed. Using extant literature on policing best practices to categorize the initiatives, the study concludes that MPD places significant emphasis on community policing, among other strategies. Implications for the department’s strategic planning process are discussed. Details: Washington, DC: District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute, Urban Institute, 2010. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2011 at: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001491-DC-Police-Dept.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/1001491-DC-Police-Dept.pdf Shelf Number: 121124 Keywords: Crime Inter-Agency Coordination Police-Community Relations Policing (Washington, DC) Violent Crime

Author: Thouni, Francisco E. Title: The Impact of Organized Crime on Democratic Governance in Latin America Summary: Organized crime in Colombia is today more complex, diversified and sophisticated than when the cocaine industry started. Indeed, the illegal industry has been a catalyst that aggravated many of the main social conflicts of the country and encouraged the growth of organized crime. Organized crime has become a great obstacle to democratic governance in Colombia. We can say that the Mexican state is losing the war against drug trafficking and that therefore it must radically change its strategy because of the following: the spike in executions, the exponential increase in U.S. aid, the increased presence of the armed forces in the fight against drug trafficking and in public security in high risk cities, the transformation of Juarez into the most dangerous city in the world, increasing cocaine consumption and the sentiments that Mexico could become a failed state. The management, administration and overall control of public security matters and, amongst these, combating organized crime, as well as the organization and running of the police system remain in the hands of the police themselves, generating a sort of "police-ification" of public security. In Brazil, Paraguay and to a lesser extent in Uruguay this process has also included a strong tendency to incorporate the Armed Forces in the "war on organized crime", all prompted by the failings of the police system in tackling the problem. If Unasur is to be defined as an integration scheme and a successful one, certain basic questions have to be answered in the short-term: how is integration being defined-what are we talking about? The promotion of inter-regional dialogues, for instance between Unasur and the EU, could contribute to this process regarding three main issues: security and defense; security and democratic governance; and security, organized crime and transnational violence. Details: Berlin: Department for Latin America and the Caribbean, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2010. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2011 at: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/07386.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Latin America URL: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/07386.pdf Shelf Number: 121237 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Organized Crime Public Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Commins, Stephen Title: Urban Fragility and Security in Africa Summary: Estimates are that more than half of all Africans will live in cities by 2025. This rapid pace of urbanization is creating a new locus of fragility in many African states - as evidenced by the burgeoning slums around many of the continent's urban areas. The accompanying rise in youth unemployment, urban violence, and organized crime pose new challenges with direct implications for the shape and composition of Africa's security sector. Details: Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Africa Security Brief, No. 12: Accessed April 6, 2011 at: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ASB-12_Final-for-Web.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ASB-12_Final-for-Web.pdf Shelf Number: 121258 Keywords: Organized Crime Slums Urban Crime (Africa) Violent Crime Youth Crime

Author: Wellford, Charles Title: Crime in New Orleans: Analyzing Crime Trends and New Orleans' Responses to Crime Summary: This report is a comprehensive analysis of crime in New Orleans and the efforts of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to respond to that crime. One part of the study compared New Orleans’ overall crime rate to those of similar-sized US cities, and found that New Orleans has a comparable but lower rate than those cities’ overall crime average. But it did recognize that New Orleans’ most critical crime problem is murder. The report also found that in nearly 72% of New Orleans homicide cases, the victim knew the person who killed him. It stated that most killings take place outside in New Orleans, in front of someone’s home, and that most likely - there are witnesses to most killings, which is why researchers recommended stronger ties between the NOPD and the communities it serves. The researchers made the following recommendations for the NOPD: 1.) Enhance crime analysis, 2.) Establish Homicide Review Teams, 3.) Strengthen our ties with the people of New Orleans. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2011. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2011 at: http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/other/BJA%20Crime%20in%20New%20Orleans%20Report%20March%202011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/other/BJA%20Crime%20in%20New%20Orleans%20Report%20March%202011.pdf Shelf Number: 121277 Keywords: Crime Rates (New Orleans) Homicide Violent Crime

Author: Guerra, Nancy Title: Youth Crime Prevention Summary: Violence is one of the most pressing social problems in the Americas, with far-reaching social and economic costs. These costs include the direct value of goods and services used in treating violence, non-monetary costs such as pain and suffering, economic costs from reduced productivity, lower earnings, and decreased investments, and the social impact on interpersonal relations and the quality of life. Because adolescents and young adults are at a particularly high risk for both violence perpetration and victimization, it is essential that we design and implement effective violence prevention strategies for this age group. In this module, we will discuss the problem of youth violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. We will examine changes in youth violence rates over the last two decades, with examples from the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We will review some of the major causes and consequences of youth violence and describe best practices and effective programs. Finally, we will explore local efforts to develop comprehensive strategies for youth violence prevention. Two case studies will be presented. As we point out, there are many causes of youth violence. Because complex problems demand sophisticated solutions, we do not provide simple answers or specific program recommendations, but focus on the importance of understanding the complexities of the youth violence problem and the need for a broad range of solutions. We focus on prevention rather than control, although they are both part of a continuum of action against violence. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, 2005. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2011 at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTLACREGTOPURBDEV/Resources/841042-1219076931513/5301922-1250717140763/Youth.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Central America URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTLACREGTOPURBDEV/Resources/841042-1219076931513/5301922-1250717140763/Youth.pdf Shelf Number: 121281 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Youth Violence (Latin America and Caribbean)

Author: World Bank. Department of Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure - Latin American Region Title: A Resource Guide for Municipalities: Community Based Crime and Violence Prevention in Urban Latin America Summary: Crime and violence have risen dramatically in Latin America in recent decades and are now recognized as serious threats to economic and social stability, particularly in urban areas. The economic costs of crime and violence represent a 14% loss in the region’s GDP. There are four types of costs associated with crime and violence: direct /indirect costs, such those spent on the criminal justice system and incarceration; non-monetary costs, meaning the non-economic detriments on victims; economic multiplier effects, which measure the macroeconomic effects on the country and labor market; and social multiplier effects, meaning the erosion of social capital and quality of life. The purpose of this Resource Book, financed by the Government of the Netherlands through the Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP), is to provide mayors of Latin American countries with information on how to design violence and crime reduction programs. It brings together information on best practice principles, step-by-step approaches, and examples of international municipal crime and violence prevention and reduction strategies. The approach adopted by this guide combines law enforcement with social prevention and situational prevention. Effective local government action requires cooperation of all different municipal sectors, civil society organizations, and higher levels of government. Details: Washington DC: World Bank, 2003. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2011 at: http://vle.worldbank.org/bnpp/files/TF053945ResourceGuideENG_0.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Central America URL: http://vle.worldbank.org/bnpp/files/TF053945ResourceGuideENG_0.pdf Shelf Number: 121282 Keywords: Crime Prevention Situational Crime Prevention Urban Violence (Latin America and Caribbean) Violent Crime

Author: Llorente, Maria Victoria Title: Case Study: Reduction of Crime in Bogota: A Decade of Citizen's Security Policies Summary: The reduction of crime and, above all, of homicide in the city of Bogotá over the last decade represents an exemplary experience, not only due to the magnitude of the drop in the city’s crime rates, but also due to the novelty of the discourse and management of security-related issues on the part of the municipal administration. The Bogota case illustrates the development of a citizens’ security policy in which strategies of different characters are applied, such as the control of risk factors like alcohol consumption and firearm possession, the strengthening of the city’s policing capacity, initiatives related to cultural changes that would tend to increase respect for life and for the self-regulation of citizens’ behavior, interventions in deteriorated urban spaces etc. This combination of strategies and their results in terms of reducing crime and the feeling of insecurity in the city turn this experience into a good example of the various possibilities that exist to deal with the phenomena of urban criminality and of violence in particular. This case also allows one to consider the effectiveness of some interventions, as well as the process of evaluating the results of the policies implemented. This document explains the development of this experience from the mid-1990s. The first part presents how the city’s main social and security indicators evolved over the course of the period in question. The second and third parts outline the security and coexistence policies adopted during the administrations of the last three mayors, considering in particular the hypotheses that inspired them and their approach, the main measures put in place and the costs incurred by the municipal administration to implement them. Finally, the fourth part looks at the impact of these policies, as well as the practical lessons that may be extracted from them with regards to the planning of public policies for crime and violence prevention and to the evaluation of results. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, Water, Disaster Management, and Urgan Development Group - Latin America and Caribbean Region, 2005. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2011 at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTLACREGTOPURBDEV/Resources/841042-1219076931513/5301922-1250717140763/Bogota.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Colombia URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTLACREGTOPURBDEV/Resources/841042-1219076931513/5301922-1250717140763/Bogota.pdf Shelf Number: 121284 Keywords: Crime Prevention Partnerships Crime Rates (Bogota, Colombia) Homicide Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Harrell, Erika Title: Workplace Violence, 1993-2009 Summary: Presents information on violence in the workplace against employed persons based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. This report includes both nonfatal and fatal forms of violence. Comparisons are made with violence against unemployed persons and violence against employed persons outside of the workplace. Information on type of workplace violence is included. Also discussed is violence by occupation as well as information on victim and crime characteristics such as gender and race distribution, offender weapon use, police notification, and victim injury. Highlights include the following: From 2002 to 2009, the rate of nonfatal workplace violence has declined by 35%, following a 62% decline in the rate from 1993 to 2002; and Between 2005 and 2009, law enforcement officers, security guards, and bartenders had the highest rates of nonfatal workplace violence; Among workplace homicides that occurred between 2005 and 2009, about 28% involved victims in sales and related occupations and about 17% involved victims in protective service occupations. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report: Accessed April 8, 2011 at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf Shelf Number: 121289 Keywords: Crime Statistics Victimization Victimization Surveys Violent Crime Workplace Crime Worplace Violence

Author: Women's Institute for Alternative Development Title: Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse Toward a Caribbean Plan of Action Summary: Bank note that murder rates in the Caribbean — at 30 per 100,000 population annually —are higher than for any other region of the world. Understandably, mounting fatalities from illegal weapons worry Caribbean policymakers and citizens alike. In the last two years, at least six Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States have held general elections in which crime and security were central issues. The proliferation of illegal small arms threatens the ability of Caribbean states to meet their Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As the World Bank (2007) states, “high rates of crime and violence in the Caribbean are undermining growth, threatening human welfare, and impeding social development.” Crime and violence have become development issues in the Caribbean. A major factor in the surge of gun-related criminality is the trafficking of narcotics. Illicit drugs are transshipped through the region from South America to North America and there is a linked movement of illegal weapons from North America to several destinations in the Caribbean. At the same time, the rise of crime has been characterized by the increased use of more powerful weapons, resulting in higher mortality levels. Caribbean countries exhibit crime patterns similar to those of other countries where low economic growth has coincided with large populations of young men. The Latin America and Caribbean region boasts the highest homicide rate of men between the ages of 15 and 29 in the world, more than three times greater than the global average. Indeed, youth violence is a high-priority, high-visibility concern across the Caribbean. Youth are disproportionately represented in the incidence and severity of gun violence, both as victims and perpetrators, and violent crimes are being committed at younger ages in many countries. A wide variety of risk factors contribute to the prevalence of youth violence, including poverty, youth unemployment, large-scale migration to urban areas, drug trafficking, a weak education system, ineffective policing, the widespread availability of weapons, drug and alcohol use, and the presence of organized gangs. Deaths and injuries from youth violence constitute a major public health, social, and economic problem across the Caribbean. Much of the work that seeks to reveal the use and impact of small arms and light weapons in the region has highlighted the masculine perpetrator and victim. Although this is a legitimate sphere of inquiry, it is important to recognize that a more integrated approach is required. The lives of Caribbean men and women are influenced by the gender disparities and structural inequalities that persist in many facets of Caribbean life. In a post-“structurally adjusted” Caribbean region, and as a result of shifting trading arrangements, there remains the persistent challenge of positioning the economies of the region to address the growing levels of poverty. Over the years, the larger economic shifts have seen the growth of the commoditization of violence, which speaks to the fact that an increasing number of citizens have had to rely on criminal violence of various kinds to survive. Details: Belmont, Trinidad and Tobago: Women's Institute for Alternative Development; Waterloo, ONT: Project Ploughshares, 2008. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: WORKING PAPER 08-1: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/WorkingPapers/wp081.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Central America URL: http://www.ploughshares.ca/libraries/WorkingPapers/wp081.pdf Shelf Number: 121292 Keywords: Economic Conditions Gun Violence Homicides Illegal Weapons Violence (Caribbean) Violent Crime

Author: Perreault, Samuel Title: Violent Victimization of Aboriginal People in the Canadian Provinces, 2009 Summary: This report examines the violent victimization of Aboriginal people in the Canadian provinces for calendar year 2009. Highlights include the following: • In 2009, Aboriginal people were more likely than non-Aboriginal people to report being victimized. Overall, 37% of Aboriginal people self-reported being the victim of a crime compared to 26% of non-Aboriginal people. • Sexual assaults accounted for more than one-third of violent incidents with an Aboriginal victim. Aboriginal people reported sexual assault incidents at a rate of 70 incidents per 1,000 people, compared to 23 per 1,000 non-Aboriginal people. • Those aged 15 to 24 years were the victims in nearly half (47%) of incidents reported by Aboriginal people, whereas they represented 22% of the Aboriginal population aged 15 and over. • Aboriginal women were almost three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report that they had been a victim of spousal violence in the past five years. Aboriginal victims of spousal violence were also more likely to report that they have feared for their life or that they had been injured as a result of the violence. • Violent crimes with an Aboriginal victim were less likely than those with a non-Aboriginal victim to involve a weapon. • Violent crimes involving an Aboriginal victim (67%) were more likely than incidents with a non-Aboriginal victim (52%) to be related to the alcohol or illegal drug use of the perpetrator. • Among both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, about 1 in 3 violent incidents was reported to police. However, incidents of spousal violence involving an Aboriginal victim were more likely to be reported than those involving a non-Aboriginal victim. • Similar to non-Aboriginal people, the vast majority of Aboriginal people said they were satisfied with their overall personal safety from crime. Details: Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2011. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2011 at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11415-eng.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Canada URL: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2011001/article/11415-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 121303 Keywords: Crime Statistics Indigenous Peoples Victimization (Canada) Violent Crime

Author: O'Neil, David Title: Non-Fatal Workplace Violence: An Epidemiological Report and Empirical Exploration of Risk Factors Summary: While a fair amount of research has explored the epidemiology of homicides resulting from workplace violence, a disproportionately low amount of empirical research has addressed non-fatal incidents. Utilizing theoretical guidelines for risk assessment research developed by Monahan and Steadman (1994), this dissertation investigates nonfatal workplace violence from a cue-criterion perspective in order to develop practically applicable information for those responsible for providing threat assessments in the workplace (i. e., mental health professionals, employment assistance programs). The investigation of a police department’s criminal records of workplace violence incidents over an eighteen month period promoted a proactive and reactive cluster model for assessing risk factors associated with varying levels of violence intensity. As a result, the findings provide three major streams of information. First, it presents epidemiological information concerning non-fatal workplace violence. Second, it addresses the different types of workplace violence and differences across those types. Lastly, it provides multivariate analyses of risk factors associated with higher and lower intensity violence before discussing a few pragmatic applications of the dissertation’s findings. Details: Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska, 2001. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 15, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/199359.pdf Year: 2001 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/199359.pdf Shelf Number: 119768 Keywords: Risk Assessment Victims of Violence Violent Crime Workplace Violence

Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Violent Crime in America: What We Know About Hot Spots Enforcement Summary: This report is the fourth in a series in which the Police Executive Research Forum focuses on violence in the United States and what local police agencies are doing to prevent homicides, robberies, assaults, and other violent crimes. Once again, PERF has been able to call on our member police chiefs, sheriffs, and other local police officials as well as federal agency leaders and other experts to provide answers to these questions: Are violent crime levels going up or down in your jurisdiction? What kinds of strategies and tactics are you using to fight violent crime? In particular, most of you have told us that “hot spots” enforcement is high on your list of violent crime countermeasures. Please give us all of the details you can about this. Tell us stories that illustrate what hot spots enforcement means to you. A bit of background: In 2005, police chiefs began telling PERF that violent crime seemed to be making an unwelcome comeback in the United States, following a decade in which levels of violence fell dramatically. PERF began tracking this development by conducting surveys of our member police agencies in which we asked them for their most up-to-date statistics on their violent crime levels. We also began convening Violent Crime Summits, where police officials gathered to discuss the survey findings and talk about the latest tactics that seemed effective in pushing violent crime back down. To date, we have conducted four violent crime surveys and organized three Violent Crime Summits. Here’s where we stand in the spring of 2008: Violent crime spiked dramatically in 2005 and 2006, with many jurisdictions showing double-digit percentage increases in homicides and other crimes; PERF’s surveys, while much smaller than the FBI’s massive Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system, seem to be a good sample of jurisdictions, because when the FBI released its UCR figures, they confirmed PERF’s finding of significantly higher violence in 2005 and 2006; Police agencies have responded to the higher crime levels quickly, implementing many types of programs designed to bring violent crime back down. The most common type of violence reduction strategy reported is hot-spots enforcement; It appears that the police anti-violence strategies are having an impact in many jurisdictions. PERF’s latest figures for all of 2007 show that in the same sample of 56 jurisdictions that proved accurate in 2005 and 2006, violent crime fell approximately 4 to 8 percent in all four categories tracked by PERF: homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, and aggravated assault with a firearm. Violent crime does remain volatile, however. Even though the total numbers of violent crimes in PERF’s sample of jurisdictions are down, many cities and counties are still reporting increases in violence. In fact, depending on the type of crime, our most recent numbers for all of 2007 show that 42 to 48 percent of the reporting jurisdictions reported increases in violence. Details: Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum, 2008. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Critical Issues in Policing Series: Accessed April 15, 2011 at: http://www.policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/HotSpots_v4.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/HotSpots_v4.pdf Shelf Number: 121365 Keywords: Crime Clusters Crime Rates Crime Surveys Hot Spots Policing Violence Violent Crime

Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Guns and Crime: Breaking New Ground By Focusing on the Local Impact Summary: This report summarizes the results of a project that the Police Executive Research Forum undertook to explore issues of gun crime in the United States. There are several dynamics that led PERF to think that we needed to do some work on the issue of gun crime: • It seems that the United States has become anesthetized to gun violence. While the 1999 Columbine school massacre in Colorado resulted in widespread demands for action to prevent such tragedies from occurring, it seemed that more recent incidents (Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University, the nursing home rampage in Carthage, N.C., to name just a few) no longer prompted many calls for reform, because people no longer expect that any reforms will be made. • Even though violent crime in the United States has declined sharply since the 1990s, our nation still endures far higher homicide rates than do other countries — for example, 46 killings per day in the U.S. compared to only 8 killings per day in the entire European Union, which has a population 60 percent larger than the United States’. • Prospects for reform at the federal level seem bleak. In 2009, Washington showed little or no appetite for taking on gun crime issues. In an effort to “get off the dime” on the issue of gun violence, PERF decided to investigate what is happening at the local level on these issues. We wanted answers to questions like these: Are all cities facing the same types of gun violence, or are there significant local differences? In the views of local police executives, what are the most important factors that contribute to their gun problems? What have local police departments done to prevent gun violence? Are there police initiatives that seem especially effective in reducing shootings? What do police chiefs want most from their local, state, and federal governments to help them reduce gun violence? PERF began by conducting a pair of surveys: one to local police departments, and the other to all of the Field Divisions of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Next, we conducted case studies in a number of cities. And finally, we convened a Gun Summit in Washington, D.C. on November 12. We invited local chiefs and ATF officials to share with us and each other their stories detailing exactly how gun crime is damaging their local communities, and what they have been doing about it. And in order to ensure that we would not just have police talking to each other in a sort of echo chamber at our Summit, we also invited representatives of two major gun rights groups and the Brady Center to attend. I know there are people who will ask, “How could you invite ‘those people’ to the table?” And my answer is the same as when I worked in the Middle East: “You don’t make peace with your friends.” So yes, we invited everyone to the table in order to get all sides talking to each other, with the common theme of reducing gun violence across the country. Instead of the same old stale arguments that have been circulating in Washington for years, we hoped to identify new perspectives and new approaches to getting a job done—the job of reducing gun homicides and other shootings. Details: Washington, DC: Police Executive Research Forum, 2010. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Critical Issues in Policing Series: Accessed April 15, 2011 at: http://policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/GunsandCrime.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://policeforum.org/library/critical-issues-in-policing-series/GunsandCrime.pdf Shelf Number: 121366 Keywords: Gun Violence Guns Homicides Violent Crime

Author: National Coalition for the Homeless Title: Hate Crimes Against The Homeless: America’s Growing Tide of Violence Summary: Hate Crimes Against the Homeless: America’s Growing Tide of Violence is a shocking report on the growth of biased motivated crimes of hate against America’s homeless. The National Coalition for the Homeless’ report marks the beginning of its second decade tracking, interviewing and classifying thousands of individuals impacted by hate crimes against the homeless. This years’ report has the horrifying distinction of being the deadliest in a decade, at forty-three reported homicides. The research contained in this report chronicles more than a thousand separate attacks across the United States, representing a fraction of the total hate crimes that remain drastically underreported. Individuals who commit homeless hate crimes are motivated primarily by a bias that another individual is or may be homeless. Perpetrators often give account to feelings of hostility and animosity, towards the visibly homeless, so strong they demand action. While others describe a generalized hatred, passed down from one generation to the next, resulting in a growing wave of violence across America. Documented hate crimes in this report involve: dosing with gasoline and setting aflame; rape in exchange for shelter; spay painting and stomping upon while sleeping; and, repeated incidence of gang initiations involving stabbings and beatings. Un-housed individuals, as a target of hate, have consistently grown over the past decade. This year’s report draws an especially gruesome and disturbing trend in the frequency and manner of the offenses. Violent, often fatal, attacks on homeless Americans now outnumber all other categories of hate crimes combined. Details: Washington, DC: National Coalition for the Homeless, 2010. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed April 18, 2011 at: http://www.housingworks.org/i/blog/NCH_Hate_Crimes_Against_the_Homeless_Report_2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.housingworks.org/i/blog/NCH_Hate_Crimes_Against_the_Homeless_Report_2010.pdf Shelf Number: 121374 Keywords: Bias-Motivated Crimes Hate Crimes Homelessness Violent Crime

Author: Willman, Alys Title: Interpersonal Violence Prevention: A Review of the Evidence and Emerging Lessons Summary: This background paper provides a review of the literature on the stresses that increase the tendency for violent behavior, and the capabilities that seem to protect against this tendency. It also addresses the relationships between different forms of interpersonal violence, and then reviews the evidence base for interventions. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2010. 68p. Source: Internet Reousrce; World Development Report 2011 Background Paper: Accessed April 18, 2011 at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTWDR2011/Resources/6406082-1283882418764/WDR_Background_Paper_Willman.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTWDR2011/Resources/6406082-1283882418764/WDR_Background_Paper_Willman.pdf Shelf Number: 121380 Keywords: Family Violence Interpersonal Violence Interpersonal Violence Prevention Intimate Violence Violent Crime

Author: Nigeria Watch Title: Annual Report on Public Violence Summary: The main causes of death due to public violence are, in order of importance, accidents, crime, economic issues, political clashes, and ethno-religious fighting. -Nigerian security forces still contribute substantially to violence. The more they intervene, the bloodier the fighting. Yet violence is decreasing, a trend that obviously impacts on the number of killings by the security forces. Our findings challenge the common assumption according to which criminal and political violence is on the rise. Details: Paris: CEPED (Centre Population & Développement), 2008. 2 vols. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2011 at: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/index.php?html=7 Year: 2008 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/index.php?html=7 Shelf Number: 121383 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides Violence (Nigeria) Violent Crime

Author: Scambary, James Title: A Survey of Gangs and Youth Groups in Dili, Timor-Leste Summary: The events in April 2006 that propelled Timor Leste into an ongoing political and social crisis came as a surprise to most observers. The disintegration of the security forces into multiple factions and the emergence of large, organized street gangs and a diverse range of potentially destabilising disaffected political groups was also largely unpredicted. The sources of the violence are also varied and complex, including long standing ethnic tensions over the control of the markets and trading routes, property disputes arising from post 1999 resettlement, rival factions within the security forces, endemic gang rivalries, and a politically driven destabilization campaign by opposition parties. The one common thread is the involvement of large numbers of young, marginalized males. The sources of their alienation are well known through a number of recent studies which revealed a sense of disenfranchisement due to a range of factors including unemployment, security concerns, and lack of access to education. Not all youth have resorted to violence however. The key finding of this report was the existence of hundreds of different bairo (village) based youth groups, all attempting in different but positive ways to engage and unify their communities through collective, socially oriented activities. These groups are essentially voluntary, community based civil society organizations, and represent important building blocks for future reconciliation and reconstruction programs, and as vital points of engagement with marginalized youth. Their needs and objectives are generally modest, and could be met with a minimum of support. In the absence of active, viable representative youth structures these groups also present a vital opportunity for building a new, ground up youth representative body, to ensure youth perspectives are heard at a national policy level. Details: Canberra: AusAID, 2006. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2011 at: http://www.etan.org/etanpdf/2006/Report_Youth_Gangs_in_Dili.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Indonesia URL: http://www.etan.org/etanpdf/2006/Report_Youth_Gangs_in_Dili.pdf Shelf Number: 121386 Keywords: Violent Crime Youth Gangs (Timor-Leste) Youth Violence

Author: Yapp, Jamie Richard Title: The Profiling of Robbery Offenders Summary: This thesis has investigated the offence of robbery. Specifically, the semi-systematic review analysed commercial armed robbery, grouping offenders in terms of an apparent scale of professionalism to amateurism. Within armed robbery, target hardening strategies appear to have reduced opportunities for professionals, with a corresponding increase in amateur armed robbers fuelled by drug habits. The empirical study found that levels of interaction used by an offender with a victim increased with offender age. Interaction was lower for a robbery committed in an external location and for offenders with previous convictions for offences against the person and property. The violence facet could not be labelled as a specific discriminatory predictor. The findings from the research and semi-systematic review distinguished between two types of robbery offender; a career professional and an amateur antisocial robber. A career professional is older and more experienced, more likely to offend in a commercial location, commit the crime in a planned and controlled manner, use high levels of interaction and lower levels of violence. An amateur antisocial robber is more likely to commit an offence outside, have previous convictions for offences against the person and property and/or be under the influence of an illegal substance. The offence is likely to be opportunistic and chaotic, characterised by high levels of violence and low levels of interaction. The Inventory of Offender Risk, Needs and Strengths (IORNS) psychometric measure was analysed. It has the potential to provide an assessment of a robbery offender's ongoing treatment and risk management. However, it requires further validation and reliability analysis before it is deemed appropriate in doing so. The case study highlighted the impact of cannabis misuse on a robbery offender's behaviour pattern and mental illness. Implications for offender treatment needs, future therapeutic intervention and risk management are discussed along with the need for further validation of the proposed model. Details: Birmingham, UK: The Centre for Forensic and Criminological Psychology, The University of Birmingham, 2010. 279p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 25, 2011 at: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/1059/1/Yapp10ForenPsyD.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/1059/1/Yapp10ForenPsyD.pdf Shelf Number: 121489 Keywords: Armed Robbery Commercial Properties Drug Abuse and Crime Profiling Risk Assessment Robbery (U.K.) Violent Crime

Author: Baker, Bruce Title: Nonstate Policing: Expanding the Scope for Tackling Africa’s Urban Violence Summary: Worsening urban violence is placing increasing demands on Africa’s police departments. African police forces are typically woefully underresourced, inadequately trained, unaccountable, and distrusted by local communities, leaving them ineffective in addressing these security challenges. Nonstate or community-based policing groups often enjoy local support and knowledge, accessibility, and effectiveness. Accordingly, collaborative state-nonstate policing partnerships represent an underrecognized vehicle for substantially expanding security coverage in Africa’s urban areas in the short term at reasonable cost. Details: Washington, DC: Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 2010. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Africa Security Brief, No. 7: Accessed May 3, 2011 at: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/AfricaBrief-7.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Africa URL: http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/AfricaBrief-7.pdf Shelf Number: 121592 Keywords: Communities and Crime Community Collaboration Policing Urban Areas Violence (Africa) Violent Crime

Author: Wing, Janeena Title: Victims of Crime: Property, Violent Crime, Intimate Partner, Family Violence and Sexual Assault Summary: In 2009, violent crime affected 429.4 per 100,000 individuals within the United States dropping –5.2% from 2005 and –7.5% from 2000 (FBI, 2009). Idaho has also followed the national trend with fewer reported victims of crime year to year. This publication discusses the characteristics of victims of crime based on police reports compiled within the Idaho Incident Based Reporting System (IIBRS) between the years 2005 through 2009. Characteristics of victims of property crime, violent crime, domestic violence, family violence, and sexual assault are presented. Because the IIBRS database does not include indentifying information, it is not known how many victims are repeat victims of crime. Therefore, this report will only provide a description of victims of crime broken down by demographics as well as average rates by county, but will not provide information based on number of crimes experienced by the same victim. Information in many instances is aggregated over the five year period as opposed to showing year to year trends to provide a snapshot of typical circumstances surrounding incidents of crime. Crime types sensitive to variances between years including crimes occurring infrequently and crimes occurring in rural areas are more reliably researched when combining years. Important trends: • Total victims of crime, including individuals, businesses, government, financial institutions and religious organizations decreased by –11.1% over the five year period. • Total victims of non-violent crime decreased by –13.6% and victims of violent crime decreased by –5.2% between 2005 and 2009. • Over the five year period, the total number of property crime victims decreased –14.7% from 60,067 to 51,228. • Women are more commonly victims of violent crime than men (55.8% compared to 43.8%). • 21.0% of aggravated assault victims and 13.6% of homicide victims were intimately related to the offender. • 10.8% of aggravated assault victims and 18.2% of homicide victims had a familial relationship with the offender. • Victims of intimate partner violence decreased by –3% over the five year period. • Victims of family violence decreased by –6.0% over the five year period. • Since 2005, the numbers of victims has increased by 1.8%, but has decreased by - 11.0% since 2006. • The offender in 30.8% of sexual assaults was a family member. Details: Meridian, ID: Idaho Statistical Analysis Center, 2010. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2011 at: http://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/ictims2009.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/ictims2009.pdf Shelf Number: 121685 Keywords: Family Violence Intimate Partner Violence Property Crimes Sexual Assault Victims of Crime (Idaho) Violent Crime

Author: Toy, Jonathon Title: Die Another Day: A Practitioner's Review with Recommendations for Preventing Gang and Weapon Violence in London in 2008 Summary: Whilst this issue of gang and weapon violence is nothing new, the changing dynamics of gang and weapon violence, in particular the involvement of younger offenders and victims, has made this one of the key priorities facing statutory and voluntary agencies. Most importantly it is at the heart of the fear of crime in our communities and is dictating the behaviour of individuals, families and the interpersonal relationships of some young people, particularly in the key age range of 14-25. Unlike recent research on the issue of gang and weapon violence, this is a practitioner led review with resulting recommendations rather than an academic piece of research. It draws on the experiences of frontline practitioners, families and community members who are dealing with individuals involved in gang and weapon violence every day. The review tests the hypothesis that the current definitions of gangs do not reflect the current structure of serious gang violence. The review makes a number of recommendations that if implemented would make a significant difference in addressing gang and weapon violence. Locally, regionally and nationally the paper draws on the latest analytical evidence and academic research. Recent analytical research indicated that there are three dominant factors related to serious violence, in particular homicide.  Illegal economy – linked to organisational gangs, illegal drug markets, fraudulent goods, trafficking.  Personal conflict – dispute led or heated arguments.  Feuds – territory based assertion, respect and retribution. Based on the analytical findings, combined with the practitioners’ knowledge, the review identifies a polarisation of group led violent behaviour. The review identifies the key motivational factors or influencers which create the interrelationships between urban street groups and organisational gangs. It describes how these influencers can impact upon an individual and their behaviour, particularly when combined with the personal or psychological factors from early years development and through violent experiences or the lack of empathy. We also discuss the important dynamic that women and families play for both organisational gang members and those involved in urban street groups. Most importantly we highlight the motivational factors for change for those involved in urban street groups and organisational gangs. The review highlights that although the overall strategic framework for delivering interventions may be the same, different approaches need to be adopted to achieve the successful outcomes. Details: London: Metropolitan Police Service, 2008. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2011 at: http://aashaproject.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dieanotherday-jonothan-toy-practicioners-review2.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://aashaproject.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/dieanotherday-jonothan-toy-practicioners-review2.pdf Shelf Number: 121687 Keywords: Gangs (London) Violent Crime Wespons Youth and Violence Youth Gangs

Author: Guberek, Tamy Title: Assessing Claims of Declining Lethal Violence in Colombia Summary: In this exploratory research note, we assess recent claims that violence in Colombia declined after the demobilization of paramilitaries. We show that these claims rest both on the overinterpretation of unadjusted data and on unsound causal inferences. We conclude that multiple data sources are needed to estimate the true rates of violence in Colombia after demobilization, and we suggest avenues for further research toward this end. Details: Palo Alto, CA: The Benetech Initiative, 2008. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2011 at: http://www.hrdag.org/resources/publications/CO-PN-CCJ-match-working-paper.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.hrdag.org/resources/publications/CO-PN-CCJ-match-working-paper.pdf Shelf Number: 121735 Keywords: Crime Rates Violence (Colombia) Violent Crime

Author: Males, Mike Title: Striking Out: California’s “Three Strikes And You’re Out” Law Has Not Reduced Violent Crime. A 2011 Update. Summary: In March 1999, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) released a report through the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) that investigated the effects of the “Three Strikes” Law. It noted, In the wake of the widely publicized 1993 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, California Governor Pete Wilson signed into law on March 7, 1994, one of the most punitive sentencing statutes in recent history. The law was dubbed “Three Strikes and You’re Out” because of its provision requiring 25-years-to-life prison terms for defendants convicted of any felony (or misdemeanor such as petty theft reclassified as a felony) after having previously been convicted of two specified “serious” or “violent” felonies. The law was affirmed by three-fourths of California voters through a statewide initiative in November of that year. The Three Strikes law promised to reduce violent crime by putting repeat violent offenders behind bars for life. The severe nature of the law was intended to maximize the criminal justice system’s deterrent and selective incapacitation effect. Under deterrence theory, individuals are dissuaded from criminal activity through the threat of state-imposed penalties. Selective incapacitation suggests that crime can be reduced by incapacitating the small group of repeat offenders who are responsible for a large portion of serious crime. As of December 31, 2010, 40,998 Californians were behind bars for strike offenses, including 8,727 for third strikes. While the second strike population in prisons actually declined over the 1999-2010 period, the third strike population, due to very lengthy sentences, nearly doubled. At an average of $46,700 per inmate per year, a 25-year sentence costs the State $1.1 million per inmate; a life sentence, assuming incarceration at age 43 (the average third strike commitment age) and death at 82 (the average life expectancy for a male alive at age 43) costs $1.8 million per inmate, even without adding the higher medical costs of aged prisoners. Thus, just imprisoning the current third-strike population will cost taxpayers at least $10 billion in 2010 dollars over the next 25 years. Despite its high costs, candidates of both major parties have credited the “Three-Strikes” law with reducing crime in California. However, national crime trends show that crime has been dropping in every region regardless of incarceration practices since the early 1990s. An earlier JPI study found that California’s declining crime rates were no different than in states without a Three Strikes law, while a CJCJ study found California counties that used the law the least had reductions in crime slightly larger than counties that used the law the most. Other early research found similar results, while some other studies have disagreed, and other recent reviews such as by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law have found only mixed results. The crime control impact of the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law is an important subject to analyze. Under deterrence and incapacitation theories, counties that most heavily used the “Three Strikes” law, thereby removing larger proportions of their criminal population from public, should experience greater crime declines than more lenient counties. Because of its broad applications and disparate enforcement, California’s “Three Strikes” law provides a rare opportunity to analyze these theories. This report updates the 1999 Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice report using 2009 and 2010 data to examine crime trends in California counties with widely varying “Three Strikes” imprisonment levels. Details: San Francisco: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2011. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed May 17, 2011 at: http://www.cjcj.org/files/Striking_Out_Californias_Three_Strikes_And_Youre_Out_Law_Has_Not_Reduced_Violent_Crime.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.cjcj.org/files/Striking_Out_Californias_Three_Strikes_And_Youre_Out_Law_Has_Not_Reduced_Violent_Crime.pdf Shelf Number: 121736 Keywords: Deterrence Life Sentence Sentencing Three Strikes Legislation (California) Violent Crime

Author: Bartels, Lorana Title: ‘Knife Crime’ in Australia: Incidence, Aetiology and Responses Summary: The issue of ‘knife crime’ is examined in this paper. A review of the recent Australian data indicates an increase in the use of knives for homicide offences, while their use decreased or remained steady in relation to robbery, sexual assault and kidnapping/abduction. The limited academic research on this issue reveals two discrete groups — young people who carry knives and generally ‘grow out of it’; and an older cohort who are evidenced in crime and hospitalisation data. There were also differences between the knife carriage and use patterns of ‘school’ and ‘street’ youth. A detailed analysis of recent and proposed legislative and policy responses to knife crime in each Australian jurisdiction is presented; this demonstrates a diversity of approaches, especially in relation to penalties. By way of international comparison, the responses in the United Kingdom are considered and the evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at tackling knife crime reviewed. The limited information available on the nature, extent, cause, motivation and possible growth of knife carriage, highlights the need for improved data collection, along with the development of clearer evidence for what works to reduce knife carrying and knife offences. Accordingly, the paper concludes by calling for better data collection, program evaluation and education campaigns. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2011. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Technical and Background Paper 45: Accessed May 20, 2011 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/3/F/2/%7B3F2788C1-BCCC-49F0-A73F-F71620ABF7A3%7Dtbp045.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/3/F/2/%7B3F2788C1-BCCC-49F0-A73F-F71620ABF7A3%7Dtbp045.pdf Shelf Number: 121772 Keywords: Knives and Crime (Australia) Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Bartels, Lorana Title: Knife Crime: Recent Data on Carriage and Use Summary: In this paper, an overview is presented of recent data on the carriage and use of knives. Analysis of the data indicated an increase in the use of knives as a proportion of all homicides, although the number of homicides remained relatively constant. The proportionate use of knives in robberies, by contrast, remained fairly constant, while the number of robberies decreased dramatically. Responses to the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia program for 2005–09 indicated that only a small proportion of respondents reported owning or using a knife as a weapon in the previous 12 months. The most common justification given for having a knife was self-defence. These findings have implications for legislation on the sale and carriage of knives, as well as for crime prevention measures. In particular, a better understanding of how and why knives are used in the commission of crime is vital when developing policy responses such as knife amnesties and education campaigns, and legislative measures such as stop and search powers and increased prison sentences. The limited information available on the nature, extent, cause, motivation and possible growth of knife carriage highlights the need for improved data collection, along with the development of clearer evidence for what works to reduce knife carrying and knife offences. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 417: Accessed May 23, 2011 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/en/publications/current%20series/tandi/401-420/tandi417.aspx Year: 0 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/en/publications/current%20series/tandi/401-420/tandi417.aspx Shelf Number: 121781 Keywords: Homicides Knifes and Crime (Australia) Robberies Weapons Violent Crime

Author: Kirk, David S. Title: The Structural and Cultural Dynamics of Neighborhood Violence Summary: Over the past two decades, sociologists have given considerable attention to identifying the neighborhood-level structural and social-interactional mechanisms which influence an array of social outcomes such as crime, educational attainment, collective action, mortality, and morbidity. Yet, cultural mechanisms are often overlooked in quantitative studies of neighborhood effects, largely because of outdated notions of culture. This study aims to inject a much needed cultural dimension into neighborhood effects research, and, in the process, provide an explanation for the paradoxical co-existence of law-abiding beliefs and law violating behavior that characterize so many disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. To these ends, we explore the origins of legal cynicism as well as the consequences of cynicism for neighborhood violence. Legal cynicism refers to a cultural frame in which people perceive the law, and the police in particular, as illegitimate, unresponsive, and ill-equipped to ensure public safety. We address four empirical objectives in the study. First, we examine the correlates of legal cynicism. Second, we examine the cross-sectional relationship between neighborhood violence and legal cynicism as well as the relationship between neighborhood violence and tolerant attitudes toward violence and deviant behavior. Third, we seek to determine if legal cynicism predicts the change in neighborhood violence over time, net of changes to the structural conditions of a given neighborhood. Fourth, in order to determine if legal cynicism makes all types of violence more likely or remained stable (and even increased) in some Chicago neighborhoods during the 1990s despite declines in poverty and drastic declines in violence city-wide. Our findings—of total, gang, and non-gang homicides—also indicate that cynicism of the law has a general effect on violence, and that collective efficacy substantially mediates the association between legal cynicism and homicide. Legal cynicism undermines the collective efficacy that is so vital to the social control of neighborhood violence. The most important policy implication of this research is that improving structural and economic conditions of impoverished neighborhoods or increasing deterrence-based policing efforts alone may not be sufficient for reducing crime. Rather, our results suggest that crime reduction efforts should explicitly incorporate approaches that decrease cynicism of the law. Details: Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2011. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/234629.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/234629.pdf Shelf Number: 121839 Keywords: Gangs Legal Cynicism Neighborhoods and Crime (U.S.) Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Title: Preventing and Reducing Armed Violence in Urban Areas: Programming Note Summary: Approximately 740 000 people die as a result of armed violence each year. Armed violence erodes governance and peace whilst slowing down achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG ’s). It can have as significant an effect on security and development in settings of chronic violent crime and inter-personal violence as it can in societies affected by war or civil conflict. An armed violence agenda therefore includes a wide range of countries, cities and citizens whose development and security are under threat. It refers to the use or threatened use of weapons to inflict injury, death or psychosocial harm. To help desk officers and conflict/fragility experts who are working to tackle the problem of armed violence, OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC ) members have requested three Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) Programming Notes to build on the OECD DAC policy paper on Armed Violence Reduction: Enabling Development (OECD , 2009). The three notes cover: • Armed violence in urban areas: The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban centres. As economic transformations accelerate rural-urban migration, the rural poor are being converted into an urban poor who populate mega-slums on the periphery of major urban centres. More and more of these areas are afflicted by high levels of armed violence. • Youth and armed violence: The largest-ever generation of young people is now entering adulthood. Almost half of the world’s population is under the age of 24 and the vast majority of 10-24 year olds live in less developed countries. Youth are particularly at risk of being exposed to and engaging in, armed violence and crime. • AVR and Security System Reform (SSR ): AVR and SSR have similar objectives and are mutually reinforcing. But they also have their distinct methods, entry points and comparative advantages. It is important to understand the linkages between the two approaches in order to maximise the impact of public safety and security interventions. To ensure an effective response to armed violence, the programming notes use an armed violence “lens”, which was developed in Armed Violence Reduction: Enabling Development. The lens helps practitioners consider the key elements shaping armed violence patterns. These include the people affected by armed violence, the perpetrators and their motivations, the availability of instruments (arms) and the wider institutional/cultural environment that enables and/or protects against armed violence. The lens highlights risk factors associated with armed violence and their vertical linkages from the local to the global level. It encourages practitioners to think outside specific sector mandates and provides practical entry points for AVR programming. Armed violence prevention and reduction are feasible but require significant leadership by affected states and investment of financial resources by donors. They also require the ability to engage with non-state and subnational actors. Finally, evidence suggests that effective interventions need a good evidence base, participatory assessments and the simultaneous engagement in multiple sectors (reflecting the broad range of interrelated issues and actors involved), at multiple levels (local, national, regional and global) and over a longer time horizon. Details: Paris: OECD Publishing, 2011. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Conflict and Fragility Series: Accessed June 28, 2011 at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/11/47942084.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/11/47942084.pdf Shelf Number: 121873 Keywords: Armed Violence Urban Areas Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Boots, Denise Paquette Title: Mental Health and Violent Offending in Chicago Youth: A Multilevel Approach Summary: The early identification of mental illness in youngsters is an important goal for researchers who are interested in determining if a causal relationship exists between various forms of mental disorder and offending. Consideration of mental health problems is also of great importance to practitioners in criminal justice who treat youth presenting with co-morbid mental and behavioral issues. Building upon preliminary work, this study utilizes gender- and age-appropriate continuous indicators of DSM-oriented scales of psychopathology to explore the link between child and adolescent mental health and youth violence. This study examines the role of various mental health problems on self-reported violence among Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) across age cohorts while controlling for various community-, friend-, familial-, and individual-level risk factors that may also influence violence pathways. Results from the multilevel analyses suggest a continuity of oppositional defiant and antisocial personality problems over the life-course may predict violence. The implications of these findings are offered as they relate to public policy, treatment, and future research efforts. Details: Final Report Submitted to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2011. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 29, 2011 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/234515.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/234515.pdf Shelf Number: 121888 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders (Chicago) Mental Health, Juvenile Violent Crime Violent Juvenile Offenders Youth Violence

Author: Ward, Liz Title: An Assessment of the Tackling Knives and Serious Youth Violence Action Programme (TKAP) – Phase ll Summary: The Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) ran initially from June 2008 until March 2009 and aimed to reduce teenage knife crime in ten police force areas in England and Wales. TKAP Phase II was then launched and the programme re-branded into the Tackling Knives and Serious Youth Violence Action Programme. Phase II ran from April 2009 to March 2010 in 16 police force areas (the original ten TKAP forces and six new areas) and aimed to reduce all serious violence involving 13- to 24-year-olds using a range of enforcement, education and prevention initiatives. The Home Office Research and Analysis Unit was asked to form an assessment of the success of TKAP Phase II in reducing serious youth violence. A secondary aim of the programme was to improve public confidence around serious youth violence in the 16 police force areas. As the TKAP areas were partly selected due to their high levels of violent crime, a randomised experimental design could not be used to assess the impact of the programme. Instead, a quasi-experimental methodology was applied using a variety of analytical techniques to compare what happened in the TKAP areas during TKAP Phase II with the previous year (2008/09) and before the start of the programme (2007/08). Wherever possible, comparisons were also made with a group of forces not involved in the programme (non-TKAP areas). The findings provide encouraging evidence that serious violence involving 13- to 24-year-olds declined across the country between 2007/08 and 2009/10. However, given that the reductions were not specific to or consistently greater in the TKAP areas (compared with the non-TKAP areas), and taking into account various methodological limitations described in the report, it is not possible to directly attribute reductions in the TKAP areas during Phase II to TKAP activities. Details: London: Home Office, 2011. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 53: Accessed June 30, 2011 at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr53/horr53-report?view=Binary Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr53/horr53-report?view=Binary Shelf Number: 121923 Keywords: Crime Reduction Homicide Knife Crime (U.K.) Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Finklea, Kristin M. Title: Southwest Border Violence: Issues in Identifying and Measuring Spillover Violence Summary: There has been an increase in the level of drug trafficking-related violence within and between the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. This violence has generated concern among U.S. policy makers that the violence in Mexico might spill over into the United States. Currently, U.S. federal officials deny that the recent increase in drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico has resulted in a spillover into the United States, but they acknowledge that the prospect is a serious concern. The most recent threat assessment indicates that the Mexican drug trafficking organizations pose the greatest drug trafficking threat to the United States, and this threat is driven partly by U.S. demand for drugs. Mexican drug trafficking organizations are the major suppliers and key producers of most illegal drugs smuggled into the United States across the Southwest border (SWB). The nature of the conflict between the Mexican drug trafficking organizations in Mexico has manifested itself, in part, as a struggle for control of these smuggling routes into the United States. Further, in an illegal marketplace — such as that of illicit drugs — where prices and profits are elevated due to the risks of operating outside the law, violence or the threat of violence becomes the primary means for settling disputes. When assessing the potential implications of the increased violence in Mexico, one of the central concerns for Congress is the potential for what has been termed “spillover” violence — an increase in drug trafficking-related violence in United States. While the interagency community has defined spillover violence as violence targeted primarily at civilians and government entities — excluding trafficker-on-trafficker violence — other experts and scholars have recognized trafficker-on-trafficker violence as central to spillover. When defining and analyzing changes in drug trafficking-related violence within the United States to determine whether there has been (or may be in the future) any spillover violence, critical elements include who may be implicated in the violence (both perpetrators and victims), what type of violence may arise, when violence may appear, and where violence may occur (both along the SWB and in the nation’s interior). Currently, no comprehensive, publicly available data exist that can definitively answer the question of whether there has been a significant spillover of drug trafficking-related violence into the United States. Although anecdotal reports have been mixed, U.S. government officials maintain that there has not yet been a significant spillover. In an examination of data that could provide insight into whether there has been a significant spillover in drug trafficking-related violence from Mexico into the United States, CRS analyzed violent crime data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report program. The data, however, do not allow analysts to determine what proportion of the violent crime rate is related to drug trafficking or, even more specifically, what proportion of drug trafficking-related violent crimes can be attributed to spillover violence. In conclusion, because the trends in the overall violent crime rate may not be indicative of trends in drug trafficking-related violent crimes, CRS is unable to draw definitive claims about trends in drug trafficking-related violence spilling over from Mexico into the United States. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2011 at: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R41075_20110125.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R41075_20110125.pdf Shelf Number: 121947 Keywords: Border Control Border Security Drug Trafficking (U.S. and Mexico) Drug Trafficking Control Violence Violent Crime

Author: Howell, James C. Title: U.S. Gang Problem Trends and Seriousness, 1996–2009 Summary: This report presents new information on the long-term trend in street gang activity and violent crime in the United States. The major focus of the trend analyses reported here is on the ebb and flow of gang activity in U.S. cities and counties of varying sizes. For the first time, trajectory analysis, which can group cities according to common patterns, is used to examine cities’ and other localities’ histories of gang problems as a way of gaining insights into gang activity across multiple years. In the second section of this report, attention is turned to large cities’ violent gang histories. Details: Tallahassee, FL: National Gang Center, 2011. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: National Gang Center Bulletin, No. 6: Accessed July 2, 2011 at: http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Bulletin-6.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Bulletin-6.pdf Shelf Number: 121960 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs (U.S.) Violent Crime

Author: Macklin, Anna Title: Working With Indigenous Offenders To End Violence Summary: Violence continues to be a significant challenge for Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand. Treatment programs for violent adult offenders have the potential to contribute significantly to reducing violent reoffending. This research brief examines literature from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom and reports on the effectiveness of programs aimed at reducing violent reoffending. It specifically reports on the evidence concerning the development of culturally specific violent offender programs. The brief is intended to contribute to Objective 2.4 of the Australian National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework, reducing Indigenous recidivism rates. Details: Sydney: Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resoruce: Brief 11: Accessed July 7, 2011 at: http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/briefs/brief011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/briefs/brief011.pdf Shelf Number: 122001 Keywords: Indigenous Peoples (Australia) Offender Treatment Recidivism Violent Crime

Author: Hopkins, Matt Title: Exploring the Links Between Homicide and Organised Crime Summary: This report summarises research that explored the links between homicide and organised crime. The study was commissioned in the summer of 2009 as part of the commitment to reduce serious and violent crime and aimed to identify what proportion of homicides involve organised crime and the nature of the relationship between organised crime activity and homicide. The findings are based on analysis of Home Office Homicide Index data for 2005-06 and in-depth interviews with police senior investigating officers. Key findings: Six per cent of all recorded non-terrorist homicides in England and Wales in 2005-06 were assessed as having some link to organised crime. In 13 cases (2% of all non-terrorist homicides), organised crime groups with some recognisable structure were involved in the homicide. However, there was little evidence to suggest that these were large-scale criminal enterprises of the kind associated with populist notions of organised crime such as the Mafia or Mob. In homicide cases overall, victims and suspects were predominantly male and fell within the 18-to-29 age group. These patterns were even more pronounced in cases linked to organised crime. There was also a far higher proportion of Black victims and suspects in organised crime homicides than in homicides which were not linked to organised crime. Homicides linked to organised crime occurred mainly on the street, whereas incidents that were not related to organised crime more commonly occurred in the victim's home. Victims in organised crime homicides were more likely to be stabbed or shot than victims in non-organised crime cases, where other methods (such as beatings and strangulation) were more common. Significantly fewer homicides linked to organised crime were detected compared to those homicides not linked to organised crime. Details: London: Home Office, 2011. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 54: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr54?view=Binary Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/horr54?view=Binary Shelf Number: 122029 Keywords: Homicides Murders Organized Crime (U.K.) Violent Crime

Author: Harrell, Erika Title: Workplace Violence, 1993-2009 Summary: In 2009, approximately 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) occurred against persons age 16 or older while they were at work or on duty, based on findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). This accounted for about 24% of nonfatal violence against employed persons age 16 or older. Nonfatal violence in the workplace was about 15% of all nonfatal violent crime against persons age 16 or older. The rate of violent crime against employed persons has declined since 1993. In 2009, an estimated 4 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older were committed while the victims were at work or on duty, compared to 6 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older in 2002. In 1993, the rate of nonfatal violence was 16 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons while at work, a rate 75% higher than in 2009. According to 2009 preliminary data, 521 persons age 16 or older were victims of homicide in the workplace. In about a third of workplace homicides from 2005-2009, the victim worked in a sales or office occupation. The data on homicides in this report are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2011 at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf Shelf Number: 122037 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicide Violence in the Workplace Violent Crime Workplace Crime Workplace Violence (U.S.)

Author: Society for Human Resource Management Title: SHRM Workplace Violence Survey Summary: In June 2003, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducted the Workplace Violence Survey to determine the prevalence of violence in today’s organizations, the steps companies take to prepare for and prevent violence, and how they deal with the aftermath of violence. The survey results in this report are compared, when possible, to previous workplace violence surveys conducted by SHRM in 1999 and 1996. The most recent survey is based on previous ones, although questions have been modified and added. Some variations reflect changes in human resource practices as well as factors affecting employee feelings about workplace security since September 11 and increased threats of terrorism. In order to provide a framework to organize the data, some survey questions asked respondents to report on violent incidents and violence prevention activities from January 1, 2000 to June 2003. This three and one-half-year period is similar to that provided to participants in the 1999 and 1996 workplace violence surveys. Survey results are organized into four sections: • Incidence(s) of violent acts; • What organizations do to prepare before violence occurs; • Steps organizations take after violence occurs; and • Security measures organizations have in place to protect employees. Statistically significant results of the analysis by organization size are included in the results section of this report. Details: Alexandria, VA: SHRM, 2004. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/Workplace%20Violence%20Survey.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Documents/Workplace%20Violence%20Survey.pdf Shelf Number: 122066 Keywords: Violent Crime Workplace Crime Workplace Violence (U.S.)

Author: Hadland, Adrian Title: In Terror and In Silence: An Investigation into Safety Levels and Standards at Petrol Stations Summary: What do we know about the petrol attendants we see on an almost daily basis? They are often subjected to verbal abuse. In fact, most of our 5000 petrol attendants live and work in constant fear, as this report shows. The study found that at least one violent crime is committed every day at a South African petrol station. To top it all, petrol attendants are amongst the most poorly paid employees in our formal economy. In response to the shocking murder of five Grassy Park petrol station attendants last year, the HSRC Social Cohesion and Integration (SCI) Research Programme, in conjunction with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Community Chest and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) launched an extensive study into the dynamics and social conditions at South Africa's petrol stations. Details: Cape Town, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council, 2002. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2011 at: http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=1992&freedownload=1 Year: 2002 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=1992&freedownload=1 Shelf Number: 122067 Keywords: Gasoline Stations Petrol Stations Violent Crime Workplace Crime (South Africa) Workplace Violence

Author: Pearce, Jenny Title: Violence, Security and Democracy: Perverse Interfaces and their Implications for States and Citizens in the Global South Summary: How does violence affect the everyday lives of citizens in the global South? Researching this theme under the aegis of the Violence, Participation and Citizenship group of the Citizenship DRC coordinated by IDS, we generated some answers, but also more questions, which this paper starts to explore. Why have democratisation processes failed to fulfil expectations of violence reduction in the global South? How does violence affect democracy and vice versa? Why does security practice in much of the global South not build secure environments? When examined empirically from the perspectives of poor Southern citizens, the interfaces between violence, security and democracy – assumed in conventional state and democratisation theory to be positive or benign – are often, in fact, perverse. Empirically-based reflection on these questions leads us to two propositions, which the paper then explores through the use of secondary literature. In essence: Proposition 1: Violence interacts perversely with democratic institutions, eroding their legitimacy and effectiveness. Democracy fails to deliver its promise of replacing the violence with accommodation and compromise, and democratic process is compromised, with citizens reacting by withdrawing from public spaces, accepting the authority of non-state actors, or supporting hard-line responses. Proposition 2: Security provision is not making people feel more secure. State responses to rising violence can strengthen state and non-state security actors committed to reproducing violence, disproportionately affecting the poorest communities. These ‘perverse interfaces’, we argue, warrant research in themselves, rather than minimal or tangential consideration in research on democracy, as tends to be the case. Further research needs to adopt fresh epistemological, methodological and analytical perspectives and seek to re-think and re-frame categories and concepts, rather than working within the received wisdoms of state and democratisation theory. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, 2011. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper, Volume 2011, No. 357: Accessed July 20, 2011 at: http://www.drc-citizenship.org/system/assets/1052734710/original/1052734710-pearce_etal.2011-perverse.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.drc-citizenship.org/system/assets/1052734710/original/1052734710-pearce_etal.2011-perverse.pdf Shelf Number: 122124 Keywords: Homicide Violence Violence and Democracy Violent Crime

Author: McLean-Hilker, Lyndsay Title: Broadening Spaces for Citizens in Violent Contexts Summary: Violence and everyday insecurity are amongst the root causes of poverty: a simple and true statement that has at last been acknowledged in several international agreements, including the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence (2008) and Dili Declaration (2010). Several new funding mechanisms have even been established to support efforts to reduce violence, including those that address the special security needs of excluded groups, women, youth and children. What recent policies have failed to adequately consider, however, is that poor and dispossessed people often perceive the state as a perpetrator or accomplice - whether by active complicity or passive omission – in the violence visited upon them. For policymakers and practitioners eager to move beyond top-down approaches to reducing insecurity and violence, this policy briefing offers insights into how local residents can be directly involved in finding solutions for their security and livelihood needs. Research from a range of contexts characterised by violence and everyday insecurity suggests that external actors can help to broaden spaces where citizens can take action in non-violent, socially legitimate ways, but that success depends on gaining a locally nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between violent and non-violent actors, and between forms of everyday violence and political violence. Details: Brighton, UK: Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, 2011. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Citizenship DRC Policy Briefing: Accessed July 20, 2011 at: http://www.drc-citizenship.org/system/assets/1052734708/original/1052734708-hilker_etal.2010-broadening.pdf?1299616068 Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.drc-citizenship.org/system/assets/1052734708/original/1052734708-hilker_etal.2010-broadening.pdf?1299616068 Shelf Number: 122126 Keywords: Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions Violence Violent Crime

Author: San Francisco. Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Title: SF Safe City: A Report on Ongoing Initiatives to Reduce Crime and Violence in San Francisco Summary: In the summer of 2006, San Francisco launched SF Safe Summer 2006, a coordinated effort amongst City departments, law enforcement, the courts and the community to combat the high rate of violence plaguing San Francisco. Together, these efforts created new job opportunities for at risk youth and adults, advanced new strategies to combat gun and gang violence, and bolstered social services for families impacted by violence. The summer passed but the city's efforts to stop violence continue to grow. The Mayor's Office prepared SF SAFE CITY to report on San Francisco's ongoing violence prevention and reduction strategies moving forward. These efforts are organized into five key elements: collaboration, prevention, intervention, enhanced criminal justice system effectiveness, and community policing. In 2005, homicides in San Francisco reached a ten-year high, with 96 people slain. So far this year, San Francisco continues to see high numbers of lives lost to violence. Homicides from gun violence constitute the majority of homicides in San Francisco. The violence and homicides disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. Victims of violence need support services to help them heal. Perpetrators must be prosecuted and held accountable for their actions. Youth and young adults need access to positive and productive activities as alternatives to crime and violence. Residents need to be safe in their communities. San Francisco launched SF Safe Summer 2006 to advance the kind of collaboration and innovation needed to solve this intolerable problem. Among other accomplishments, the Juvenile Probation Department and the Department of Children, Youth and their Families spearheaded the most ambitious effort in San Francisco history to provide jobs to youth on probation. The Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development expanded its CityBuild Academy to provide job-training services in the construction field. The Department of Children, Youth and their Families commenced an effort to expand the Community Response Network crisis response program in the Mission and bring this model to the Bayview and Western Addition neighborhoods. The Department of Public Health initiated a new citywide Crisis Response Team to assist family members and witnesses of violent incidents. Operation Ceasefire, a collaboration among local and federal public safety agencies to combat gun and gang violence, began extensive data collection and planning. The District Attorney and Public Defender continued their efforts to improve outcomes for people exiting jail, and Police District Stations carried out violence reduction plans to tackle the unique crime problems in each neighborhood. These initiatives have laid the foundation for change, but a tremendous amount of work lies ahead. The ongoing violence must be stopped through a combination of intensive prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies that can both respond to the immediate crisis on the streets and begin to deal with the underlying social and economic conditions that contribute to instability, violence, and crime. This report, SF SAFE CITY, describes San Francisco's ongoing violence prevention, intervention, and reduction efforts. Details: San Francisco: Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, 2006. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2011 at: http://sfmayor.typepad.com/sf_mayor/files/SFSafeCity.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://sfmayor.typepad.com/sf_mayor/files/SFSafeCity.pdf Shelf Number: 122152 Keywords: Collaboration Crime Prevention (San Francisco) Gangs Gun Violence Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Solis Rivera, Luis Guillermo Title: Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: Summary of Articles Summary: This document is both a summary and translation of the book Crimen Organizado en América Latina y el Caribe, which was edited by MA. Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera and PhD. Francisco Rojas Aravena. The book was developed by the General Secretariat of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO after its initials in Spanish) and the Open Society Institute (OSI). It was originally published by Editorial Catalonia and the General Secretariat of FLACSO in 2008. The book is made up of 12 essays and it has 379 pages. The essays have been written by a group of distinguished authors from different backgrounds and each one contributed in the area of his or her expertise. The 12 essays are characterized by their diversity because each of them addresses different aspects of organized crime. And even though most authors agree that the strongest manifestation of organized crime is drug trafficking, they also analyze other intimately related issues such as human trafficking, arms trafficking, the smuggling of various goods, juvenile gangs, and money laundering. They also agree on some of the most important consequences of organized crime such as the corruption of many public officials, violence, insecurity, problems with democratic governance and the gradual erosion of the democratic system as a whole. The authors agree on the above aspects, but they each analyze the problem from a different perspective. Some essays address the issue from a general perspective and the perspective of the Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, while other essays focus on certain case studies like the current situation in Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, among others. Aside from this geographic variety, there is a methodological variety as well. Some authors focus on the definition of organized crime and other concepts that are linked with it such as public safety, democracy, corruption, and democratic governance. Other essays, however, evaluate empirical facts and current data for various countries of the region. Some authors explore the regional history, and why the particular histories of some countries have made them vulnerable to organized crime. Others reflect mainly on the current situation and search for answers to this serious problem. What they have in common is that, both from a past or present perspective, they analyze organized crime in its entire context and how the multiple economic, social, political, and cultural structural deficiencies have made Latin America prone to these criminal activities. This book provides solutions for the problem such as the need to strengthen international cooperation, transparency and governance, participation of civil society, and the importance of not attacking violence with violence, but concentrating on solving the structural and systemic problems. In sum, it analyzes organized crime from an integral and multidimensional perspective. Details: San Jose, Costa Rica: FLACSO, 2009. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed July 27, 2011 at: http://www.flacso.org/uploads/media/Organized_Crime.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://www.flacso.org/uploads/media/Organized_Crime.pdf Shelf Number: 122180 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gangs Human Trafficking Organized Crime (Latin America and Caribbean) Smuggling Violent Crime

Author: Scotland. Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland Title: Thematic Report on Knife Crime Summary: In 2005/06 882 people received a custodial sentence for ‘handling an offensive weapon’ and spent an average of 117 days in custody. Over half (54%) of these received sentences of 3 months or less, 41% were sentenced to between 3 and 6 months behind bars and the remaining 5% got between 6 months and 2 years. In 2009/10 the same statistics show that whilst those sentenced for the same crime rose slightly to 916, the length of sentence had increased dramatically. Only 16% received a sentence of less than 3 months, 38% received between 3 and 6 month sentences and 42% were in the 6 month to 2 year category. [In the future this trend may be affected by new provisions in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act of 2010 3 that create a presumption against the court passing sentences of imprisonment (for any offence) of 3 months or less unless it considers that no other method of dealing with the person is appropriate.] Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Government, 2011. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2011 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/353265/0119014.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/353265/0119014.pdf Shelf Number: 12226 Keywords: Gangs Knives and Crime (Scotland) Violent Crime

Author: Fox, James Alan Title: The Recent Surge in Homicides involving Young Black Males and Guns: Time to Reinvest in Prevention and Crime Control Summary: While overall homicide levels in the United States have fluctuated minimally in recent years, those involving young victims and perpetrators — particularly young black males — have surged. From 2002 to 2007, the number of homicides involving black male juveniles as victims rose by 31% and as perpetrators by 43%. In terms of gun killings involving this same population subgroup, the increases were even more pronounced: 54% for young black male victims and 47% for young black male perpetrators. The increase in homicide among black youth, coupled with a smaller increase or even decrease among their white counterparts, was consistently true for every region of the country and nearly all population groupings of cities. The pattern also held individually for a majority of states and major cities. After some decline during the 1990s, the percentage of homicides that involve a gun has increased since 2000, both among young white offenders and black offenders of all age ranges. The percentage of gun homicides for young black offenders has reached nearly 85%. These trends are concomitant with various legislative initiatives at the federal level that have lessened the extent of surveillance on illegal gun markets. Time-of-day patterns of violent crime victimization for youngsters, ages 6-17, reveal clear differences between school days and out-of-school periods. On school days, the risk spikes during the after-school hours — the primetime for juvenile crime---while the late evening hours are most problematic on non-school days, particularly summertime weekends. Future demographics suggest that the concern for at-risk youth should increase over the next decade. The number of black and Hispanic children should continue to expand, contrasting with the rather limited increase expected among Caucasian children. There is a significant need for reinvestment in children and families — in essence an at-risk youth bailout during these difficult economic times. Federal support for policing and youth violence prevention has declined sharply in recent years, perhaps precipitated by complacency brought about by the significant 1990s decline in crime. The resurgence in homicide, especially among minority youth, signals the importance of restoring federal funds for crime prevention and crime control. Details: Boston, MA: Northeastern University, 2008. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 9, 2011 at: http://www.jfox.neu.edu/Documents/Fox%20Swatt%20Homicide%20Report%20Dec%2029%202008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.jfox.neu.edu/Documents/Fox%20Swatt%20Homicide%20Report%20Dec%2029%202008.pdf Shelf Number: 122335 Keywords: African Americans Gun Violence Homicides Illegal Guns Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Lawrence, Sarah Title: Crime Trends in the City of East Palo Alto Summary: This report presents a comprehensive analysis of crime in East Palo Alto (EPA) to increase knowledge about the scope and nature of crime in the City. The intent is to help City leaders, community groups, and the residents of East Palo Alto make more informed and empirically-based decisions about how to improve public safety. What have been the overall crime trends in the City since the mid-1980s? Included in this report are an examination of crime in the City over the last few decades and comparisons between East Palo Alto and California to understand what has happened in the City in the context of what has happened in the rest of the State. A few questions that are addressed in the report include: What types of crimes have increased during this period? What types of crimes have decreased during this period? How do the trends in the City compare to the rest of the State? What are the demographic profiles and criminal backgrounds of both homicide victims and known homicide victims and how do they compare to one another? Has the level of shootings changed over time? When are shootings most likely to occur? Details: Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, UC Berkeley School of Law, 2010. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 9, 2011 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/EPA_Main_Report_Final.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/EPA_Main_Report_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 122340 Keywords: Crime Analysis, High Crime Areas Crime Rates (East Palo Alto, California) Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Ball, W. David Title: Tough on Crime on the State's Dime Summary: California’s prisons are dangerously and unconstitutionally overcrowded; as a result of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Plata v. Schwarzenegger, the state must act to reduce its prison population or face court-ordered prisoner releases. The state’s plans to reduce overcrowding are centered around what it calls criminal justice “realignment”, whereby California will send a portion of the state prison population to county facilities. The plan faces opposition from county officials, who see it as pushing the state’s problem on to the counties. But what if state prison overcrowding is really a county problem? I argue that state prison overcrowding is due in large part to county decisions about how to deal with crime. Using data from 2000-2009, I will show that California’s counties use state prison resources at dramatically different rates, and, moreover, that the counties which use state prisons the most have below-average crime rates. The contribution the Article makes, then, is twofold. First, it reinforces that incarceration in state prisons is one policy choice among many, not an inexorable reaction to violent crime. Counties can and do make different choices about how to respond to violent crime, including the extent to which they use prison. Second, the Article demonstrates why localities are crucial - and critically underexamined - contributors to state prison populations. Decisions are made at local levels about prosecution, investigation, plea bargaining, and sentencing, and these decisions are made by officials who are either elected locally (such as DA’s, judges, and sheriffs) or appointed locally (police and probation officers). Local policies and policymakers affect the state’s corrections budget, even though the state has no say in designing or implementing these policies. State officials must take these local differences into account, and create incentives for counties to behave differently. The problem is that it is difficult to distinguish between justifiable, crime-driven incarceration and optional, policy-driven incarceration. I propose a new metric for distinguishing between these two types of incarceration, one which defines justified incarceration in terms of violent crime. This would allow the state to manage local usage of state prison resources without either penalizing crime-ridden areas or rewarding prison-happy ones. This Article is the first of two articles dealing with the state/county prison relationship. While this Article quantifies the ways in which the extent of local prison admissions is not necessarily a function of the violent crime rate, a second Article will examine whether, given these differences, it makes sense for the state to subsidize county commitments to prison. Details: Unpublished Working Paper, 2011. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2011 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1871427 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1871427 Shelf Number: 122349 Keywords: Criminal Justice Policy Decision-Making Prison Overcrowding Prisons (California) Violent Crime

Author: Olscamp, David M. Title: Project Exile: Beyond Richmond Summary: Over the past four years, the federal government has spent over $1 billion on Project Safe Neighborhoods. The program, which is modeled after Richmond, Virginia’s Project Exile and Boston, Massachusetts’ Operation Ceasefire, is designed to reduce gun violence by integrating federal, state and local resources. Project Safe Neighborhoods was announced by President Bush on May 14, 2001 and has continued to be his administration’s main crime fighting initiative. This paper attempts to resolve whether or not Project Exile is effective at reducing homicides. Even though Project Exile was nationalized through Project Safe Neighborhoods, there has been little academic inquiry on the program. Details: Atlanta, GA: Emory University, Department of Economics, 2006. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 11, 2011 at: http://www.economics.emory.edu/Working_Papers/wp/Olscamp.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.economics.emory.edu/Working_Papers/wp/Olscamp.pdf Shelf Number: 119165 Keywords: Gangs Gun Violence Guns Homicides Project Exile Violent Crime

Author: Blanchfield, Luisa Title: International Violence Against Women: U.S. Response and Policy Issues Summary: In recent years, the international community has increasingly recognized international violence against women (VAW) as a significant human rights and global health issue. VAW, which can include both random acts of violence as well as sustained abuse over time, can be physical, psychological, or sexual in nature. Studies have found that VAW occurs in all geographic regions, countries, cultures, and economic classes, with some research showing that women in developing countries experience higher rates of violence than those in developed countries. Many experts view VAW as a symptom of the historically unequal power relationship between men and women, and argue that over time this imbalance has led to pervasive cultural stereotypes and attitudes that perpetuate a cycle of violence. U.S. policymakers have generally focused on specific types or circumstances of VAW rather than view it as a stand-alone issue. Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for international programs that address VAW, including human trafficking and female genital cutting. In addition, past and current Administrations have supported efforts to reduce international levels of VAW— though many of these activities are implemented as components of broader foreign aid initiatives. There is no U.S. government-wide coordination of anti-VAW efforts. Most agencies and departments do not track the cost or number of programs with VAW components. Therefore, it is unclear how much money the U.S. government, or individual agencies, spend annually on VAWrelated programs. Some experts have suggested that the U.S. government should re-examine, and perhaps enhance, current U.S. anti-VAW activities. They argue that VAW should not only be treated as a stand-alone human rights issue, but also be integrated into U.S. assistance and foreign policy mechanisms. Other observers are concerned with a perceived lack of coordination among U.S. government agencies and departments that address international violence against women. This report addresses causes, prevalence, and consequences of violence against women. It provides examples of completed and ongoing U.S. activities that address VAW directly or include anti-VAW components. It outlines possible policy issues for the 112th Congress, including • the scope and effectiveness of U.S. programs in addressing international VAW; • further integrating anti-VAW programs into U.S. assistance and foreign policy mechanisms; • U.S. funding for anti-VAW activities worldwide, particularly in light of the global financial crisis, economic recession, and subsequent calls to reduce the U.S. budget deficit; and • strengthening U.S. government coordination of anti-VAW activities. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: RL34438: Accessed August 26, 2011 at: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34438_20110414.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34438_20110414.pdf Shelf Number: 122489 Keywords: Female Victims Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Langton, Lynn Title: Use of Victim Service Agencies by Victims of Serious Violent Crime, 1993-2009 Summary: Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on trends in the percentage of serious violent crime victims who received help or advice from a victim service agency from 1993 to 2009. This special report examines the relationship between a victim receiving assistance and criminal justice system actions pertaining to the crime, such as reporting the crime to the police, the police making an arrest, or a judge or prosecutor contacting the victim. It also examines the percentage of serious violent crime victims who received assistance by the characteristics of the victim and the victimization, including the victim's age, gender, race, the type of crime, the extent of the victim's injury, and victim-offender relationships. Highlights include the following: About 9% of serious violent crime victims received direct assistance from a victim service agency from 1993 to 2009. From 2000 to 2009, 14% of violent crime victims who reported the crime to the police received direct assistance from a victim service agency, compared to 4% when the crime was not reported. Victims who received direct assistance from a victim service agency were more likely to see an arrest made in the case and have contact with a non-law enforcement criminal justice official, such as a judge or prosecutor, than victims who did not receive direct assistance. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 26, 2011 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/uvsavsvc9309.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/uvsavsvc9309.pdf Shelf Number: 122552 Keywords: Crime Statistics Victims of Crime (U.S.) Victims of Crime, Services for Violent Crime

Author: Naranjo R., Alberto J. Title: Drugonomics : Industrial Organization of Illegal Drug Markets Summary: Insurgents, drug lords and anti-drug supply policies in the Andes. The United States has spent enormous resources on supply policies to decrease illegal drug production in the Andes and availability in the U.S. market. However, evidence suggests increased drug production and availability over time. Moreover, insurgent activities in the region have also increased. We present an explanation for these unexpected trends by analyzing an illicit drug market where drug lords and insurgents interact. The analysis suggests that supply policies increase drug production and insurgent activity while having no effect on drug availability and prices. Counter-intuitive effects of domestic law enforcement policies in the United States. In spite of the increase in domestic law enforcement policies in the U.S., illegal drug distribution activities have followed a non-monotonic trend and cocaine and heroin prices have been dropping or have remained stable over time. This paper provides an explanation for these counter-intuitive effects. We model how drug lords respond to this type of policy and predict distribution activities, prices and drug consumption in the United States. Spillover effects of domestic law enforcement policies. Independent efforts by local and state governments in the United States to combat illegal drug markets are in contrast with a global market where drugs are sold and distributed simultaneously in different locations. We study the effect that domestic law enforcement policies may have on this global context. The external effects of these policies induce overspending by governments, but a low level of global drug consumption. Competition effects are also studied. Drive-by competition? Violence in the drug market. Today, the retail distribution of most illegal drugs is mainly in the hands of street gangs that also account for most of the drug related violence in many states and cities in the United States. Interestingly, the level of violence in drug markets appears to vary with the type of drug. Based on the notion that gangs use violence strategically to compete for customers we find that both the effectiveness of violence in shifting demand and the cost of switching supplier by users affect the level of violence in the market. Indirect effects of anti-drug policies are discussed. Details: Stockholm: Stockholm University, 2007. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 2, 1011 at: http://www.avhandlingar.se/avhandling/c2a2c5909c/ Year: 2007 Country: International URL: http://www.avhandlingar.se/avhandling/c2a2c5909c/ Shelf Number: 122609 Keywords: Drug Enforcement Drug Trafficking Illegal Drug Markets Illegal Drugs Violent Crime

Author: United Nations. Office for Disarmament Affairs’ Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC) Title: Preventing Firearms Proliferation and Armed Violence in Educational Centres of Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: Latin America and the Caribbean is considered to be one of the most violent regions in the world accounting for nearly 42% of annual global homicides. The impact of armed violence on youth is particularly dramatic. In the Caribbean, for example, violence is the leading cause of death among youth and adolescents aged 15-24. There are over 100 million adolescents between 10 and 18 years of age in the region; hardship affects these youth disproportionately with an average of 39% living in poverty. UNICEF has identified two forms of violence in Latin America and the Caribbean that warrant increased attention: gang-related violence linked to the drug trade; and violence in schools. The phenomenon of violence in schools has also gained increased attention in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years. In Brazil, 84% of students in 143 schools in the capitals of six states consider their school to be violent and 70% admits to having been victims of violence at school. The threat and actual use of firearms in schools have received less specific attention, but now constitutes a substantial and growing challenge to the physical and psychological security of children and educators in Latin America and the Caribbean. Approximately 1.3% of students in Argentina has taken a revolver or pistol to school, according to the Ministry of Education of that country. In 2007, 69 firearms were confiscated by educational authorities in Colombian schools. In Brazil, a UNESCO survey conducted in 2000 reported that 13% of school students had witnessed the presence of firearms on campus. Furthermore, 14% claimed to have easy access to a firearm in their school and its surroundings, and 4% claimed to have brought one to school. In El Salvador, 42 weapons, including guns and grenades, were seized from schools and their immediate surroundings in 2005. In Mexico, 55% of students in Mexico City believes some of their fellow students bring firearms to school. 46 incidents of gun violence in schools and communities were reported in Puerto Rico during 2007. A 2003 representative sample survey of school children in nine Caribbean countries found that one fifth of the males carried weapons to school during the previous 30-day period. UNLIREC staff - undertaking a brief review of online newspaper archives - identified at least 51 reported instances of firearm possession and the death or wounding of 43 individuals from accidental or intentional shootings in Latin America and Caribbean educational centres between 2000 and 2010. Whilst these are only a few examples collected on an ad hoc basis, their sum is suggestive as to the unmeasured scale and severity of armed violence in Latin American and Caribbean schools. The true extent and nature of the problem is difficult to gauge as centralized reporting systems and data sets for these incidents do not exist. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the extent of unreported or undiscovered armed violence in schools may be significant. Details: Lima, Peru: United Nations, 2011. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed September 7, 2011 at: http://www.unlirec.org/Documents/Armed_Violence_in_Schools.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://www.unlirec.org/Documents/Armed_Violence_in_Schools.pdf Shelf Number: 122674 Keywords: Armed Violence Firearms Homicides School Violence (Latin America and the Caribbean) Violent Crime Weapons

Author: United Nations. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Title: Exploring Policy Linkages Between Poverty, Crime and Violence: A Look at Three Caribbean States Summary: Crime and violence threaten individual safety and affect the social, economic and political life of a country and its citizens. As one of the most critical issues affecting Caribbean societies today, crime and violence have a significant impact on the achievement of development goals. Lower levels of life satisfaction, the erosion of social capital, intergenerational transmission of violence and higher mortality and morbidity rates are just some of the nonmonetary costs of crime and violence. Direct monetary costs include medical, legal, policing, prisons, foster care and private security. This discussion paper seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on crime and violence through an exploration of the possible policy linkages between poverty, crime and violence, using data from Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. It does so against the backdrop of increasing concern for the impact of violence on the social and economic development and human welfare of Caribbean societies. In addition to the primary objective of exploring the policy and programming linkages between poverty reduction programming and that aimed at reducing crime and violence, the study includes an overview of crime and poverty statistics in the three countries under investigation as well as a review of literature which examines the crime, violence and poverty nexus. Finally the paper seeks to generate discussion regarding future research that could inform public policy in this sensitive area. Details: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: ECLAC, 2008. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2011 at: http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/2/33252/L.172.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Trinidad and Tobago URL: http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/2/33252/L.172.pdf Shelf Number: 131584 Keywords: Economics and Crime Poverty (Caribbean) Social Capital Violence Violent Crime

Author: Dudley, Steven Title: The Zetas in Guatemala Summary: The Zetas, Mexico's most feared and violent criminal organization, has moved operations to Guatemala. In the process, they have shifted the balance of power in the region, undermining and overwhelming Guatemala's government and putting its neighbors in El Salvador and Honduras on high alert. They have also introduced a new way of operating. The Zetas are focused on controlling territory. In this they are the experts, creating a ruthless and intimidating force that is willing to take the fight to a new, often macabre level. Whoever becomes Guatemala's new president will face this challenge with little resources and government institutions that have a history of working for criminal organizations of all types. In sum, the Zetas are a test for Guatemala and the rest of the region: fail this test, and Central America sinks deeper into the abyss. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Latin American and Latino Studies "InSight Project", 2011. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 10, 2011 at: http://insightcrime.org/specials/zetas-in-guatemala/item/1526-part-1-the-incursion Year: 2011 Country: Guatemala URL: http://insightcrime.org/specials/zetas-in-guatemala/item/1526-part-1-the-incursion Shelf Number: 122682 Keywords: Organized Crime (Guatemala) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Milliken, Jennifer Title: Tackling Violence Against Women: From Knowledge to Practical Initiatives Summary: Although the number of women who are violently injured and killed each year worldwide is not known with any precision, available evidence, while unsystematic and incomplete, already indicates that violence against women (VAW) is ‘a universal problem of epidemic proportions’ (UNIFEM, 2007). VAW occurs in both conflict and non-conflict situations. It is often less evident in its occurrence and effects than the deaths and injuries of men as combatants in armed conflicts or as gang members in violence related to drug wars. Yet women and girls are often victimized or adversely affected in other ways in these and all other armed violence settings. Women and girls are also common targets of sexual violence in armed conflict and fragmented societies, and they suffer disproportionately from its indirect consequences. In non-conflict situations, women are the victims of intimate-partner (or ‘domestic’) and sexual violence, honour killings, and dowry-related violence (GD Secretariat, 2008b). The economic costs associated with armed violence are tremendous. It is estimated that the annual economic cost of armed violence in terms of lost productivity due to violent homicides is between USD 95 billion and USD 163 billion alone (GD Secretariat, 2008b, p. 89). Additional costs include medical costs associated with treating the injured or indirect costs such as loss of income from the victim’s inability to work. However, a focus on costs ignores the wider relationship among armed violence, livelihood perspectives, development, and the (indirect) impact on women and men. The gendered dynamic of these relationships is complex. As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states: When husbands are killed, women frequently lose their access to farmlands and the right to live in their marital homes. The resulting survival choice for many affected women and children is prostitution, commercial labour or domestic servitude. This has consequences for ongoing exposure to violence and ill health from communicable diseases and poor working conditions, as well as future community exclusion (OECD, 2009, p. 32). The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (GD) is a diplomatic initiative built around the recognition that armed violence and development are closely linked. From its inception, the GD initiative has recognized the importance of the gendered aspect of armed violence. It promotes a comprehensive approach to armed violence reduction issues, recognizing the different situations, needs and resources of men and women, boys and girls, as reflected in the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1612 (GD Secretariat, 2006). However, (armed) violence against women and its impact on development, while acknowledged since the inception of the GD, has so far been only partially addressed by the GD Secretariat. This Working Paper represents one of the actions by the GD Secretariat to support work on the elimination of (armed) VAW with a view to enhancing development. It is divided into two sections. The first section illustrates the context of the GD, (armed) VAW, and development. The second section sets out five possible initiatives to fill research gaps on VAW: 1. support international initiatives to track VAW globally; 2. promote field-based research on mapping VAW; 3. develop improved costing tools for estimating the effects of VAW on development; 4. extend the work on a contextual appraisal toolkit for implementing VAW interventions; and 5. support a comprehensive evaluation toolkit for VAW prevention and reduction programmes. The first three initiatives focus on filling gaps in mapping VAW; the last two present ways to support VAW reduction and prevention programming. The Working Paper concludes with the observation that further innovative research is needed to understand the scope and scale of VAW, such as its negative impact on development. Research initiatives need to acknowledge the complexity, and the sometimes-apparent paradox, of the phenomenon of VAW, as well as support the development and evaluation of programming efforts to prevent and reduce VAW. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2011. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 10, 2011 at: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/WP-TVAW/GD-WP-Tackling-VAW.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/WP-TVAW/GD-WP-Tackling-VAW.pdf Shelf Number: 122683 Keywords: Domestic Violence Guns and Violence Homicides Intimate Partner Violence Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Interdisciplinary Analysts Title: Armed Violence in the Terai Summary: Since the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement in 2006 Nepal has been in a delicate state of peace. While most international and domestic attention is devoted to the political situation in Kathmandu, one region, the Terai, has experienced a post-war rise in violence and a proliferation of armed groups. Since 2007, the Terai has witnessed bombings, shootings, abductions, extortion, armed crime and domestic violence making it the most insecure region in Nepal. The report seeks to explain these trends and give an impression of the state of security in the Terai during 2010. It finds that while violence continues to take place, several indicators and widespread popular perception suggest that the overall security situation is improving. Based upon the results of a household survey, focus group discussions and interviews conducted in 2010, most people feel that their community is safe, it is safer than the previous year and they are not concerned that someone in their household would become a victim of crime. Research also suggests that neither weapons ownership nor crime rates are as high as popularly perceived and, in fact, are surprisingly low. However, the report also underscores that optimism must be tempered by caution. A lack of accurate and reliable data and monthly fluctuations in the number of violent incidents make it hard to assess whether security is definitively improving. The improvement in perceptions of security is also not uniform – women and those living in the border areas are far more likely to feel unsafe at home or in the community. Most importantly, research found that many of the factors that drive insecurity are also still in place and remain salient. So long as phenomena like the proliferation of armed groups, the politicisation of crime, the criminalisation of politics, socioeconomic exclusion, limited border controls and weak state security provision remain unaddressed, any improvement in security is conditional and prone to reversal. When viewed within the wider context of political uncertainty and events such as the deadline for a new constitution (28 May 2011) and the rehabilitation of former combatants, the ongoing salience of these and other factors helps to explain why this report found that optimism over improved security was accompanied by an unease that the situation may turn for the worse with relative speed. Details: London: Saferworld, 2011. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 10, 2011 at: http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/Armed%20violence%20in%20the%20Terai%20Aug%202011%20reduced.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/Armed%20violence%20in%20the%20Terai%20Aug%202011%20reduced.pdf Shelf Number: 122688 Keywords: Guns and Violence Security Violence (Nepal) Violent Crime

Author: Gilgen, Elisabeth Title: Contributing Evidence to Programming: Armed Violence Monitoring Systems Summary: Governments, development practitioners, and United Nations agencies are increasingly looking for ways to ensure that resources for development programmes and humanitarian interventions are used effectively and to support interventions with a proven record of success. Such evidence-based policy-making has also gained popularity in relation to the prevention and reduction of armed violence. To support this trend, practitioners and other stakeholders are establishing new mechanisms and research tools, including armed violence monitoring systems (AVMS). In the past few decades, AVMS have become an important tool to better understand the scale and distribution of armed violence. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) currently supports AVMS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Caribbean, Colombia, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Somalia, South-eastern and Eastern Europe, and Sudan. UNDP has observed that national governments are increasingly requesting support for AVMS. This Working Paper — commissioned by the UNDP — aims to clarify the concept of AVMS and to deepen understanding of their work. It is designed to inform policy-makers and practitioners who are working on violence reduction and prevention and who are interested in supporting or establishing an AVMS. The report will also allow experts who are already engaged in AVMS to compare their experiences with those of others. Last but not least, the paper aims to inform researchers and academics who work on developing indicators that capture the scale and scope of armed violence at a local, national, or global level. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Geneva Declaration, 2011. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed September 12, 2011 at: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/general/GD-WP-2011-Contributing-Evidence-to-Programming.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/general/GD-WP-2011-Contributing-Evidence-to-Programming.pdf Shelf Number: 122720 Keywords: Armed Violence Firearms Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Title: Violence and Politics in Venezuela Summary: Every half hour, a person is killed in Venezuela. The presence of organised crime combined with an enormous number of firearms in civilian hands and impunity, as well as police corruption and brutality, have entrenched violence in society. While such problems did not begin with President Hugo Chávez, his government has to account for its ambiguity towards various armed groups, its inability or unwillingness to tackle corruption and criminal complicity in parts of the security forces, its policy to arm civilians “in defence of the revolution”, and – last but not least – the president’s own confrontational rhetoric. Positive steps such as constructive engagement with Colombia as well as some limited security reform do not compensate for these failures. While the prospect of presidential elections in 2012 could postpone social explosion, the deterioration of the president’s health has added considerable uncertainty. In any event, the degree of polarisation and militarisation in society is likely to undermine the chances for either a non-violent continuation of the current regime or a peaceful transition to a post-Chávez era. A significant part of the problem was inherited from previous administrations. In 1999, the incoming President Chávez was faced with a country in which homicide rates had tripled in less than two decades, and many institutions were in the process of collapse, eroded by corruption and impunity. During the “Bolivarian revolution”, however, these problems have become substantially worse. Today, more than ten people are murdered on the streets of Caracas every day – the majority by individual criminals, members of street gangs or the police themselves – while kidnapping and robbery rates are soaring. By attributing the problem to “social perceptions of insecurity”, or structural causes, such as widespread poverty, inherited from past governments, the government is downplaying the magnitude and destructive extent of criminal violence. The massive, but temporary, deployment of security forces in highly visible operations, and even police reform and disarmament programs, will have little impact if they are not part of an integrated strategy to reduce crime, end impunity and protect citizens. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2011. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 38: Year: 2011 Country: Venezuela URL: Shelf Number: 122747 Keywords: Criminal Violence (Venezuela) Homicides Organized Crime Political Corruption Violent Crime

Author: Wood, Sara Title: Injuries and Violence: Local Authority Indicators for the North West Summary: This report brings together a range of data sources available at a local authority (LA) level to explore the extent of injury and violence across the North West. It is an accompaniment to the recent series of eleven pocket booklets on injury and violence prevention published by the UK focal point for violence and injury prevention, and available to download at www.preventviolence.info. Reflecting the key injury and violence types covered by the booklets, this report explores data on:  Road traffic accidents  Falls in older people  Burns  Sports injuries  Childhood injuries  Child maltreatment  Youth violence  Sexual violence  Intimate partner violence  Elder abuse  Self harm and suicide Seven data sources have been utilised: police reports, fire and rescue service data, ambulance callouts, accident and emergency department data, hospital admissions and deaths. Data sources and analyses are described in more detail in Table 1. This report presents data sheets (population-based rates or numbers) for each local authority. Data sheets are colour coded, highlighting where levels are statistically higher or lower than the North West average and where there are current gaps in data collection or availability. The data contained in this report is currently being developed into an online tool, which will allow more detailed information to be accessed by local authorities such as indicator rankings within the North West. Details: Liverpool: Liverpool John Moores University, Center for Public Health, 2011. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2011 at: http://www.cph.org.uk/showPublication.aspx?pubid=710 Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cph.org.uk/showPublication.aspx?pubid=710 Shelf Number: 122751 Keywords: Injuries Violence (U.K.) Violent Crime

Author: Hagedorn, John M. Title: Variations in Urban Homicide: Chicago, New York City, and Global Urban Policy Summary: In the United States during the 1990s, some cities saw drastic drops in violence while others did not. Detroit, Washington DC, and New Orleans, for example, remain among the most violent cities in the world. On the other hand, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, and San Diego have seen rates of violence plummet to European-like lows. Entering the 1990s, Chicago and New York City had similar homicide rates, but the two cities sharply diverged in the next few years, with Chicago’s murder rate hovering at three times New York’s rate or roughly equivalent to homicide rates in Mexico City or Moscow. Notions that policing strategies largely explain variation in rates of violence have been skeptically greeted by criminologists (Blumstein and Wallman 2000). However, no plausible explanation for the stark divergence in U.S. urban homicide rates has been credibly presented. One reason for this may be the narrowness of criminological investigations. In fact, very few studies, in the US of internationally, look at variation in violence between cities, instead focusing on national-level analyses (e.g. Gurr 1989). This essay seeks to supplement the criminological thinking on homicide by adding insights from studies in urban and globalization research. First, we review several literatures relating to violence. Second, we describe the methods of a study of homicide in the 1990s in Chicago and New York City and present its qualitative and quantitative data. Finally, we discuss some implications of our study for policy on urban violence through-out the world. Details: Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago, Great Cities Institute, 2004. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed SEptember 19, 2011 at: http://www.gangresearch.net/Archives/hagedorn/articles/homvar2.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.gangresearch.net/Archives/hagedorn/articles/homvar2.pdf Shelf Number: 122781 Keywords: Gangs Homicides Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Grayson, George W. Title: Threat Posed by Mounting Vigilantism in Mexico Summary: Until the 1980s, Mexico enjoyed relative freedom from violence. Ruthless drug cartels existed, but they usually abided by informal rules of conduct hammered out between several capos and representatives of the dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled the country until the 1990s. Relying on bribes, the desperados pursued their illicit activities with the connivance of authorities. In return for the legal authorities turning a blind eye, drug dealers behaved discretely, shunned high-tech weapons, deferred to public figures, spurned kidnapping, and even appeared with governors at their children’s weddings. Unlike their Colombian counterparts, Mexico’s barons did not seek elective office. In addition, they did not sell drugs within the country, corrupt children, target innocent people, engage in kidnapping, or invade the turf or product-line (marijuana, heroin, cocaine, etc.) of competitors. The situation was sufficiently fluid so that should a local police or military unit refuse to cooperate with a cartel, the latter would simply transfer its operations to a nearby municipality where they could clinch the desired arrangement. Three key events in the 1980s and 1990s changed the “live and let live” ethos that enveloped illegal activities. Mexico became the new avenue for Andean cocaine shipped to the United States after the U.S. military and law-enforcement authorities sharply reduced its flow into Florida and other South Atlantic states. The North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect on January 1, 1994, greatly increased economic activities throughout the continent. Dealers often hid cocaine and other drugs among the merchandise that moved northward through Nuevo Laredo, El Paso, Tijuana, and other portals. The change in routes gave rise to Croesus-like profits for cocaine traffickers--a phenomenon that coincided with an upsurge of electoral victories. Largely unexamined amid this narco-mayhem are vigilante activities. With federal resources aimed at drug traffickers and local police more often a part of the problem than a part of the solution, vigilantes are stepping into the void. Suspected criminals who run afoul of these vigilantes endure the brunt of a skewed version of justice that enjoys a groundswell of support. Details: Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 2011. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2011 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1082 Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1082 Shelf Number: 122800 Keywords: Criminal Cartels Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Drug Violence Vigilantism Violent Crime

Author: Rodgers, Dennis Title: Urban Violence Is not (Necessarily) a Way of Life: Towards a Political Economy of Conflict in Cities Summary: As the world moves towards its so-called urban ‘tipping point’, urbanization in the global South has increasingly come to be portrayed as the portent of a dystopian future characterized by ever-mounting levels of anarchy and brutality. The association between cities, violence, and disorder is not new, however. In a classic article on… ‘Urbanism as a way of life’, Louis Wirth (1938: 23) famously links cities to ‘personal disorganization, mental breakdown, suicide, delinquency, crime, corruption, and disorder’. He does so on the grounds that the urban context constituted a space that naturally generated particular forms of social organization and collective action as a result of three key attributes: population size, density, and heterogeneity. Large numbers lead to a segmentation of human relations, the pre-eminence of secondary over primary social contact, and a utilitarianization of interpersonal relationships. Density produces increased competition, accelerates specialization, and engenders glaring contrasts that accentuate social friction. Heterogeneity induces more ramified and differentiated forms of social stratification, heightened individual mobility, and increased social fluidity. While large numbers, density, and heterogeneity can plausibly be considered universal features of cities, it is much less obvious that they necessarily lead to urban violence. This is a standpoint that is further reinforced by the fact that not all cities around the world – whether rapidly urbanizing or not – are violent, and taking off from Wirth’s characterization of the city, this paper therefore seeks to understand how and why under certain circumstances compact settlements of large numbers of heterogeneous individuals give rise to violence, while in others they don’t, focusing in particular on wider structural factors as seen through the specific lens of urban gang violence. Details: Helsinki: United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research, 2010. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 2010/20: Accessed September 21, 2011 at: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/rodgers_wp2010_20.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/rodgers_wp2010_20.pdf Shelf Number: 122801 Keywords: Gangs Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Acharya, Arabinda Title: India’s States of Armed Violence Assessing the Human Cost and Political Priorities Summary: Some forms of violence get more attention than others. Terrorism and insurgency have effects which go far beyond the direct deaths and injuries that they cause, undermining security and economic development. But for sheer numbers of lives destroyed, criminal violence and suicide deserve more attention. All forms of armed violence require more attention, and more holistic policy. Institutional cooperation — between ministries, the central and state governments, and between government and civil society — is only beginning to occur. Details: New Delhi: India Armed Violence Assessment, 2011. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief No. 1: Accessed September 21, 2011 at: http://www.india-ava.org/fileadmin/docs/pubs/IAVA-IB1-states-of-armed-violence.pdf Year: 2011 Country: India URL: http://www.india-ava.org/fileadmin/docs/pubs/IAVA-IB1-states-of-armed-violence.pdf Shelf Number: 122804 Keywords: Armed Violence Gun Violence Guns Homicides Terrorism Violence (India) Violent Crime

Author: Stambaugh, Hollis Title: Northern Illinois University Shooting: DeKalb, Illinois, February 14, 2008 Summary: On February 14, 2008, less than 1 year after a senior at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) murdered 32 people and committed suicide, the campus community at Northern Illinois University (NIU), in DeKalb, Illinois, faced a similar horror. A former NIU graduate student walked onto the stage of a large lecture hall and began firing on startled students and faculty. The shooter, a 28-year old male, had a history of mental illness. He shot and killed 5 students and wounded 18, some critically. His suicide at the end of the brief attack brought the number of deaths to 6. The building where the shooting occurred, Cole Hall, is centrally located in the interior of the campus and is directly across from a concentration of dormitories identified as Neptune East, West, Central, and North. Cole Hall contains two large lecture halls for large group classes. All of the injured who were transported were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, the only hospital nearby. Several of the most seriously injured were then transferred to five other hospitals in the region—four via helicopter and one via ground ambulance. A close examination of how the emergency medical and hospital services were carried out reveals that the right decisions and actions were taken during triage and treatment, lives were saved, and no one was hurt in the process of providing emergency medical services (EMS) to the victims, transporting them, or safeguarding the rest of the campus immediately after the murders. The City of DeKalb Fire Department, the NIU Department of Public Safety, the hospital, and other mutual-aid responders were prepared. They had practiced emergency drills together and coordinated their planning. They were familiar with the Incident Command System (ICS) and had formally incorporated its use in their plans. The fire/EMS, university police, and university events management partners had worked together frequently in planned and unplanned events, so Command and control procedures were well practiced. They also had studied the official report1 on the Virginia Tech shootings and had integrated the lessons learned enumerated in that report into the university’s and the City of DeKalb’s emergency response plans, especially from the chapters that reported on the law enforcement and EMS response to that April 16, 2007 incident. The value of that report, their training, and their joint planning was apparent in the excellent response to Cole Hall. The DeKalb Fire Department has stated they hope that what they discovered from their internal debriefings and reports can add to the lessons that were documented from Virginia Tech so that the body of experience can expand to include this most recent tragedy and help other universities, law enforcement agencies, and fire departments as the Virginia Tech report helped them. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) is pleased to enable the sharing of information from the NIU shooting with emergency response organizations nationwide. Details: Wshington, DC: U.S. Fire Administration, Department of Homeland Security, 2009. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: USEA-TR-167: Accessed September 27, 2011 at: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr_167.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr_167.pdf Shelf Number: 122914 Keywords: Campus Crime (U.S.) Campus Violence Colleges and University Emergency Services Gun Violence Homicides School Violence Violent Crime

Author: Northern Illinois University Title: Report of the February 14, 2008 Shootings at Northern Illinois University Summary: On February 14, 2008, Steven Phillip Kazmierczak entered room 101 in Cole Hall and opened fire in the lecture hall killing five students and wounding 21. He then shot and killed himself. Administrators at Northern Illinois University, the Illinois Governor’s office, and the U.S. Fire Administration have reviewed the response of the University, Police, Fire and Medical departments in regards to this incident. After reviewing hundreds of interviews, phone records, e-mail correspondence and thousands of pages of evidence, what follows is the most recent, up-to-date report of the police investigation. Due to the nature of the ongoing investigation under certain statutes in Illinois, it is imperative that official police reports remain privileged. This report includes as much information as can be released without jeopardizing future potential investigative work. It is the goal of this report to review incidents prior to the shooting as well as in the aftermath, including: • The life and mental health history of Steven Phillip Kazmierczak from early childhood until the days prior to the shooting • Response of the NIU Department of Public Safety to the initial reports of a shooter on campus • Emergency medical response • Incident command and investigative cooperation between the NIU Department of Public Safety (NIUDPS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Illinois State Police (ISP), City of Sycamore Police Department, DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, City of DeKalb Fire Department, and the City of DeKalb Police Department (DPD), as well as other law enforcement agencies • Services provided for surviving victims of the shooting as well as family and friends of the victims and NIU community members • Student affairs policies • Mental health services and prevention programs • Information flow during a crisis • The communiversity response to February 14, 2008 • Academic and campus implications of the 2/14/08 tragedy. Details: DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University, 2010. 322p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2011 at: http://www.niu.edu/feb14report/Feb14report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.niu.edu/feb14report/Feb14report.pdf Shelf Number: 122928 Keywords: Campus Crime (U.S.) Campus Violence Colleges and University Emergency Services Homicides School Violence Violent Crime

Author: Washington Office on Latin America Title: Tackling Urban Violence in Latin America: Reversing Exclusion through Smart Policing and Social Investment Summary: The report discusses the relative effectiveness of strategies to reduce violence in four different Latin American cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Medellín in Colombia, Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, and Santa Tecla in El Salvador. The four cities are attempting to improve citizen security by combining smart policing strategies and social investment in marginalized communities most affected by crime. In Rio de Janeiro, the government sent a new community police force into favelas long dominated by criminal gangs, and then began to bring in city services. These are new efforts, in a few targeted areas. While there are some complaints about police behavior, many residents report a sense of hope about the future. Time will tell whether government investment will be sustained enough to reduce crime in the long term. In Medellín, an ambitious effort by municipal authorities to increase policing and invest in marginalized hillside communities took place during a lull in the violent competition between criminal gangs. Dramatic reductions in crime were seen for several years. Competition between drug-trafficking groups then reignited, and violence levels have crept back up, but city efforts appear to have kept the violence from returning to earlier levels. In Ciudad Juárez, the government turned to social investment when police and military intervention failed to reduce alarming levels of violence. Social programs are just beginning, and implementation has been troubled and lacks cohesion. But authorities and community groups agree that this is the direction to pursue, only with more resources and better leadership. In Santa Tecla, a multi-year effort led by the city’s mayor has developed community councils and local violence prevention programs. Homicide levels, while still high, have dropped below those of neighboring communities. Among its findings, the report highlights: •The mano dura (iron fist) anti-crime approaches that have been employed by many governments in the region don’t work. Sending police or security forces into communities that have little or no state presence and have long been plagued by violence can often make the situation worse. This is particularly true when officers act with impunity. •Policymakers must take into account that social, political and economic exclusion are the context in which crime and violence take root. Therefore, comprehensive approaches that give attention to “reversing exclusion” by bringing in social services as well as law enforcement are in order. •Citizens whose daily lives are most affected by violence must be involved in designing and implementing solutions for their communities. This means that coordination between government agencies, community groups, service providers and residents is key to developing long-term plans that will achieve a lasting reduction in violence and improvement in residents’ livelihoods. Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America, 2011. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2011 at: http://www.wola.org/publications/tackling_urban_violence_in_latin_america_reversing_exclusion_through_smart_policing_and Year: 2011 Country: South America URL: http://www.wola.org/publications/tackling_urban_violence_in_latin_america_reversing_exclusion_through_smart_policing_and Shelf Number: 122937 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Policing Urban Areas Violence (Latin America) Violent Crime

Author: Moyano, Inigo Guevara Title: Adapting, Transforming, and Modernizing Under Fire: The Mexican Military 2006-11 Summary: Mexico’s armed forces are in the midst of a transformation to better perform in an ongoing war against organized crime. Their role and visibility have escalated considerably since President Felipe Calderon assumed office in December of 2006. Although the fight against organized crime is clearly a law enforcement matter, the absence of effective and accountable police forces has meant that the Army, Navy, and Air Force have been used as supplementary forces to defend the civilian population and enforce the rule of law. While the federal government has striven to stand up a capable police force in order to relieve and eventually replace the military, that possibility is still distant. Five years into the Calderon administration, the armed forces continue to be the main implementers of the National Security policy, aimed at employing the use of force to disrupt the operational capacity of organized crime. Their strong institutional tradition, professionalism, submission to political control, and history of interaction with the population mainly through disaster relief efforts have made them the most trusted institution in Mexican society. Mexico’s armed forces have long been used as an instrument of the state to implement all kinds of public policies at the national level, from emergency vaccinations, to post-earthquake rescue, to reforestation campaigns. They have been at the forefront of disaster relief operations in reaction to the calamities of nature, within and beyond their borders, with humanitarian assistance deployments to Indonesia, the United States, Haiti, and Central America among the most recent. The Mexican armed forces are quite unique, as they are divided into two separate cabinet-level ministries: the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (the Secretary of National Defense or SEDENA), which encompasses the Army and Air Force, and the Secretaría de Marina (the Secretary of the Navy or SEMAR), which comprises the Navy. The level of engagement with society and the results obtained from this division in military power confirms the utility of their independence. Their use as the state’s last line of defense has led to severe criticism from opinion leaders, opposition forces, international analysts, and human rights organizations. Their level of commitment remains unaltered and they have undertaken a number of significant transformations to better address their continued roles as the guardians of the State and protectors of the population. Details: Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2011. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Letort Paper: Accessed September 29, 2011 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1081.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1081.pdf Shelf Number: 122957 Keywords: Armed Forces Military Forces Organized Crime (Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Kan, Paul Rexton Title: Mexico's "Narco-Refugees": The Looming Challenge for U.S. National Security Summary: Since 2006, when Mexican president Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels, there has been a rise in the number of Mexican nationals seeking political asylum in the United States to escape the ongoing drug cartel violence in their home country. Political asylum cases in general are claimed by those who are targeted for their political beliefs or ethnicity in countries that are repressive or failing. Mexico is neither. Nonetheless, if the health of the Mexican state declines because criminal violence continues, increases, or spreads, U.S. communities will feel an even greater burden on their systems of public safety and public health from “narco-refugees.” Given the ever-increasing brutality of the cartels, the question is whether and how the United States Government should begin to prepare for what could be a new wave of migrants coming from Mexico. Allowing Mexicans to claim asylum could potentially open a floodgate of migrants to the United States during a time when there is a very contentious national debate over U.S. immigration laws pertaining to illegal immigrants. On the other hand, to deny the claims of asylum seekers and return them to Mexico, where they might very well be killed, strikes at the heart of American values of justice and humanitarianism. This monograph focuses on the asylum claims of Mexicans who unwillingly leave Mexico, rather than those who willingly enter the United States legally or illegally. To navigate wisely in this sea of complexity will require greater understanding and vigilance at all levels of the U.S. Government. Details: Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 2011. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1083.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1083.pdf Shelf Number: 0 Keywords: Border Security Drug Cartels (Mexico) Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division Title: Investigation of the Puerto Rico Police Department Summary: The Puerto Rico Police Department is Puerto Rico’s primary law enforcement agency. Its mission is critical: To protect and serve the residents of Puerto Rico by designing and implementing policies and practices that control crime, ensure respect for the Constitution and the rule of law, and enable the Department to enjoy the respect and confidence of the public. Many hard working and dedicated PRPD officers serve the public with distinction under often challenging conditions. Unfortunately, PRPD is broken in a number of critical and fundamental respects that are clearly actionable under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. § 14141 (“Section 14141”). Based on our extensive investigation, we find reasonable cause to believe that PRPD officers engage in a pattern and practice of: • excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment; • unreasonable force and other misconduct designed to suppress the exercise of protected First Amendment rights; and • unlawful searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In addition to these findings, our investigation uncovered other deficiencies of serious concern. In particular, there is troubling evidence that PRPD frequently fails to police sex crimes and incidents of domestic violence, and engages in discriminatory policing practices that target individuals of Dominican descent in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Safe Streets Act, and Title VI. At this time, we do not make a formal finding of a pattern and practice violation in these areas, in part because PRPD does not adequately collect data to evaluate these issues. However, we are quite concerned that PRPD lacks basic systems of accountability to ensure that all individuals are treated equally by PRPD officers, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, or sex as required by federal law. Furthermore, our investigation raises serious concerns that PRPD policies and practices are woefully inadequate to prevent and address domestic violence committed by PRPD officers. We find that these deficiencies will lead to constitutional violations unless they are addressed. PRPD’s continued failure to keep necessary data in light of our findings and despite knowledge of these indicators of a very serious problem, may constitute a pattern and practice that violates federal law. We recognize that PRPD faces significant challenges as Puerto Rico’s primary law enforcement agency. The unconstitutional acts that we have identified arise at a time of crisis in public safety. Contrary to national trends, violent crime increased overall in Puerto Rico by 17% from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, Puerto Rico saw the second highest number of murders in its history, a trend that is escalating in 2011. The clearance rate for murders remains below the national average. Some Puerto Rico officials maintain that drug trafficking and social deterioration are fueling the wave of violent crime. However, increasing crime cannot be used to justify continued civil rights violations or the failure to implement meaningful reforms. Constitutional policing and effective law enforcement are inextricably bound. Public safety depends on the trust and cooperation of the community, which in turn depends on constitutional police practices that respect civil rights. Our previous efforts in working with large police departments strongly suggest that by addressing the civil rights concerns we raise in this report, the Commonwealth will not only meet its constitutional duty, but also reduce crime, improve public safety, and increase community confidence. i For many years, victims’ families, civic leaders, legislators, and civil rights advocates have voiced concerns over chronic mistreatment by police. For example, over the past decade, various legislative measures have called for comprehensive investigations of police misconduct, greater education and training, and an accounting of public funds spent on civil rights lawsuits against the Commonwealth. Other grass-roots and advocacy organizations have sent letters to Puerto Rico officials denouncing allegations of discrimination against people of Dominican descent, and civic and professional organizations have issued investigative reports detailing numerous civil rights violations at the hands of police. PRPD officers have also called for agency reforms. One police affinity group representing thousands of officers attributed widespread low morale among officers to verbal abuse from supervisors, indifference to officers’ personal problems, lack of support and training, absence of motivational and educational activities, deficient equipment and materials, and late payment. The public’s demands for remedial action are fueled in part by the appalling number of officer arrests and convictions for serious misconduct and criminal activity. Among these are: the killing of family members by two police officers in the “Massacre of Las Piedras” in 2007; the videotaped shooting of a civilian by a Tactical Operations Unit (“TOU”) officer during a birthday celebration in Humacao in 2007; the shooting death of a PRPD lieutenant by a sergeant at a police station in Yabucoa in 2007; the conviction of multiple officers assigned to the Mayagüez Drug Unit for planting drugs in 2008; the conviction of the director of the Special Arrests and Extraditions Unit and several of his officers on drug-related charges in 2009; the conviction of a lieutenant directing the weapons registry at PRPD headquarters as part of an illegal gun licensing scheme in 2009; the indiscriminate use of batons and chemical irritants against protesters at the Capitol in June 2010; the shooting death of an unarmed young man who was reportedly aiding police following a robbery in September 2010; and the arrest of 61 PRPD officers as part of the largest police corruption operation in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) history in October 2010. In the report that follows, we discuss the wide range of issues that were the focus of our investigation and the findings that result from our review. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 116 p., app.; Executive Summary Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2011 at: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/prpd_exec_summ.pdf (executive summary) Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/prpd_exec_summ.pdf (executive summary) Shelf Number: 122984 Keywords: Police Accountability Police Administration Police Misconduct Police Use of Force Policing (Puerto Rico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Global Study on Homicide: Trends, Contexts, Data Summary: The UNODC 2011 Global Study on Homicide brings together global, regional, national and subnational homicide data in one publication. It is hoped that the data and analysis of the most violent crime against the person will assist global efforts to design evidence-based policies to prevent and reduce crime in those areas and population groups where violence is most acute. This study was made possible because of increased efforts by countries to produce and share good quality homicide data. However, homicide data remain far from perfect—indeed, the study draws attention to the large geographic and thematic data gaps in many regions of the world—and comparisons should always be made with caution. This is also true because legal systems and practices, as well as capacities in reporting intentional homicide, can vary significantly between countries and regions. Nevertheless, there are a number of key messages that may be derived from the wealth of data in this study. First, there is a clear link between violent crime and development: crime hampers poor human and economic development; this, in turn, fosters crime. Improvements to social and economic conditions go hand in hand with the reduction of violent crime. The development agenda must also include crime prevention policies and the enhancement of the rule of law at both national and international level. Reducing violent crime should also be a priority for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in those countries where crime is disproportionally high. The study also represents an important advance in our understanding of the trends and patterns of homicide. One of the most important considerations is the recognition that different factors drive violent crime rates and trends. In some regions, organized crime, drug trafficking and the violent cultures of youth gangs are predominantly responsible for the high levels of homicide; while in others, killings connected to intimate partner and family-related violence account for an important share of homicides. Although it is important to understand that the sharp increase in homicides in some countries, particularly in Central America, are making the activities of organized crime and drug trafficking more visible, it should not be assumed that organized crime is not active in other regions as well. Another aspect is the role played by firearms in violent crime. It is crucial that measures to prevent crime should include policies towards the ratification and implementation of the UN Firearm protocol. Domestic policies in furtherance of the Protocol’s provision can help avoid the diversion of firearms to fuel violence and increase homicides. Knowledge of the patterns and causes of violent crime are crucial to forming preventive strategies. Young males are the group most affected by violent crime in all regions, particularly in the Americas. Yet women of all ages are the victims of intimate partner and family-related violence in all regions and countries. Indeed, in many of them, it is within the home where a woman is most likely to be killed. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2011. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed october 7, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf Shelf Number: 123002 Keywords: Crime Statistics Firearms and Crime Gun Violence Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Guatemala: Drug Trafficking and Violence Summary: The bloody eruption of Mexican-led cartels into Guatemala is the latest chapter in a vicious cycle of violence and institutional failure. Geography has placed the country – midway between Colombia and the U.S. – at one of the world’s busiest intersections for illegal drugs. Cocaine (and now ingredients for synthetic drugs) flows in by air, land and sea and from there into Mexico en route to the U.S. Cool highlands are an ideal climate for poppy cultivation. Weapons, given lenient gun laws and a long history of arms smuggling, are plentiful. An impoverished, underemployed population is a ready source of recruits. The winner of November’s presidential election will need to address endemic social and economic inequities while confronting the violence and corruption associated with drug trafficking. Decisive support from the international community is needed to assure these challenges do not overwhelm a democracy still recovering from decades of political violence and military rule. Gangs and common criminals flourish under the same conditions that allow drug traffickers to operate with brazen impunity: demoralised police forces, an often intimidated or corrupted judicial system and a population so distrustful of law enforcement that the rich depend on private security forces while the poor arm themselves in local vigilante squads. Over the past decade, the homicide rate has doubled, from twenty to more than 40 per 100,000 inhabitants. While traffickers contribute to the crime wave in border regions and along drug corridors, youth gangs terrorise neighbourhoods in Guatemala City. The outrages perpetrated by the most violent Mexican gang, the Zetas – who decapitate and dismember their victims for maximum impact – generate the most headlines. Violent drug cartels, however, are only one manifestation of the gangs and clandestine associations that have long dominated Guatemalan society and crippled its institutions. How to change this dynamic will be one of the most difficult challenges facing the winner of November’s presidential election. Both Otto Pérez Molina and Manuel Baldizón have promised to get tough on criminals, but a hardline approach that fails to include a strategy to foster rule of law is unlikely to yield anything more than sporadic, short-term gains. For decades, the state itself was the most prolific violator of human rights. During the 36-year conflict that ended with the peace accords of 1996, the armed forces murdered dissidents in urban areas and razed villages suspected of harbouring guerrilla forces. Just as Guatemala was recovering from years of political violence, control of the South American drug trade was shifting from Colombia to Mexico. Increased interdiction in the Caribbean, plus the arrest of Colombian cartel leaders, allowed Mexican traffickers to begin taking over drug distribution in the late 1990s. Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s crackdown after 2006 forced traffickers to import increasing amounts of contraband into Central America and then move it north over land. The shipment of more drugs through Central America has had a multiplier effect on illegal activities. Violence is especially intense in coastal and border departments, where traffickers and gangs have diversified into other activities, such as local drug dealing, prostitution, extortion and kidnapping. In some regions, narcotics traffickers have become prominent entrepreneurs, with both licit and illicit businesses. They participate in community events, distribute gifts to the needy and finance political campaigns. Their well-armed henchmen offer protection from other gangs and common criminals. Those who finance opium poppy cultivation provide impoverished indigenous communities with greater monetary income than they have ever known. But these domestic trafficking groups also operate with impunity to seize land and intimidate or eliminate competitors. Local police and judicial authorities, under-resourced and widely mistrusted, offer little opposition. There are signs of progress. The attorney general is reviving long-stalled investigations into past human rights abuses while aggressively pursuing the current threat posed by organised crime. A veteran human rights activist was tapped by the outgoing government to reform the police. The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a UN-Guatemalan initiative, is pursuing high-profile criminal cases. Donors are financing vetted units, providing new investigative tools and building new judicial facilities. Moreover, over the past year, Central American authorities, with international help, have arrested half a dozen high-level Guatemalan traffickers who are awaiting extradition to the U.S. But ending the impunity that has allowed trafficking networks and other illegal organisations to flourish will require a long-term, multi-dimensional effort. To shore up recent gains and lay the ground work for sustainable reform it is urgent that: •the new president allow Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz to complete her four-year term, fully support Police Reform Commissioner Helen Mack and encourage CICIG’s efforts to pursue high profile cases and build prosecutorial capacity; •political and business leaders work together both to increase government revenues for crime-fighting and social programs and to devise anti-corruption initiatives that will hold officials responsible for their use of public funds; •regional leaders increase cooperation to interdict illegal narcotics shipments and to break up transnational criminal groups through entities such as the Central American Integration System (SICA); •the U.S. and other consuming countries provide financial aid commensurate with their national interest in stopping the drug trade and aimed not just at arresting traffickers but also at building strong, democratically accountable institutions; and •international leaders open a serious debate on counter-narcotics policies, including strategies designed to curtail both production and consumption; it is past time to re-evaluate policies that have failed either to alleviate the suffering caused by drug addiction or to reduce the corruption and violence associated with drug production and trafficking. Details: Bogota; Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 39: Accessed October 18, 2011 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/39%20Guatemala%20--%20Drug%20Trafficking%20and%20Violence.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/39%20Guatemala%20--%20Drug%20Trafficking%20and%20Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 123052 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking (Guatemala) Drugs and Crime Gangs Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Maxwell, Christopher D. Title: Collective Efficacy and Criminal Behavior in Chicago, 1995-2004 Summary: This study reproduces and extends the analyses about the neighborhood-level effects of collective efficacy on criminal behavior originally reported by Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls in a 1997 Science article entitled ―Neighborhood and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy.‖ Based on a 1995 citywide community survey of 8,782 residents in 343 neighborhood clusters conducted as part of the NIJ-sponsored Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, they reported that collective efficacy directly affects perceived neighborhood violence, household victimization, and official homicide rates (Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls 1997). They also reported that collective efficacy moderates the relationship of residential stability and disadvantage with each measure of violence. This study uses Earls, Brooks-Gunn, Raudenbush, and Sampson’s (Earls et al. 1997) archived community survey database, archived U.S. Census summary data (United States Department of Commerce 1993) and Block and Block’s (2005) archived Homicides in Chicago, 1965-1995 study to assess the extent to which Sampson, et al.’s (1997) reported results can be reproduced by using measures and statistical methods specified by Sampson, et al. (1997) and Morenoff, et al. (2001). We then extend the analyses conducted by Sampson, et al. (1997) by adding ten additional years of more detailed crime data in statistical models that address temporal and spatial correlation and multicollinearity. Our findings reproduce the direction and statistical significance of all the key theoretical results reported by Sampson, et al. (1997). In addition, our extension of their analyses finds a direct connection between collective efficacy and rates of homicide and rape from 1995 through 2004. However, we did not find that collective efficacy is negatively related to officially recorded measures of robbery and assaults in 1995, nor is collective efficacy related to most property crimes during any period covered by our study. These latter findings suggest some of the limits to the influence of collective efficacy on crime. Future research should seek to determine the extent to which these limits are valid or due to issues of measurement or to methodological considerations. Details: Shepherdstown, WV: Joint Center for Justice Studies, Inc., 2011. 147p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2011 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/235154.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/235154.pdf Shelf Number: 123084 Keywords: Collective Efficacy (Chicago) Neighborhoods and Crime Social Cohesion Violent Crime

Author: Hosking, George Title: The WAVE Report 2005: Violence and What To Do About It Summary: Our seminal work - this report represents the culmination of 9 years of research into and study of the root causes of violent behaviour. The rising tide of violence in the UK, and elsewhere, is neither inevitable nor universal. Violence is a preventable disease. While it is one that is difficult to cure, prevention is relatively simple. Children who are loved well in infancy do not become violent teenagers or adults. Violence and what to do about it offers specific solutions designed to foster parental attunement to the needs of children, and the development of empathy in children towards the feelings of others. WAVE's research shows that the recommended interventions make a real and beneficial difference. A society that ignores such findings must be bent on self-destruction. The social costs of violence are some £20 billion a year - and countless damaged lives. This is a social evil that demands attention. This Report says what needs to be done, and who should do it. Details: Croyden, UK: WAVE Trust Limited, 2005. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 31, 2011 at: http://www.wavetrust.org/sites/default/files/key_publications/wave_report_2005.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.wavetrust.org/sites/default/files/key_publications/wave_report_2005.pdf Shelf Number: 114872 Keywords: Violence (U.K.) Violent Crime

Author: Ringland, Clare Title: Is the Assault Rate in NSW Higher Now Than It Was During the 1990s? Summary: The rate of police-recorded assault more than doubled in NSW between 1990 and 2007. This bulletin investigates whether the increase was due to a genuine increase in violence or an increase in the amount and/or type of violent behaviour coming to police attention. Trends and patterns in police-recorded assault from 1995 to 2007 are supplemented with crime victim survey data, hospitalisations data and a selection of narratives for assault incidents. Over the period, rates of assault increased for both males and females and for all age groups. Increases occurred in both aggravated and common assault, assault with a weapon and without, in all statistical divisions and premise types. These trends in police-recorded assault, supported by increases in hospitalisation and victim survey data, suggest a real increase in violence. However, less serious police-recorded assaults (e.g. common assault and assault without a weapon) have increased at a greater rate than more serious assaults, and more recent assault narratives included a greater proportion of assaults with less serious actions. In addition, the increase in hospitalisations for assault was small in comparison to increases in police-recorded assault and crime survey victimisation rates. Thus, it is likely that the increase in assault was due not only to an increase in violence, but also to an increase in public awareness of assault and the increased willingness of victims and third parties to report, and/or police willingness to record, incidents as assault. Published by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Details: Sydney: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2009. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, no. 127; Accessed November 2, 2011 at: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb127.pdf/$file/cjb127.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Australia URL: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/cjb127.pdf/$file/cjb127.pdf Shelf Number: 123215 Keywords: Assaults (Australia) Crime Rates Crime Trends Police Reporting Victimization Violence Violent Crime

Author: Leggett, Ted Title: Organized Crime and Instability in Central Africa: A Threat Assessment Summary: This study was undertaken to inform programme development efforts in the context of UNODC’s regional programme approach. The Great Lakes region of Central Africa is a region of vast natural resources – and great potential – with a tragic history. Remarkable progress has been made in some countries, while others are only now beginning to find their feet. Many of the problems facing the region stretch back to colonial times, but the current situation is best explained by reference to more recent events. By some estimates, over five million people died during the eight-country conflict known as the Second Congo War which started in 1998, making it one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II. The human impact has been tremendous: communities have been displaced, weapons disseminated, the population traumatized, and the economy decimated. Although the formal hostilities ended in 2002-2003, violence has continued to afflict the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Smouldering grievances, often highly local ones, were again stirred to a blaze. Ethnic tensions in Ituri, a region in Orientale province, stretch back many decades, but violence surged again after the end of the war. The Kivu provinces experienced continuing bouts of extreme brutality fuelled by competition for land and resources, as well as by ethnic grievances. Today, however, the DRC is in a state of transition. Deaths due to disease and malnutrition, tied in part to the displacement caused by violence, continue, but the World Bank estimates that there were only 610 battlefield deaths in 2008. Though no one is declaring victory yet, it appears that the scale of the conflict has substantially declined. The violence that remains, however, is a potent mix of interpersonal violence and the continuing presence of armed groups across the Eastern DRC, much of which is connected to the exploitation of natural resources. The violence is preventing the region as a whole from benefiting from development opportunities that would come with stability. Details: Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2011. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 4, 2011 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Central_Africa_Report_2011_web.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/Central_Africa_Report_2011_web.pdf Shelf Number: 123225 Keywords: Exploitation of Natural Resources Offenses Against the Environment Organized Crime (Central Africa) Violence Violent Crime Wildlife Crime

Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: What Makes Countries Vulnerable to Transnational Organised Crime? Summary: Countries emerging from conflict or other major crises face numerous difficult challenges on the road to state-building. One of the most harmful is the rise of violent crime, which threatens weak state institutions and the rule of law. In a number of cases, this concern is accentuated by the presence of transnational organised crime. Instead of starting on a path of economic and institutional development, these nations are transformed into way stations on the route of illicit products – drugs, clandestine migrants, or commodities such as timber or diamonds – heading to rich consumer markets. A conservative estimate puts the total value of these global markets at $125 billion per year. The problems posed by transnational organised crime are serious and spreading. In Central Asia, West Africa and Central America, the wounds of civil war and political transition had not yet healed by the time the phenomenon appeared. Instead, criminal groups took full advantage of the weaknesses of governments and the rule of law in the aftermath of faltering transitions to democracy. These groups formed links with formal economic and political actors, and used their power where necessary to intimidate citizens into submission. Electoral processes, political parties, security forces, horizontal inequalities, ethnic rivalries and basic conceptions of citizenship have all been reshaped by criminal money and violence. This report explores in depth the exact nature of the threat posed by transnational organised crime and the conditions that give rise to its growth. In particular, it asks whether the presence of transnational groups in fragile states is an effect of international conditions – such as the need to supply a particular consumer market – or due to causes that are internal to the country. On this basis, it picks out five key factors that underlie the expansion of this sort of crime. These are: • the proximity to trafficking routes and destination markets; • favourable international security conditions; • extreme institutional fragmentation; • high levels of inequality; and • social atomisation. Above all, the report stresses the importance of the last three domestic vulnerabilities in providing criminal groups with exceptional leverage over state and security actors, businesses, and local populations. In conclusion, it offers a number of pointers for future policymaking that take into account the grave threat posed by transnational organised crime to stability and development. While this threat is undeniable, it is also true to say that it is the expression of fault lines and vulnerabilities in fragile states that cannot be repaired solely by law enforcement or donor exhortation. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2011 at: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NOREF_WhatMakesCountriesVulnerabletoTransnationalOrganizedCrime.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/NOREF_WhatMakesCountriesVulnerabletoTransnationalOrganizedCrime.pdf Shelf Number: 123258 Keywords: Organized Crime Transnational Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Munton, Tony Title: Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience in Individuals to the Influence of Al Qa’ida Violent Extremism Summary: In the absence of a mature empirical evidence base it explores what transferrable knowledge can be taken from the more developed literature on other types of violent activity e.g. other terrorist activity, gangs, cults, etc. This report presents the findings of a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) of open source empirical studies that seek to answer two key questions: • What factors, social, psychological and physical, make a person more vulnerable to participation in Al Qa’ida (AQ)-influenced violent extremism? • What factors enable vulnerable individuals to resist the influence of AQ-influenced violent extremism? This report also presents the findings from a second targeted REA on other relevant types of violent activity, including: • other (non-AQ-influenced) types of terrorist activity; • animal rights activism; • cults; • gangs; • right-wing extremism; and • youth crime. The report discusses learning from these other areas and how far lessons learned can be applied to the study of AQ-influenced violent extremism. Both REAs involved systematic searches of relevant electronic databases and hand searches of academic journals and websites. Additional relevant literature was identified by topic experts, peer reviewers, specific websites, and through backward and forward citation chasing. Studies were included if they were based on empirical research, were relevant to the REAs’ questions and were assessed to be of high scientific quality. The empirical evidence base on what factors make an individual more vulnerable to AQ-influenced violent extremism is weak. Even less is known about why certain individuals resort to violence, when other individuals from the same community, with similar experiences, do not become involved in violent activity. The following conclusions are based on the limited empirical evidence base identified by the two REAs. Details: London: Home Office, 2011. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper 98: Accessed November 9, 2011 at: Year: 2011 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 123275 Keywords: Extremist Groups Gang Violence Radical Groups Terrorism Violence Violent Crime

Author: Krause, Jana Title: A Deadly Cycle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria Summary: Over the last decade, a political crisis in Jos, capital of Nigeria’s Plateau State, has developed into a widespread, protracted communal conflict. Up to 7,000 people have been killed since riots broke out in the city in late 2001, and ten years later a fragile calm in the city is kept only by the heavy presence of military and police forces. The tensions between ethnic groups have been exacerbated by a combination of conflict over the allocation of resources, electoral competition, fears of religious domination, and contested land rights. The presence of well-organized armed groups in rural areas, the proliferation of weapons, and the sharp rise in gun fatalities within Jos all point to a risk of future large-scale violence. A Deadly Cycle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria—a new Working Paper from the Geneva Declaration Secretariat—examines the root causes of conflict in Jos, mapping the spread of violence. The report first outlines the historical background and socio-economic characteristics of Plateau State, and then examines the causes of the conflict, and local perceptions of the current situation. After considering the characteristics of urban and rural violence, the report offers an overview of violence prevention and peace-building efforts. A Deadly Cycle is based on field research carried out in Jos in November and December 2010, including interviews with local residents, community and religious leaders, local NGO staff, journalists, university researchers, ward heads, and local politicians. Details: Geneva: Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2011. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 10, 2011 at: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/GD-WP-Jos-deadly-cycle.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/GD-WP-Jos-deadly-cycle.pdf Shelf Number: 123307 Keywords: Ethnic Violence Religious Violence Socioeconomic Variables Violence (Nigeria) Violent Crime

Author: Sommers, Marc Title: Fearing Africa's Young Men: The Case of Rwanda Summary: Do the concentrated numbers of male youths in urban Rwanda threaten social stability? The World Bank investigates this theory, examining the concept that large concentrations of male youths are disconnected from their cultures and prone to violence due to the ‘youth bulge’. However, interviews with urban male youths in Rwanda indicate that they are constrained by limited opportunities rather than menaces to society. The situation confronting most Rwandan youth and most of their counterparts in Africa remains alarming - a largely silent emergency. The ‘youth bulge’ theory suggests that a heavy concentration of male youths in urban areas leads to situations of violence, uprisings, revolutions and even terrorism. The prevalence of this theory in post-conflict literature has led African policymakers to attempt to avoid the urban ‘youth bulge’ by targeting aid to rural areas. For example, policymakers in Liberia have directed post-war reintegration strategies towards rural areas even though agriculture does not appeal to urban youth. In pre-genocide Rwanda, anti-urbanisation policy severely limited the educational and employment opportunities available to male youth. Forced immobility meant that while young men had few rural opportunities, they were not allowed to migrate to find better employment. The education system allowed few students into secondary school and provided poor or impractical vocational training. It is likely that the high numbers of male youth participants in the violence in Rwanda is attributable to limited opportunities resulting from faulty anti-urbanisation policy. Instead of eliminating the threat of the urban ‘youth bulge’, these policies created a life of entrapment and frustration that translated into desperation and violence during the genocide. •Young men had far less land than their fathers and were often unable to support a wife or a family. •The educational and legal system prevented young men from access to education and inheriting land, which forced them into low-paid, temporary jobs. •The government vocational education system targeted towards rural youth was ineffectual. Not only was the community required to pay many of the costs and choose appropriate courses, but also forced immobility meant that graduates could not find jobs in an already saturated workforce. •The hopelessness resulting from the lack of opportunities made Rwandan youth susceptible to genocide instigators whose recruitment strategy mixed coercion and promises of material gain. Given that Rwandan youth today face similar patterns of limited education and employment opportunities, there is a threat that the violence could reappear. Policymakers must learn from the past in order to create effective programmes for the current youth generation. •The ‘youth bulge’ theory unnecessarily labels young men as essentially dangerous. Youth may have excellent reasons to be frustrated and faulty policies based on the ‘youth bulge’ assumption may only fuel their discontent. •Policymakers need to accept and support the decisions of youth not to reintegrate into traditional society. This means providing positive engagement and support to them whether in urban or rural areas. •Young women are often ignored in post-conflict policy. All of Africa’s youth needs to be engaged and supported through appropriate, proactive, empowering, and inclusive measures. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2006. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Social Development Papers: Conflict Prevention & Reconstruction, Paper No. 32: Accessed November 11, 2011 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/02/13/000090341_20060213142651/Rendered/PDF/351490RW0Young0men0WP3201PUBLIC1.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Rwanda URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/02/13/000090341_20060213142651/Rendered/PDF/351490RW0Young0men0WP3201PUBLIC1.pdf Shelf Number: 123310 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Urban Areas (Rwanda) Violent Crime Youth Violence Youthful Offenders

Author: U.S. Senate. Caucus on International Narcotics Control Title: Responding to Violence in Central America Summary: Violence in Central America has reached crisis levels. Throughout Central America, Mexican drug trafficking organizations, local drug traffickers, transnational youth gangs, and other illegal criminal networks are taking advantage of weak governance and underperforming justice systems. This report outlines a series of concrete steps that the United States can take to support the seven countries of Central America as they try to improve security. The report does not call for large amounts of new money but instead recommends investments in key programs with host country partners. Our report synthesizes information gathered by Caucus staff through visits to Guatemala and Honduras, briefings, interviews, and a review of documents from both government and non-government subject matter experts. The report describes the current strategy and provides important recommendations for policymakers in Congress and the Administration. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, 2011. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 19, 2011 at: http://www.grassley.senate.gov/judiciary/upload/Drug-Caucus-09-22-11-Responding-to-Violence-in-Central-America-2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://www.grassley.senate.gov/judiciary/upload/Drug-Caucus-09-22-11-Responding-to-Violence-in-Central-America-2011.pdf Shelf Number: 123407 Keywords: Drug Control Policy Drug Trafficking Homicides Violence (Central America) Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Demombynes, Gabriel Title: Drug Trafficking and Violence in Central American and Beyond Summary: This paper examines the relationship between narcotics trafficking and violence in Central America. The first part of the paper addresses particular questions posed for the 2011 World Development Report and examines several competing hypothesis on the drivers of crime in Central America. A key finding is that areas exposed to intense narcotics trafficking in Central America suffer from higher homicide rates. Drug trafficking has corrupted state institutions, which have been overwhelmed by the resources deployed by trafficking organizations. The second part of the paper reviews the reasons drug trafficking and anti-trafficking enforcement are associated with violence in general and considers policy options. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: World Development Report 2011 Background Case Study: Accessed November 19, 2011 at: http://wdr2011.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/WDR_2011_Case_Study_Trafficking_Violence.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://wdr2011.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/WDR_2011_Case_Study_Trafficking_Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 123408 Keywords: Drug Trafficking (Central America) Drug Trafficking Control Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Almen, Daniel Title: Long Term Unemployment and Violent Crimes - Using Post-2000 Data to Reinvestigate the Relationship Between Unemployment and Crime Summary: This study reinvestigates the relationship between unemployment and crime. By being the first study to use long-term unemployment, it contributes unique findings. Moreover, with a Swedish panel consisting of 288 municipalities and annual data from 1997 to 2009, the relationship is investigated for the first time with aggregate post-2000 data. The results show that long-term unemployment exhibits a strong association with violent crimes in addition to property crimes, highlighting a potential gap in the conventional theories of economics of crime. The point-estimate of long-term unemployment for violent crimes is between 1.5 and 4, and for property crimes it is between 1.3 and 2.3. Thus, long-term unemployment identifies a marginal group for committing crimes, particularly violent crimes, better than total unemployment does. Long-term unemployment plausibly creates a feeling of alienation that fosters violent and other non-rational behaviors. Details: Lund, Sweden: Department of Economics, Lund University, 2011. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Papers, Department of Economics, Lund University, No. 2011:34: Accessed November 23, 2011 at: http://www.nek.lu.se/publications/workpap/papers/WP11_34.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Sweden URL: http://www.nek.lu.se/publications/workpap/papers/WP11_34.pdf Shelf Number: 123446 Keywords: Economics and Crime Unemployment and Crime (Sweden) Violent Crime

Author: Scotland. Violence Reduction Unit Title: The Violence Must Stop: Glasgow's Community Initiative to Reduce Violence: Second Year Report Summary: The initiative is a focused deterrence strategy modelled on the Boston Ceasefire project and the Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence. The CIRV model establishes a partnership among police, social services, education, housing and community safety services along with the local community and delivers a clear message to established street gangs: the violence must stop. Following the success of such strategies internationally, Scotland’s national Violence Reduction Unit, together with the Scottish Government, has been testing the concept in Glasgow’s east end since October 2008, extending the project to the north of the city during 2009. CIRV, the VRU’s groundbreaking gangs’ initiative has helped reduce gang violence in Glasgow by almost 50%. To date, 400 gang members have signed up to CIRV, which operates in Glasgow’s east end and north side. Latest figures show violent offending by those who have signed up to CIRV has reduced by 46%, rising to 73% amongst those who undertook CIRV’s most intensive programmes. Details: Glasgow: Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, 2011(?). 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 26, 2011 at: http://www.actiononviolence.co.uk/content/cirv-helps-reduce-glasgow-gang-violence Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.actiononviolence.co.uk/content/cirv-helps-reduce-glasgow-gang-violence Shelf Number: 123455 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs (Scotland) Violent Crime

Author: Silverman, Carol Title: The Consequences of Structural Racism, Concentrated Poverty and Violence on Young Men and Boys of Color Summary: This brief examines the broader structural and institutional elements that research implicates as the root causes of violence among boys and young men of color. It includes policy solutions and emerging and promising practices that respond to the primacy of broader structural issues, including structural racism. The brief also highlights organizations seeking to change conditions in their communities. Details: Berkeley, CA: Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, University of California, Berkeley Law School, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed November 29, 2011 at: http://www.boysandmenofcolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Youth-Violence-for-Boys-and-Men-of-Color-Research-Brief.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.boysandmenofcolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Youth-Violence-for-Boys-and-Men-of-Color-Research-Brief.pdf Shelf Number: 123464 Keywords: African Americans Delinquency Prevention Poverty Racism Restorative Justice Socioeconomic Status Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Derks, Maria Title: A Community Dilemma: DDR and the Changing Face of Violence in Colombia Summary: Colombia has stood at the forefront of debate across Latin America and the world on how chronic armed violence can be combated. Its programmes of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have aimed to put over 50,000 ex-combatants from paramilitary forces and guerrilla movements back into civilian life. But a rising tide of criminal violence has swept up former paramilitary fighters and is seizing control of Colombia’s many sources of illicit wealth, with cocaine production and trafficking at their heart. While thousands are still enrolled in reintegration courses, this paper asks what more the Colombian government, civil society and the international community can do to ensure that the demobilization process does not end in failure. The paper, based on extensive field research, argues that an essential first step is to ensure local communities are engaged, respected and protected. Details: The Hague: Conflict Research Unit, Netherlands Institute for International Relations 'Clingendael', 2011. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2011 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/cru/news/2011/20110707_a_community_dilemma_ddr_and_the_changing_face_of_violence_in_colombia.html Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/cru/news/2011/20110707_a_community_dilemma_ddr_and_the_changing_face_of_violence_in_colombia.html Shelf Number: 123489 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Human Trafficking Paramilitary Groups Violence (Colombia) Violent Crime

Author: Erikson, Bryan Title: Crimes in Northern Burma: Results from a Fact-Finding Mission to Kachin State Summary: On 9 June 2011, civil war broke out in northern Burma between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), ending a 17-year long ceasefire agreement. This report presents data collected from a Partners investigation in southern Kachin State, Burma in October 2011. The testimony of witnesses and on-site photographs reveal multiple acts perpetrated by Burma Army battalions 74 and 276 against ethnic Kachin civilians that potentially amount to war crimes and other extreme crimes. These acts include torture, extrajudicial killing, the specific targeting of civilians, human shielding, unlawful arrest, unlawful detention, forced labor, forced relocation, displacement, property theft and property destruction. Witnesses reported that Burma Army soldiers entered Nam Lim Pa village on 8 October 2011. Men were arrested and detained for forced labor. Women and children were detained in the Roman Catholic church compound against their will and without provocation or expressed reason. Violent injuries demonstrate signs of extreme physical abuse and strongly suggest the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering while in custody. Civilian casualties included torture and execution. Eyewitness reports indicate no Kachin Independence Army presence during the time of the attacks. Villagers were forcibly relocated and displaced by armed soldiers. Houses, offices and churches were robbed and vandalized, all without justification. At least one home was robbed and burned to the ground while its owner was arrested and detained. The results from this fact-finding mission to Kachin State reveal evidence of crimes that potentially amount to war crimes, perpetrated by the Burma Army against ethnic Kachin civilians and their properties in October 2011. Based on the incidents documented in this report, the Burma Army is in contravention of its legal obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Considering the nature and scale of these acts in combination with documented abuses in the broader civil war in Kachin State, the actions of the Burma government and the Burma Army may also amount to other serious violations, including crimes against humanity. Those responsible must be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions. Partners makes the following key recommendations: To the Burma government and the Burma Army — Cease targeting civilians in the civil war in northern Burma and other ethnic areas, and respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law. — Permit independent, impartial, and credible investigations of human rights violations. — Develop a legal framework to investigate, prosecute and address allegations of abuse. — Allow United Nations and humanitarian agencies unfettered access to conflict-affected communities. To the International Community — Support a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry into international crimes in Burma, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana. — Engage the Burmese authorities on serious human rights violations occurring in the country with an emphasis on accountability. To UN agencies and the Donor Community — Support and coordinate activities with Burma-based and border-based humanitarian agencies working with conflict-affected communities. — Urge the Burma government to increase access to at-risk civilian populations and all populations of internally displaced persons. Details: Partner's Relief & Development, 2011. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://partnersworld.org/usa/images/stories/crimes_in_northern_burma/crimes_in_northern_burma.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Burma URL: http://partnersworld.org/usa/images/stories/crimes_in_northern_burma/crimes_in_northern_burma.pdf Shelf Number: 123596 Keywords: Extrajudicial Killings Human Rights (Burma) Torture Violence Violent Crime

Author: Taylor, Alice Title: Women and the City: Examining the Gender Impact of Violence and Urbanisation. A Comparative Study of Brazil, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Liberia and Nepal Summary: Utilising the participatory methodology of safety audits developed and tested by a range of organisations in the “safe cities movement”, the report looks into the lives of groups of women whose knowledge and views of their urban realities is central to creating safer cities. These include garment workers from urban factory areas in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, women attending universities in and around Monrovia in Liberia, and women informal vendors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to name a few. The research explores the ways violence and insecurity limit poor urban women’s mobility and their participation in society. Urbanisation can bring new opportunities, particularly in relation to employment and participation in organised groups. However, it also brings many challenges. Across the world, women experience violence or the fear of violence on a daily basis, travelling to and from work, taking their children to schools and travelling to and from markets. Moreover, urban men and women experience violence differently. They also experience and perceive protection and safety differently. Analysing these differences is a central first step to guaranteeing women’s rights to freedom from violence or the threat of violence in urban areas. From an urban planning perspective, cities often struggle to maintain services and infrastructure that adequately meet the needs and are within reach of their growing populations. Specific barriers are experienced by the poor and particularly by poor women. In this research, the challenges faced by women often reflect the safety and health consequences that some migrants face in the process of rural to urban migration, such as lack of access to decent work opportunities, poor access to services and inadequate transportation. However, only too often, the challenges faced by women in cities are interpreted or excused as women’s fault, rather than the result of urban design that fails to take into account gendered impacts. For example, such violence may be excused on the basis of a woman’s choice of dress or her decision to travel alone, at night, unaccompanied by a male. Examining the gender impacts of urbanisation is central to informing programmes and policies that reflect women’s realities and promote women’s right to the city. Details: Johannesburg, South Africa: ActionAid, 2011. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://www.actionaid.org/publications/women-and-city-examining-gender-impact-violence-and-urbanisation Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.actionaid.org/publications/women-and-city-examining-gender-impact-violence-and-urbanisation Shelf Number: 123613 Keywords: Fear of Crime Female Victims Urban Crime Urban Design Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: Bringing the State to the Slum: Confronting Organized Crime and Urban Violence in Latin America Lessons for Law Enforcement and Policymakers Summary: Public safety is increasingly determined by crime and security in urban spaces. How the public safety problem in urban spaces is dealt with in the 21st century as urbanization intensifies will determine citizens’ perceptions of the accountability and effectiveness of the state in upholding the social contract between the citizens and the state. Major cities of the world, and the provision of security and order within them, will increasingly play a major role in the 21st century distribution of global power. In many of the world’s major cities, law enforcement and social development have not caught up with the pace of urbanization, and there is a deep and growing bifurcation between developed and reasonably safe sectors of economic growth and social advancement and slums stuck in a trap of poverty, marginalization, and violence. Addressing the violence and lifting the slums from this trap will be among the major challenges for many governments. Aerial view of Venezuela's bigest slum of Petare in Caracas September 1, 2010. There are many forms of urban violence. This article presents some of the key law enforcement and socioeconomic policy lessons from one type of response to urban slums controlled by non-state actors: namely, when the government resorts to physically retaking urban spaces that had been ruled by criminal or insurgent groups and where the state’s presence had been inadequate or sometimes altogether nonexistent. Its focus is on Latin America—specifically Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Jamaica; but its findings apply more broadly and are informed by similar dynamics between non-state actors and state policies in places like Karachi, Pakistan, and Johannesburg, South Africa. In response to a crime epidemic afflicting Latin America since the early 1990s, several countries in the region have resorted to using heavily-armed police or military units to physically retake territories controlled de facto by criminal or insurgent groups. After a period of resumed state control, the heavily-armed units hand law enforcement functions in the retaken territories to regular police forces, with the hope that the territories and their populations will remain under the control of the state. To a varying degree, intensity, and consistency, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Jamaica have adopted such policies since 2000. During such operations, governments need to pursue two interrelated objectives: to better establish the state’s physical presence and to realign the allegiance of the population in those areas toward the state and away from the non-state criminal entities. From the perspective of law enforcement, such operations entail several critical decisions: whether or not to announce the force insertion in advance; how to generate local intelligence; and when to hand over law enforcement to regular or community police forces. With respect to announcing the force insertion in advance, the element of surprise and the ability to capture key leaders of the criminal organizations has to be traded off against the ability to minimize civilian casualties and force levels. The latter, however, may allow criminals to hide and escape capture. Governments thus must decide whether they merely seek to displace criminal groups to other areas or maximize their decapitation capacity. Intelligence flows rarely come from the population. Often, rival criminal groups are the best source of intelligence. However, cooperation between the state and such groups that goes beyond using vetted intelligence provided by the groups, such as the government’s tolerance for militias, compromises the rule-of-law integrity of the state and ultimately can eviscerate even public safety gains. Sustaining security after initial clearing operations is, at times, even more challenging than conducting the initial clearing operations. Although unlike the heavily-armed forces, traditional police forces, especially if designed as community police, have the capacity to develop trust by the community and ultimately to focus on crime prevention, developing such trust often takes a long time. To develop the community’s trust, regular police forces need to conduct frequent on-foot patrols with intensive nonthreatening interactions with the population and minimize the use of force. Moreover, sufficiently robust patrol units need to be placed in designated beats for substantial amounts of time, often at least over a year. Ideally, police develop not only local police forces, but community-based and problem-oriented policing as well. Establishing oversight mechanisms, including joint police-citizen boards, further facilitates building community trust in the police. After the disruption of the established criminal order, street crime often significantly rises and both the heavily-armed and community-police units often struggle to contain it. The increase in street crime alienates the population of the retaken territory from the state. Thus, developing a capacity to address street crime is critical. Addressing street crime, especially when through problem-oriented policing approaches, also often tends to be relatively simple and inexpensive. Moreover, preventing at least some street crime through such measures allows police forces to concentrate on more complex street and organized crime. Moreover, community police units tend to be vulnerable (especially initially) to efforts by displaced criminals to reoccupy the cleared territories. Ceding a cleared territory back to criminal groups is extremely costly in terms of losing any established trust of the local population and being able to resurrect it later. Rather than operating on a predetermined handover schedule, a careful assessment of the relative strength of regular police and the criminal groups following clearing operations is likely to be a better guide for timing the handover from heavy forces to regular police units. Cleared territories often experience not only a peace dividend, but also a peace deficit—in the rise new serious crime (in addition to street crime). Newly-valuable land and other previously- inaccessible resources can lead to land speculation and forced displacement; various other forms of new crime can also significantly rise. Community police forces often struggle to cope with such crime, especially as it is frequently linked to legal businesses outside of their area of operation. Such new crime often receives little to no attention in the design of the operations to retake territories from criminal groups. But without developing an effective response to such new crime, the public-safety gains from the clearing operations can be completely lost. Instead of countering the causes of illegal economies and violent organized crime through strengthening effective and accountable state presence, government intervention may only alter the form of criminality and displace existing problems to other areas. Expanding the justice system to cover areas where no courts were previously present usually takes considerable time. As a result, a dispute-resolution vacuum often emerges immediately following the clearing operations. This near-term absence of dispute resolution processes and enforcement is one impetus for the rise of crime and disorder in the post-clearing phase. One of the acute dilemmas encountered by law enforcement forces in the retaken territory and managers of the operation is whether or not, how quickly, and in what form to suppress illegal economies that exist in the retaken territory. There may be several reasons why the state would want to suppress the illegal economy. These include the leakage of illicit flows to other locales, a belief that the profitability of illicit profits will dissuade slum residents from switching to legal economies, and a fear that the persistence of illegal economies will pull in new violence and perpetuate anti-social and anti-state values among the slum residents.However, suppressing local illegal economies in urban spaces comes with significant costs, such as massive drops in household income of slum residents, new alienation of the population from the state, expansion of criminal activity and the rise of extortion, and the dissipation of law enforcement focus. Generating legal alternative livelihoods in urban spaces requires that the economic development strategy addresses all the structural drivers of illegal economic production. Beyond providing for security and the rule of law, such a comprehensive approach requires that stable property rights be established, access to microcredit developed, access to education and health care expanded, and crucial infrastructure deficiencies redressed. Often the most challenging problem for economic development in such situations is to generate sustainable legal jobs. Limited, isolated, discreet interventions, even when responsive to the wishes of the local community, are particularly ineffective in changing socioeconomic dynamics in a marginalized community. They do not have the capacity to alter basic social patterns or generate jobs in the community, and therefore, do not reduce crime. If they amount largely to patronage handouts, they can generate complex negative equilibria between criminal and official political patrons or a crime-pays type of mentality. Saturating an area with money in order to buy the political allegiance of the population produces neither sustainable economic development nor desirable social and political practices. Such massive cash infusions distort the local economy, undermine local administration, and can fuel corruption, new crime (such as extortion and resource theft), and moral hazard. Economic development of marginalized urban spaces is rarely politically neutral. While it does strengthen marginalized communities, it has the potential to undermine established powerbrokers (especially those who straddle the crime world and the official political world) by depriving them of their agent-patron role. Such powerbrokers, therefore, have an interest in hampering and limiting the extent to which the state is extended to the marginalized areas. Coordination across different line-ministries and agencies, and across different levels of government is often difficult to achieve, but failure to achieve good coordination can undermine the entire effort. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings Institute, Latin America Initiative, 2011. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 18, 2012 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/1205_latin_america_slums_felbabbrown/1205_latin_america_slums_felbabbrown.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/1205_latin_america_slums_felbabbrown/1205_latin_america_slums_felbabbrown.pdf Shelf Number: 123652 Keywords: Orbanized Crime (Latin America) Slums Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Dell, Melissa Title: Trafficking Networks and the Mexican Drug War Summary: Drug trade-related violence has escalated dramatically in Mexico during the past five years, claiming 40,000 lives and raising concerns about the capacity of the Mexican state to monopolize violence. This study examines how drug traffickers' economic objectives influence the direct and spillover effects of Mexican policy towards the drug trade. By exploiting variation from close mayoral elections and a network model of drug trafficking, the study develops three sets of results. First, regression discontinuity estimates show that drug trade-related violence in a municipality increases substantially after the close election of a mayor from the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which has spearheaded the war on drug trafficking. This violence consists primarily of individuals involved in the drug trade killing each other. The empirical evidence suggests that the violence reflects rival traffickers' attempts to wrest control of territories after crackdowns initiated by PAN mayors have challenged the incumbent criminals. Second, the study accurately predicts diversion of drug traffic following close PAN victories. It does this by estimating a model of equilibrium routes for trafficking drugs across the Mexican road network to the U.S. When drug traffic is diverted to other municipalities, drug trade-related violence in these municipalities increases. Moreover, female labor force participation and informal sector wages fall, corroborating qualitative evidence that traffickers extort informal sector producers. Finally, the study uses the trafficking model and estimated spillover effects to examine the allocation of law enforcement resources. Overall, the results demonstrate how traffickers' economic objectives and constraints imposed by the routes network affect the policy outcomes of the Mexican Drug War. Details: Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Seminar in series: Job Market Talks : Accessed January 26, 2012 at: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/7398 Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://econ-www.mit.edu/files/7398 Shelf Number: 123761 Keywords: Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Networks Violent Crime

Author: Hale, Gary J. Title: A "Failed State" in Mexico: Tamaulipas Declares Itself Ungovernable Summary: Mexico finds itself in a precarious position, given the level of victimization that the drug cartel wars are imposing on its citizens and the resultant loss of civil authority that is increasingly being eroded by pressures placed on local and state governments by drug trafficking organizations. The larger part of the violence is occurring in two regions in Mexico - namely, the Pacific states, where drugs and chemicals are introduced into the country; and the northern border, where those same illegal commodities are ultimately exported into the United States. Criminality is visibly gaining ground over local governments, gradually subverting the abilities of mayors and governors to function effectively. Drug cartels are controlling police assets from behind the barrel of a gun or with more money than public coffers can afford, thereby negating the ability of elected officials to direct security resources from the chambers of city halls and state government houses. The cartels make and enforce their own rules, often with little to no interference from legitimate municipal authorities. Mexican officials continue being threatened, kidnapped, tortured, and killed, most often with impunity, and common folk are in fear, unable to freely carry on the tasks of daily living because of the war that endlessly rages around them. The implications of an admitted loss of governmental control in the Mexico border area stretching from Nueva Ciudad Guerrero in the northwest to Matamoros in the southeast, and beyond to Monterrey and Ciudad Juarez is troubling not only because the cartels are victimizing anyone who crosses their path, or that drug smuggling is occurring despite warring among the cartels and between the cartels and the government, but because the adjacent states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Chihuahua could readily suffer the same loss of control if the strength and influence of the cartels are not reversed and subsequently eliminated. Details: Houston, TX: James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, 2011. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at http://www.bakerinstitute.org/publications/DRUG-pub-HaleTamaulipasFailedState-072611.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.bakerinstitute.org/publications/DRUG-pub-HaleTamaulipasFailedState-072611.pdf Shelf Number: 123911 Keywords: Drug Cartels (Mexico) Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Drug Violence Violent Crime

Author: Morris, Patrice K. Title: An Analysis of Homicide in Urban Jamaica Summary: This dissertation investigates the social structural factors associated with differential levels of homicide across neighborhoods in urban Jamaica, a Caribbean country with exceptionally high levels of homicide offending and victimization. It fills a void as most of the literature in homicide studies, and most research has been conducted in advanced industrialized countries, and very little in developing countries. Using homicide, census, and electoral data, this dissertation identifies the structural correlates of homicide in the Kingston Metropolitan Area. This dissertation further explores the applicability of two leading neighborhood-level theoretical models--social disorganization and defended neighborhood perspectives--in the Jamaican social context. Results suggest that political civic engagement and poverty are most salient in explaining homicides in urban Jamaica. Homicides are more likely in politically organized neighborhoods with high levels of informal social control and social cohesion. Unlike studies in the United States, this study finds that homicide in urban Jamaica is not related to neighborhood social disorganization. The dissertation concludes with the theoretical implications of the findings, policy suggestions, and directions for future research. Details: Newark, NJ: Rutgers University, School of Criminal Justice, 2010. 154p. Source: Resource: Dissertation: Available from the Don M. Gottfredson Library, Rutgers University Year: 2010 Country: Jamaica URL: Shelf Number: 117377 Keywords: Homicide (Jamaica) Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Cramer, Clayton E. Title: Tough Targets: When Criminals Face Armed Resistance from Citizens Summary: The ostensible purpose of gun control legislation is to reduce firearm deaths and injuries. The restriction of access to firearms will make criminals unable to use guns to shoot people. Gun control laws will also reduce the number of accidental shootings. Those are the desired effects, at least in theory. It is important, however, for conscientious policymakers to consider not only the stated goals of gun control regulations, but the actual results that they produce. What would be the effect of depriving ordinary, law-abiding citizens from keeping arms for self-defense? One result seems certain: the law-abiding would be at a distinct disadvantage should criminals acquire guns from underground markets. After all, it is simply not possible for police officers to get to every scene where they are urgently needed. Outside of criminology circles, relatively few people can reasonably estimate how often people use guns to fend off criminal attacks. If policymakers are truly interested in harm reduction, they should pause to consider how many crimes—murders, rapes, assaults, robberies—are thwarted each year by ordinary persons with guns. The estimates of defensive gun use range between the tens of thousands to as high as two million each year. This paper uses a collection of news reports of self-defense with guns over an eight-year period to survey the circumstances and outcomes of defensive gun uses in America. Federal and state lawmakers often oppose repealing or amending laws governing the ownership or carrying of guns. That opposition is typically based on assumptions that the average citizen is incapable of successfully employing a gun in self-defense or that possession of a gun in public will tempt people to violence in “road rage” or other contentious situations. Those assumptions are false. The vast majority of gun owners are ethical and competent. That means tens of thousands of crimes are prevented each year by ordinary citizens with guns. Details: Washington, DC: CATO Institute, 2012. 58p. Source: White Paper: Internet Resource: Accessed on February 3, 2012 at http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/WP-Tough-Targets.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/WP-Tough-Targets.pdf Shelf Number: 123938 Keywords: Armed Violence Firearms Gun Control Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Towers, Jude Title: Measuring the impact of cuts in public expenditure on the provision of services to prevent violence against women and girls Summary: A report by leading academic Professor Sylvia Walby, UNESCO Chair in Gender Research, and Jude Towers at Lancaster University, raises concern about the implications of public expenditure reductions for the provision of local violence against women services. This report, commissioned by the Northern Rock Foundation and Trust for London, examines the impact of public expenditure cuts on services to prevent violence against women and girls. The data was drawn from around 20 published and previously unpublished sources. Details: Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Northern Rock Foundation, 2012. 58p. Source: Report for Northern Rock Foundation and Trust for London: Internet Resource: Accessed on February 3, 2012 at http://www.nr-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Measuring-the-impact-of-cuts-in-public-expenditure-on-the-provision-of-services-to-prevent-violence-against-women-and-girls-Full-Report-2.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nr-foundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Measuring-the-impact-of-cuts-in-public-expenditure-on-the-provision-of-services-to-prevent-violence-against-women-and-girls-Full-Report-2.pdf Shelf Number: 123940 Keywords: Crime Prevention Expenditures in Criminal Justice Female Victims Violent Crime

Author: Scambury, James Title: Groups, gangs, and armed violence in Timor-Leste Summary: Armed groups and gangs are not a new phenomenon in Timor-Leste, but evolved from clandestine resistance groups during the Indonesian colonial period to a heterogeneous multitude of collectives, including disaffected veterans, clandestine groups, political fronts, martial arts groups (MAGs), village-based gangs, youth collectives, and security organizations. Nine years after the end of the Indonesian occupation, the fact that gangs have diversified and multiplied is a testament to a range of social tensions in Timorese society and the continued weakness of the state and its institutions. During the occupation these groups protected their communities from Indonesian security forces and the latter’s proxies; now they protect their communities from one another. This Issue Brief reviews the presence and roles of gangs in Timor-Leste. In doing so, it examines their recent growth, the threats they pose, and their use of and access to weapons, in particular small arms. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Timor-Leste Armed Violence Assessment, Small Arms Survey, 2009. 8p. Source: TLAVA Issue Brief No. 2: Internet Resource: Accessed on February 3, 2012 at http://www.timor-leste-violence.org/pdfs/Timor-Leste-Violence-IB2-ENGLISH.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://www.timor-leste-violence.org/pdfs/Timor-Leste-Violence-IB2-ENGLISH.pdf Shelf Number: 123947 Keywords: Armed Violence Firearms Gangs (Timor-Leste) Vigilantism Violent Crime

Author: Kardam, Filiz Title: The Dynamics of Honor Killings in Turkey: Prospects for Action Summary: This report summarizes and evaluates qualitative research about so-called 'honour killings'. It focused the different perceptions of honour and the consequences faced by people engaged in 'dishonourable conduct'. It also analyzes the way the concept of dishonour is related to social structures, lifestyles and mental constructs. The information is derived from interviews and group discussions conducted in four Turkish cities with relatively high numbers of such murders. The report includes proposals for solutions to the problem and suggestions for action. Details: Ankara, Turkey: UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund, 2007. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 3, 2012 at http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2007/honourkillings.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Turkey URL: http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2007/honourkillings.pdf Shelf Number: 123951 Keywords: Honor Killings (Turkey) Risk Assessment Violent Crime

Author: Frost, Emilia Title: Inclusive Security, Inclusive Cities Summary: For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population resides in urban centres. It is also estimated that virtually all population growth over the next 25 to 30 years will occur in cities (UN-HABITAT, 2008a, p.9). As urban areas have grown, so has the problem of urban armed violence. While urban areas are not necessarily more violent or less safe than rural areas, their size concentrates victims of violence (OECD, 2011, p. 13; World Bank, 2011a, p. 17). Armed violence thus represents a challenge not only for states, but also for local government authorities, particularly at the city level. Local government agendas typically feature security and the protection from violence as key campaigning and public administration issues. Security concerns are not limited to the realm of national governments; at the local level, residents now frequently demand local security provisions, violence reduction programming, protection from violent crime, and victim assistance. Meeting these demands by providing the required services can be costly. In addition, high levels of urban violence impede economic and social development and undermine local governance, trapping ‘the poorest population in a dangerous cycle of poverty and violence’ (World Bank, 2011a, p. 1). Still, cities continue to draw numerous migrants with an offer of greater economic and social opportunities. The simultaneous growth of cities and urban violence thus calls for more concerted efforts to promote sustainable development as well as effective armed violence reduction and prevention policies. The first section of this policy paper highlights the particularities of urban armed violence and its detrimental impact on development. The following section presents a selection of the most critical risks—inequality, firearms proliferation, and limited government capacity. The paper then proposes an agenda for cooperation between the Geneva Declaration and city governments around the world, outlining several concrete steps for more effective armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP) strategies in urban areas. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Geneva Declaration Secretariate, Small Arms Survey, 2011. 8p Source: Policy Brief: Internet Resource: Accessed February 5, 2012 at http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Policy-paper/GD_Inclusive_Cities_-_English.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/Policy-paper/GD_Inclusive_Cities_-_English.pdf Shelf Number: 123982 Keywords: Armed Violence Urban Areas Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Lindo, Jason M. Title: Drawn into Violence: Evidence on 'What Makes a Criminal' from the Vietnam Draft Lotteries Summary: Draft lottery number assignment during the Vietnam Era provides a natural experiment to examine the effects of military service on crime. Using exact dates of birth for inmates in state and federal prisons in 1979, 1986, and 1991, we find that draft eligibility increases incarceration for violent crimes but decreases incarceration for non-violent crimes among whites. This is particularly evident in 1979, where two-sample instrumental variable estimates indicate that military service increases the probability of incarceration for a violent crime by 0.34 percentage points and decreases the probability of incarceration for a nonviolent crime by 0.30 percentage points. We conduct two falsification tests, one that applies each of the three binding lotteries to unaffected cohorts and another that considers the effects of lotteries that were not used to draft servicemen. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 17818: Accessed February 6, 2012 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17818.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17818.pdf Shelf Number: 123995 Keywords: Military Service Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: ILGA-Europe Title: Research on the legal ground and the political arguments for inclusive EU legislation against bias violence and hatred Summary: The following analysis examines the question of whether the European Union (‘EU’) has competence to adopt legislation on crimes motivated by hatred (‘hate crimes’) against the specifi ed groups listed in Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), which is the legal base for adopting legislation to combat discrimination on grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age and religion. To place this issue in context, the analysis first of all examines the overall legal framework for criminal law in the European Union (section 1), and then also examines the legal framework relating to human rights protection in the EU (section 2), in particular examining the rights to equality and non-discrimination. After an assessment of the issue of competence (section 3), the analysis then examines the prospects for adoption of EU legislation with a limited number of Member States (section 4), and then examines the possibility of adopting legislation outside of the EU legal framework entirely, in particular within the Council of Europe legal framework (section 5). The Annex to this report sets out a simplified flow-chart of the EU’s decision-making procedures, both to adopt legislation and to authorise ‘enhanced cooperation’ (ie adoption of the legislation among only a limited number of Member States). It is assumed throughout this analysis that legislation on homophobic hate crimes could or should also be drawn up in conjunction with criminal law legislation related to other forms of discrimination not yet addressed by EU law (as regards criminal law), for example as regards off ences deriving from sexism or religious bigotry. Addressing all of these forms of discrimination together would avoid perpetuating the ‘hierarchy of discrimination’ which exists in EU law (in that some of the groups listed in Article 19 TFEU enjoy more protection than others as regards EU law). However, the analysis does not address the possibility of the EU adopting measures to address hate crimes which are committed on grounds which are not listed in Article 19 TFEU. Details: Brussels, Belgium: ILGA-Europe, 2011. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 10, 2012 at http://www.msmgf.org/files/msmgf//Advocacy/ResearchonlegalgroundsforEUhatelegislationoct11jnt.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://www.msmgf.org/files/msmgf//Advocacy/ResearchonlegalgroundsforEUhatelegislationoct11jnt.pdf Shelf Number: 124069 Keywords: Bias Crime Hate Crime Legislation (Europe) Violent Crime

Author: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Title: Investing in Security: A Global Assessment of Armed Violence Reduction Initiatives Summary: Conservative estimates indicate that at least 740 000 men, women, youth and children die each year as a result of armed violence, most of them in low- and medium-income settings (Krause, Muggah, Wenmann 2008). The majority of these deaths occur in situations other than war, though armed conflicts continue to generate a high incidence of casualties. Approaches to preventing and reducing these deaths and related suffering are becoming increasingly important on the international agenda. The United Nations (UN) Secretary General (2009) and UN General Assembly (2008) highlighted the relationships between armed violence and under-development and various high-level diplomatic processes are drawing more attention to promising solutions. In spite of the global preoccupation with the costs and consequences of armed violence, comparatively little evidence exists about how to stem its risks and effects. Virtually no information is available on armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP) interventions, much less their effectiveness. This report aims to fill this gap. It seeks to generate more understanding of what works and what does not when it comes to armed violence reduction and prevention (AVRP), to stimulate further evaluation and to contribute to more effective and efficient policies and programmes. The report is based on a large-scale mapping of AVRP activities around the world, focusing primarily on programming trends in six countries – Brazil, Burundi, Colombia, Liberia, South Africa and Timor-Leste. These countries represent the very different programming contexts – from high rates of urban criminal violence to protracted post-conflict insecurity – in which development practitioners are currently engaged. While offering new data and analysis, this assessment builds directly on the report Armed Violence Reduction – Enabling Development produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Network on Conflict and Fragility (OECD, 2009a). An important evolution of AVRP programming in all six countries over the past decade was detected. Approximately two-thirds of all armed violence prevention and reduction activities reviewed in Brazil occurred between 2005 and 2010. Likewise, in Burundi, Colombia, Liberia, and Timor-Leste, nearly all initiatives began after 2005. Not only does the report highlight the importance of internationally-mediated peace processes and security promotion efforts as important entry points for preventing and reducing violence, it highlights the significant investments made by national governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in more developmental approaches to AVRP over the past decade. This report draws attention to the experimentation and innovation of AVRP initiatives. It finds that many actors are already actively engaged in “direct” and “indirect” AVRP activities, even if they label their initiatives by a different name. Many different practical approaches are used in AVRP activities to achieve the common objective of improving safety and security. Not only are the defence, police and justice sectors involved, but also specialists involved in urban planning, population health, tertiary and secondary education and youth programming. What many have in common is the experience of pursuing common comprehensive interventions to improve safety and security. Implementing agencies are similarly varied, ranging from multilateral and bilateral agencies to governments, NGOs and private organisations engaged in relief, development and social entrepreneurship. The most promising AVRP activities are forged on the basis of inter-sectoral partnerships and evidencebased approaches, and operate simultaneously at the local and national levels. Details: Paris: OECD, 2011. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2012 at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/0/48927716.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/10/0/48927716.pdf Shelf Number: 124128 Keywords: Armed Violence Criminal Violence Homicides Urban Areas Violent Crime

Author: Gibson, Chris L. Title: Unpacking the Influence of Neighborhood Context and Antisocial Propensity on Violent Victimization of Children and Adolescents in Chicago Summary: This research combines social disorganization and self-control theories to understand violent victimization among children and adolescents. In doing so, several research questions are investigated to explore the independent and interactive influences that neighborhood disadvantage and low self-control have on violent victimization risk. Data from the 9, 12, and 15-year old cohorts of the Longitudinal Cohort Study in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN-LCS) were used in this study. Data analyzed were from self-reports of children, adolescents, and their primary caregivers during waves 1 and 2 of the longitudinal data collection effort. In addition, neighborhood structural characteristics from the U.S. Census were also analyzed. Results from a combination of hierarchical generalized linear models and multivariate logistic regression models with robust standard errors revealed that violent victimization did not significantly vary across neighborhoods, and independent of various behavioral and lifestyle choices made by children and adolescents, low self-control increased the risk for becoming a victim of violence. Additionally, choices made by them also influenced their risk of violent victimization; those who reported engaging in violent offending, spending more time in unstructured activities, and having more delinquent peers had a higher risk of being a victim of violence. Further analysis shows that the association between low self-control and violent victimization risk varies across levels of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage in which youth live; low self-control’s influence in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods dissipated while it was amplified for those living in the least disadvantaged neighborhoods. Unstructured socializing with peers was the only factor that significantly influenced violent victimization risk across low, medium and high disadvantaged neighborhoods. Findings are consistent with a “social push” perspective, which suggests that disadvantaged environments provide social pressures that may override the influence of individual differences on vulnerability to violent victimization. Implications of this study’s findings are discussed as they relate to policy, prevention and theory; while also setting forth a research agenda on neighborhoods, antisocial traits, and violent victimization risk for future research. Details: Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 79p. Source: Final Report: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2012 at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237731.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237731.pdf Shelf Number: 124181 Keywords: Adolescents Crime Statistics Juvenile Victims Self-Report Studies Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Justice Center, The Council of State Governments Title: Justice Reinvestment in Oklahoma - Analysis and Policy Framework Summary: IN JANUARY 2011, GOVERNOR MARY FALLIN, Speaker of the House Kris Steele, Senate President Pro Tempore Brian Bingman, and Supreme Court Justice James Edmondson expressed interest in employing a justice reinvestment strategy, which is a data-driven approach to contain corrections spending and reinvest a portion of the savings generated in strategies that will increase public safety. These state leaders wrote to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Pew Center on the States (Pew) seeking intensive technical assistance, which was approved by BJA and Pew in May 2011. As a result, the Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG Justice Center) - the technical assistance provider working in partnership with BJA and Pew - launched a comprehensive analysis of the state's criminal justice system. This report summarizes the CSG Justice Center's work to address key issues that emerged from the quantitative and qualitative analyses. Policy options are organized around three strategies: 1) reducing violent crime, 2) improving supervision of people on probation, and 3) containing state spending on prisons. Details: New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2012. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://justicereinvestment.org/files/JR_OK_Analysis_Policy_Framework.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://justicereinvestment.org/files/JR_OK_Analysis_Policy_Framework.pdf Shelf Number: 124185 Keywords: Corrections (Oklahoma) Criminal Justice Administration Probation Supervision Violent Crime

Author: Wolf, Angela M. Title: Juvenile Call-ins Summary: Focused deterrence, also known as a “call-in,” is a strategy in which community stakeholder groups deliver a nonviolence message to community members who are most likely to commit violence. Call-ins rely on the partnership of community representatives, service providers, and law enforcement to collaboratively deliver a three-point message against violence: (1) violence affects everyone in the community and will not be tolerated; (2) the community cares about at risk individuals, and will provide services and assistance to those who need and want help; and (3) those who continue to commit violence despite this fair warning will face the full consequences of the law, along with the other members of their violent groups. Call-ins have been associated with substantial reductions in gun violence in Boston and Indianapolis (McGarrell, Chermak, Wilson, & Corsaro, 2006), and have become a widely used strategy for gang violence intervention throughout the country. As call-in strategies are implemented in more cities throughout the country, some cities are interested in applying focused deterrence to a new target population: high risk juveniles. Most call-ins did not originally include juveniles (Bonner, Worden, & McLean, 2008). Based on differences in age and legal technicalities such as privacy and parental consent requirements, juveniles must be treated differently than adults, and call-ins must be adjusted. This California Cities Gang Prevention Network bulletin draws on academic literature and the experiences of Network cities like Oxnard and Salinas, and other cities including Union City, California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina to provide information about juvenile call-ins. Also, to advise effective implementation of juvenile call-ins, this bulletin provides examples from cities that apply call-ins to juveniles, discusses how call-ins may differ for juveniles and adults, and discusses key elements of effective call-ins. Details: Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2011. 6p. Source: The California Cities Gange Prevention Network: Bulletin 23: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://www.ccgpn.org/Publications/CA%20Cities%20Bulletin%2023.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.ccgpn.org/Publications/CA%20Cities%20Bulletin%2023.pdf Shelf Number: 124194 Keywords: At-risk Youth Focused Deterrence Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime

Author: Washington Office on Latin America Title: Daring To Care: Community-Based Responses to Youth Gang Violence in Central America and Central American Immigrant Communities in the United States Summary: As the title indicates, this report identifies elements to successful anti-gang strategies and programs by highlighting the work of six gang prevention and intervention programs in the United States and the Central American region. WOLA concludes that the most effective responses to gang violence require a comprehensive approach that includes prevention programs that help young people in difficult situations meet their own needs, intervention programs that offer alternatives for those most attracted to gang life, rehabilitation for those who wish to leave gangs and law enforcement that deters crime and reduces violence. Youth gang violence is only one part of the spectrum of violent and criminal behavior that people in poor communities in the Americas experience – a spectrum that runs from intra-familial violence to the coercion of organized crime syndicates and to the rivalries of drug traffickers. Gangs are a highly visible part of the spectrum and one that receives significant attention from the media. However, gangs bear only part of the blame for the problems of crime and violence in poor communities. This is not meant to excuse or diminish the significance of the violent or criminal activity in which youth gangs engage. But an informed understanding of the nature of youth gangs, what they are and why they form, is necessary to formulate effective responses. As the title indicates, this report identifies elements to successful anti-gang strategies and programs by highlighting the work of six gang prevention and intervention programs in the United States and the Central American region. WOLA concludes that the most effective responses to gang violence require a comprehensive approach that includes prevention programs that help young people in difficult situations meet their own needs, intervention programs that offer alternatives for those most attracted to gang life, rehabilitation for those who wish to leave gangs and law enforcement that deters crime and reduces violence. Details: Washington, DC: Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), 2008. 48p. Source: A WOLA Special Report: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2012 at http://www.wola.org/sites/all/modules/download_rewriter/force_download.php?file=%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdownloadable%2FWOLA General/past/Daring to Care.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.wola.org/sites/all/modules/download_rewriter/force_download.php?file=%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fdownloadable%2FWOLA General/past/Daring to Care.pdf Shelf Number: 124204 Keywords: Immigrant Communities (Central America) Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Arnson, Cynthia J. Title: Organized Crime in Central America: The Northern Triangle Summary: Incidents such as the May 2011 massacre on a farm in Guatemala’s Petén region, resulting in the murder and decapitation by drug gangs of 27 peasant farmers and their families, serve to underscore the serious threat to human rights, democratic governance, and the rule of law posed by organized crime in Central America. The international community has begun to address the burgeoning crisis and commit significant resources to the fight against crime and violence; indeed, not since the Central American wars of the 1980s has the region commanded so much attention in the international arena. To better understand the nature, origins, and evolution of organized crime in Central America and the challenges it poses—and thereby contribute to the efforts of policy-makers and civil society to address it—the Latin American Program commissioned original research on the dynamics of organized crime in the three countries of the so-called Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—and on the broader regional context that links these case studies. This publication includes essays by Douglas Farah (El Salvador), Julie López (Guatemala), James Bosworth (Honduras), Steven Dudley, and Cynthia Arnson and Eric Olson (regional overviews) and is part of a series on the sub-regional dynamics of organized crime, focusing especially on the linkages between Central America, Mexico, and the Andean region as well as the growing insertion of Latin America in global transnational crime networks. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Latin America Program, 2011. 254p. Source: Woodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas #29: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2012 at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/LAP_single_page.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/LAP_single_page.pdf Shelf Number: 124216 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Organized Crime (Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Huhn, Sebastian Title: Discourses on Violence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua: Social Perceptions in Everyday Life Summary: Central America has the reputation of being a violent region with high crime rates, youth gangs, drug traffic, and ubiquitous insecurity. Politicians, the media, and social scientists in and outside the region often claim that the societies are in complete agreement with their judgment of the situation and that all society members are calling for law and order and social segregation. Focusing on Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, the paper analyzes the social perception of violence and crime. On the basis of essays written by secondary school students and interviews with citizens from all walks of life in the three countries, the paper points out how elite arguments on violence and crime are translated into everyday life, and what society members suggest be done to deal with these problems. The sources prove that there are noticeable hegemonic discourses on violence and crime in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Simultaneously, a majority of the respondents call for social and integrative solutions rather than the so-called “iron fist.” The repressive trend in Central American policies therefore does not necessarily receive the presumed affirmation asserted by many authorities on and in the region. Details: Hamburg, Germany: GIGA Research Programme, Violence, Power and Security, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), 2008. 31p. Source: GIGA Working Paper No. 81: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2012 at Year: 2008 Country: Central America URL: Shelf Number: 124224 Keywords: Costa Rica El Salvador Nicaragua Public Opinion Violence Violent Crime

Author: Hardy, Jeff Title: Understanding Crime in Urban and Rural Areas Summary: The Rural and Urban Area Classification 2004 provides a method of identifying issues specific to rural areas. The classification defines each census output area as urban, town and fringe, village or hamlet and isolated dwelling. Using this classification in conjunction with recorded crime data, arson data, the Leicester Shire Business Survey and Leicestershire County Council’s Citizens’ Panel enables a comparison of crime issues between the urban and rural areas of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Between 2002/03 and 2004/05 the total number of offences recorded by the police in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland had decreased. The largest percentage decrease was in the hamlet and isolated dwelling areas. The only increase in recorded offences was within the urban areas of Leicestershire County. The recorded offence rate per 1,000 resident population shows the likelihood of being a victim of crime in the most rural areas of Leicestershire and Rutland to be virtually the same as in the urban areas of the county (excluding Leicester City). Three-quarters of the population of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland live in urban areas, concentrated in a relatively small geographical area. More than three-quarters of offences recorded by Leicestershire Constabulary occur within these urban areas of the city and county. The report highlights that even though the volume of recorded offences is much higher in urban areas there are some clear differences in the crime issues that affect the urban and rural areas of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Violence against the person is a growing problem across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, being a bigger problem in urban areas compared to rural areas. The larger percentage increases in reported violence against the person offences suggest it is a growing problem outside the city urban areas. Vehicle crime is a relatively bigger problem for rural areas, with theft from motor vehicles accounting for double the proportion of offences in hamlet and isolated dwellings compared to city and county urban areas. Vehicle crime had the largest percentage decrease of all offence types across all of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland during the three year period. Rural areas had the largest percentage decrease in theft from motor vehicle offences over the three year period. Damage offences are a bigger problem in both county and city urban areas and town and fringe areas compared to more rural areas. There has been a considerable decrease in the number of reported damage offences in city urban areas in the last three years. In comparison, there is an upward trend in the recording of damage offences outside the city urban areas. Burglary other than dwelling offences have decreased across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland during the last three years. Burglary other than dwelling is a relatively bigger problem for rural areas, though the largest percentage decreases are outside the city urban areas. Theft offences account for the highest proportion of offences within villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings. Rural businesses are less likely to have been a victim of crime in the last 12 months compared to businesses located in city or county urban areas. The perceived likelihood of being a victim of violence against the person or burglary is a lot higher than the actual risk. The perceived risk of burglary in county urban areas is thirty times higher than the actual risk. The disparity between the perceived likelihood of being a victim of violence is greater in urban and town and fringe areas compared to villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings. Details: Leicester, UK: Leicester County Council, 2005. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2012 at http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/council_services_contacts/about_leicestershire/statistics/rural_crime_report.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/council_services_contacts/about_leicestershire/statistics/rural_crime_report.pdf Shelf Number: 124225 Keywords: Burglary Crime Statistics Rural Crime Urban Crime Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation Title: "I don't want another kid to die." Families of Victims Murdered by Juveniles Oppose Juvenile Executions Summary: The creation of the juvenile justice system rests on the belief that when a juvenile commits a crime a different kind of response is warranted as opposed to when an adult commits a crime. Therefore, juveniles typically receive sentences that focus on treatment rather than punishment, except in States that sentence juvenile offenders to death. In the United States, the opposition to the execution of juvenile offenders is growing with opinion polls showing that most people oppose the practice. This report examines the issue of the juvenile death penalty from the perspective of family members of victims killed by juvenile offenders and parents of juvenile offenders who have been executed. Individuals presented in this report are members of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation. This is a national organization of homicide victims’ family members opposing the death penalty in all cases. It demonstrates that the issues surrounding the juvenile death penalty are victims’ issues too. The report is a statement against state killing of juveniles, presented by those who know violent loss most intimately and have been most directly affected by juvenile crimes. The members of human rights organization, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation conclude that the juvenile death penalty has no place in a democratic society and that it is time to bring the law in line with the national consensus and abolish the juvenile death penalty. Details: Cambridge, MA: Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, 2004. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 3, 2012 at http://www.aclu.org/files/FilesPDFs/mvfr%20report.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclu.org/files/FilesPDFs/mvfr%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 124369 Keywords: Capital Punishment (U.S.) Death Penalty Homicide Juvenile Offenders Juvenile Victims Violent Crime

Author: Markowitz, Sara Title: Estimating the Relationship Between Alcohol Policies and Criminal Violence and Victimization Summary: Violence is one of the leading social problems in the United States. The development of appropriate public policies to curtail violence is confounded by the relationship between alcohol and violence. In this paper, we estimate the propensity of alcohol control policies to reduce the perpetration and victimization of criminal violence. We measure violence with data on individual level victimizations from the U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey. We examine the effects of a number of different alcohol control policies in reducing violent crime. These policies include the retail price of beer, drunk driving laws and penalties, keg laws, and serving and selling laws. We find some evidence of a negative relationship between alcohol prices and the probability of alcohol or drug related assault victimizations. However, we find no strong evidence that other alcohol policies are effective in reducing violent crimes. These results provide policy makers with guidance on potential approaches for reducing violence through alcohol beverage control. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. 39p. Source: NBER Working Paper Series 17918: Internet Resource: Accessed March 24, 2012 at http://www.nber.org/papers/w17918.pdf?new_window=1 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w17918.pdf?new_window=1 Shelf Number: 124730 Keywords: Alcohol Law Enforcement Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Patel, Deepali M. Title: Social and Economic Costs of Violence - Workshop Summary Summary: Violence not only causes physical and emotional damage, but also creates a social and economic burden on communities. Measuring these costs can be difficult, and most estimates only consider the direct economic effects of violence, such as productivity loss or the use of health care services. Beyond these clear-cut costs, however, the pain and suffering of violence can affect human and social development and increase the risk of chronic outcomes later in life. Communities and societies feel the effects of violence through loss of social cohesion, financial divestment, and the increased burden on the health care and justice systems. Initial estimates show that the cost of implementing successful violence prevention interventions is usually less than the cost borne by individuals and society if no action is taken. April 28-29, 2011, the IOM’s Forum on Global Violence Prevention held a workshop to evaluate the social and economic costs of violence. The workshop was designed to examine cross-cutting public health approaches to violence prevention from multiple perspectives and at various levels of society. Participants focused on exploring the successes and challenges of calculating direct and indirect costs of violence, as well as the potential cost-effectiveness of intervention. Speakers discussed social and economic costs of violence at four levels: individual, family, community, and societal. This document is a summary of the workshop. Details: Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2012. 177p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2012 at: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Social-and-Economic-Costs-of-Violence-Workshop-Summary.aspx Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Social-and-Economic-Costs-of-Violence-Workshop-Summary.aspx Shelf Number: 124762 Keywords: Costs of Crime Economics and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Jain, Sonia Title: The Power of Developmental Assets in Building Behavioral Adjustment Among Youth Exposed to Community Violence: A Multidisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Resilience Summary: Researchers and practitioners have repeatedly noted substantial variation in the behavioral functioning of youth exposed to community violence. Several studies across fields have documented the detrimental effects of exposure to violence, while other studies have considered how developmental assets promote positive youth development. However, few have examined the lives of the many youth who demonstrate resilience (that is, positive adjustment despite risk) and hardly any have examined how developmental assets may shape resilient trajectories into adulthood for youth exposed to violence. What resources and relationships can high-risk youth leverage to tip the balance from vulnerability in favor of resilience? We used generalized estimating equations, a multivariable technique appropriate for longitudinal and clustered data, to examine multilevel longitudinal data from 1,114 youth ages 11-16 from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). We considered whether baseline family, peer and neighborhood-level protective factors predicted behavioral adjustment 3-7 years later, among youth who were victims of, witnesses of, or unexposed to violence, controlling for individual and neighborhood-level risks. Behavioral adjustment varied across waves and by exposure to violence. In the short-term, being a victim was associated with increased aggression and delinquency. In the long-term, though, both victims and witnesses to violence had higher odds of behavioral adjustment. Family support, friend support and neighborhood support, family boundaries and collective efficacy had protective effects, and family support, positive peers, and meaningful opportunities modified the effect of exposure to violence to increase the odds of behavioral adjustment over time. Policies, systems and programs across sectors that help nurture these specific supports and opportunities can promote positive behavioral trajectories and resilience into adulthood among urban youth exposed to community violence. Details: San Francisco: WestEd Health and Human Development Program, 2012. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237915.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/237915.pdf Shelf Number: 124795 Keywords: Behavior Modification Communities and Crime Prediction Violence Violent Crime Violent Juvenile Offenders

Author: Kemper, Yvonne Title: No One To Trust: Children and Armed Conflict in Colombia Summary: Colombia’s civilians have been pulled into a decades-long civil war among the government’s forces, paramilitary groups and their successors, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the People’s Liberation Army (ELN). During the conflict, girls and boys have been subjected to forced recruitment, rape and sexual violence, killing and maiming, and have been seriously affected by attacks against schools and the denial of humanitarian assistance, according to the 2011 UN Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Colombia. More than half of an estimated 3.9 – 5.3 million internally displaced people in Colombia are under 18, rendering them even more vulnerable to the threats that caused them to flee their homes in the first place. Details: New York: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, Women's Refugee Commission, 2012. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2012 at: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/Watchlist_NoOnetoTrustChildrenandArmedConflictinColombia.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/Watchlist_NoOnetoTrustChildrenandArmedConflictinColombia.pdf Shelf Number: 124812 Keywords: Armed Conflict Child Protection Children as Victims Criminal Violence (Colombia) Violence Against Children Violent Crime

Author: Shifter, Michael Title: Countering Criminal Violence in Central America Summary: Violent crime in Central America—particularly in the "northern triangle" of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—is reaching breathtaking levels. Murder rates in the region are among the highest in the world. To a certain extent, Central America's predicament is one of geography—it is sandwiched between some of the world's largest drug producers in South America and the world's largest consumer of illegal drugs, the United States. The region is awash in weapons and gunmen, and high rates of poverty ensure substantial numbers of willing recruits for organized crime syndicates. Weak, underfunded, and sometimes corrupt governments struggle to keep up with the challenge. Though the United States has offered substantial aid to Central American efforts to address criminal violence, it also contributes to the problem through its high levels of drug consumption, relatively relaxed gun control laws, and deportation policies that have sent home more than a million illegal migrants with violent records. In this Council Special Report, sponsored by the Center for Preventive Action, Michael Shifter assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects. Guatemala, for example, is still healing from a thirty-six-year civil war; guns and armed groups remain common. El Salvador's ironfisted response to widespread gang violence has transformed its prisons into overcrowded gang-recruiting centers while doing little to reduce crime. Even relatively wealthy countries like Costa Rica and Panama are threatened by poor police capacity and significant problems with smuggling and money laundering. Virtually all countries are further plagued by at least some level of public corruption. While hard-hitting or even militarized responses to criminal violence often enjoy broad public support, Shifter writes, Nicaragua's experience with crime prevention programs like community policing and job training for youth suggests that other approaches can be more effective at curbing crime. Shortages of local funding and expertise remain problematic, however, and only large-scale, national programs can effectively address national-level problems with corruption or the quality of the legal system. Moreover, many of the root causes of the region's violence are transnational—the international trade in drugs, guns, and other contraband being only the most obvious example. Multilateral organizations have stepped in to support national-level responses, as have Central America's neighbors. The UN's flagship effort, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, supports domestic prosecutions of organized criminal gangs and their allies in Guatemala's government. In recent years, the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to efforts to improve regional collaboration on anticrime initiatives; last year they pledged $1.5 billion more over the next few years. Colombia and Mexico have both provided advice and training for Central America's police services and judiciary. The United States is also contributing significant resources. Washington now provides about $100 million annually, targeted mainly at drug interdiction and law enforcement, though some funding also goes toward institutional capacity building and violence protection. Still, much more remains to be done, and Shifter offers several recommendations for U.S. policymakers. Strengthening the judiciary and law enforcement services should, he says, be a central goal; the region's ineffective and corrupt legal systems are severely hampering efforts to curb the violence. He also advocates rethinking U.S. policies that contribute to violence in Central America, including drug laws, gun control policies, and immigration rules regarding violent offenders. Countering Criminal Violence in Central America provides important insights into the varied causes of criminal violence in the region. Its authoritative and nuanced analysis acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of ongoing efforts to address the problem, and it offers thoughtful recommendations on how those efforts might be built on and improved. Despite the daunting complexity of the challenges underpinning the region's growing violence, this report successfully argues that this trend can—and should—be reversed. Details: Washington, DC: Council on Foreign Relations, 2012. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Council Special Report No. 64: Accessed April 4, 2012 at: http://www.cfr.org/central-america/countering-criminal-violence-central-america/p27740 Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.cfr.org/central-america/countering-criminal-violence-central-america/p27740 Shelf Number: 124814 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gangs Gun Violence Homicides Police Corruption Violence (Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Ulmenstein, Sibylle von Title: Group Violence Reduction Strategy: Four Case Studies of Swift and Meaningful Law Enforcement Responses Summary: The publication captures examples of successful and creative law enforcement responses to group violence as carried out by police departments at key National Network jurisdictions. It explores: • How law enforcement partners identified the prohibited violent act that triggered their response • How the act was linked to a particular street group or gang • How active group members were identified for special enforcement attention • How creative levers and sanctions were designed and applied to make the response swift and meaningful • What outcomes were achieved • What important lessons were learned While some of the enforcement actions presented here might have been shaped by specific local conditions at the time of strategy implementation, the ideas, methods, and tactics used can nevertheless be broadly applied in other jurisdictions. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2012 at: http://www.nnscommunities.org/LE_Case_Studies.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nnscommunities.org/LE_Case_Studies.pdf Shelf Number: 124899 Keywords: Gangs Group Violence Police Problem-Solving Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Owens, Emily G. Title: The Birth of the Organized Crime? The American Temperance Movement and Market-Based Violence Summary: Economic theory and anecdotal evidence suggest that the absence of formal contract enforcement increases systemic, or market-based, violence in illegal markets. Lack of substantial variation in market legality has prevented empirical evaluation of the strength of this association. Using a state-level panel of age-specific homicide rates between 1900 and 1940, I demonstrate that criminalization of alcohol markets led to a compression of the age distribution of homicide victims. Specifically, homicide rates for individuals between the ages of 20 and 30 increased relative to homicide rates for individuals under 20 and over 30. The compression of the age distribution of homicide victims was most evident in northern states and in states with large immigrant and urban populations. Using modern homicide data, I show that this age specific change in homicide rates is consistent with an increase in systemic violence, supporting the argument that the temperance movement contributed to the rise of organized crime in the United States. Banning the commercial sale of alcohol appears to have had a protective effect for children and mature adults, but this came at the expense of increasing the rate of violence among young adults. Details: Unpublished paper, 2011. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 10, 2012 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865347 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865347 Shelf Number: 124912 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime Homicide Illegal Markets Organized Crime Prohibition Violent Crime

Author: Taussig, Isabel Title: Sentencing Snapshot: Homicide and Related Offences Summary: This briefing paper describes sentencing outcomes for adult offenders convicted of the offence of homicide and related offences between 2009 and 2010 in the NSW Criminal Courts. Aim: To describe the penalties imposed on convicted homicide offenders. Summary: The average age of an adult offender convicted of homicide in NSW during the years 2009 to 2010 was 35 years. Of these, 84.1 per cent were male, and 59.5 per cent had no prior convictions in the previous five years. The most common penalty imposed on homicide offenders was a full-time prison sentence. Among those that received prison sentences, the average minimum term was just over 8.5 years and the average aggregate sentence was 11.8 years. Of those who committed a murder, 100 percent received a prison sentence, with an average minimum term of 20 years and an average aggregate sentence of 25 years. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief, Issue Paper no. 76: Accessed April 12, 2012 at: Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 124943 Keywords: Homicides Sentencing (Australia) Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Green, Anthony Title: Auditing the Cost of the Virginia Tech Massacre: How Much We Pay When Killers Kill Summary: Five years ago, on April 16, 2007, an English major at Virginia Tech University named Seung-Hui Cho gunned down and killed 32 people, wounded another 17, and then committed suicide as the police closed in on him on that cold, bloody Monday. Since then, 12 more spree killings have claimed the lives of another 90 random victims and wounded another 92 people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when deranged and well-armed killers suddenly burst upon their daily lives. This carnage includes the very recent killing by Ohio high school student T.J. Lane of three of his fellow students with a gun he took out of his grandfather’s barn, which also wounded two others. Lane’s revolver held 10 bullets, and he fired all 10. As we went to press, still another spree killing took place on a university campus where at least seven were killed and three wounded. This most recent spree killing— the 13th, including Cho’s rampage at Virginia Tech five years ago—occurred at a small religious college near Oakland, California, called Oikos University. What links these tragedies? It’s simple: histories indicating dangerousness combined with the lack of adequate gun control. Cho had a history of mental illness but was able to bypass the national gun purchase background check system and buy two weapons to accomplish his meticulously planned spree killing. He also bought a number of high-capacity magazines, which supersized his weapons. Well-armed, he was able to commit his carnage in no more than 15 minutes, pausing in between his two attacks. The human toll of this, the worst spree killing in recent American history, is incalculable, but there are financial costs that can be calculated. In March 2012 a state court jury in Montgomery County, Virginia, found that Virginia Tech was negligent and awarded $4 million each to two families of victims. The lawsuit was based on the families’ allegations that the lives of the students could have been saved if the university warned the campus community more quickly after the first of the two killings, which took place on the same morning. The damage award may be reduced to $100,000 for each family due to the state’s cap on damages. But as we go to press, the issue of the damages is being argued by the parties before the trial court judge. Further, whether the university appeals the verdict is still an open question. In a completely different legal action, the U.S. Department of Education fined the university $55,000 under the Clery Act, which requires universities to give notice of dangers affecting students. The university appealed, the U.S. Department of Education rejected the appeal, and subsequently a federal administrative court judge in April 2012 ruled in favor of Virginia Tech. These possible courtroom costs, however, pale in comparison to the cost of negligence due to the failure of ambiguous gun control laws alongside the lack of any genuine effort by federal or state officials to clarify the laws so that state police and courts can enforce them to the fullest extent of the law. This lack of enforcement of poorly written laws enables mentally ill people to pass background checks and purchase guns legally even if they have a history indicating dangerousness, including those found by courts to be mentally ill or subject to orders of confinement to a mental health facility. This breakdown in our legal system results in the inestimable loss of life and its horror and consequence. Sadly, we can calculate this cost another way. Another outcome of the lack of gun control is the taxpayer’s bill for a spree killing. In this report we share the findings of our survey of the monetary costs incurred as a result of this murderous rampage at Virginia Tech five years ago. This paper assesses this cost at $48.2 million for the taxpayers of the United States and the commonwealth of Virginia, and for Virginia Tech, a public university. This report also demonstrates how the background-check system, still rife with loopholes, failed to protect American citizens from an armed and dangerous Seung-Hui Cho, costing innocent lives—many of them young ones. The loss of one innocent life to a mentally disturbed shooter should be reason enough to close the gaping holes in the system that permit gun purchases and access to high-capacity magazines that can cause such mayhem. The Virginia Tech tragedy drives this point home in the most dramatic of ways because of the sheer number of deaths and extraordinary financial costs. For this reason, we recommend several commonsense measures designed to curb gun violence without taking a single gun away from the great majority of Americans who have the right to own a weapon. These measures are detailed in main pages of our report, but briefly we recommend: Completing state compliance with requirements to post appropriate mental health records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; Establishing clear reporting guidelines for when and how mental health records are required to be posted in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System so that states can be held accountable for compliance; Requiring a full background check in all gun transactions, including private sales at gun shows and those online, so that dangerous people cannot purchase guns legally in these nontraditional venues; Fully funding state technology efforts to comply with the federal background check system requirements; Requiring states to comply fully with the protocols of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or taking away their federal funding if they do not; and Mandating federal compliance with a proposed presidential executive order directing all agencies to submit records to this instant background check system and certifying that they have done so twice yearly to the U.S. attorney general. In addition we offer two other recommendations for Congress to enact arising from the lessons of Virginia Tech: Outlawing high-capacity bullet magazines; and Requiring campuses to establish a threat assessment process. Taking these commonsense steps would go a long way toward ending the spree killing rampages that continue to haunt our nation. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2012 at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/pdf/vt_gun_control.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/pdf/vt_gun_control.pdf Shelf Number: 124968 Keywords: Background Checks Campus Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Mass Shootings School Shootings Violent Crime

Author: Stahnke, Tad Title: 2008 Hate Crime Survey Summary: Human Rights First’s 2008 Hate Crime Survey—our second annual study—is a review of the rising tide of hate crime covering the region from the Far East of the Russian Federation and the Central Asian states across Europe to North America: the 56 participating states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Human Rights First continues to document and analyze the reality of violent hate crime. We have reviewed available reports on violence motivated by prejudice and hatred, including the findings of the few official monitoring systems that provide meaningful statistical information. This data—combined with the findings of nongovernmental monitoring organizations as well as media reporting—provides important insights into the nature and incidence of violent hate crimes. Our aim is to raise the profile of these insidious crimes and the challenges they pose to societies that are becoming increasingly diverse. Hate crimes are everyday occurrences that result in broken windows and burnt out homes, mental distress and bodily harm—sometimes fatal. Hate crimes threaten whole communities who identify with the victim based on race, religion, or other attributes, leaving many to live in fear and alienated from the larger society. This report seeks to overcome official indifference and indecision in the fight against such crime. In the first part of this report, we examine six facets of hate crime in sections on Violence Based on Racism and Xenophobia, Antisemitic Violence, Violence Against Muslims, Violence Based on Religious Intolerance, Violence Against Roma, and Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Bias. In the second part, we assess government responses to violent hate crimes in sections on Systems of Monitoring and Reporting and The Framework of Criminal Law. Although not included in this compilation, the 2008 Hate Crime Survey also includes separate sections on the Russian Federation and Ukraine, where hate crime has been on the rise and where governments have not responded adequately. No state is immune from the prejudice and bigotry that stand behind bias-motivated violence. A Country Panorama section profiles hate crime cases from 30 countries and includes in-depth descriptions of hate crime in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—three countries where considerable efforts have been undertaken to combat hate crimes. Similarly, there has generally been a vigorous government response to hate crime in the United States, even though the problem continues. In a separate substantive section on the U.S., we outline recommendations to enhance the government’s response. These sections are available at the Fighting Discrimination website: www.humanrightsfirst.org/discrimination. Human Rights First is concerned that governments are not doing enough to combat violent hate crimes. In this survey, we offer a Ten-Point Plan for governments to strengthen their response. In particular, we are calling on governments to establish systems of official monitoring and data collection to fill the hate crime information gap. We are likewise urging them to improve criminal law and law enforcement procedures required to combat hate crimes. Stronger laws that expressly address violent hate crimes are necessary to more effectively deter, detect, and hold perpetrators accountable. International organizations also have an important role to play, and this Survey provides Recommendations for Strengthening the OSCE, in particular by advancing the organization’s tolerance and nondiscrimination agenda—of which combating hate crime is an important component. Details: New York: Human Rights First, 2008. 186p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2012 at http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/FD-081103-hate-crime-survey-2008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/FD-081103-hate-crime-survey-2008.pdf Shelf Number: 124972 Keywords: Bias Crime Crime Rates Discrimination Hate Crime Violent Crime

Author: Teh, Bing-ru Title: Do Liquor Stores Increase Crime and Urban Decay? Evidence from Los Angeles Summary: Liquor stores are a common sight in many distressed neighborhoods. But does the presence of liquor stores actually cause crime and urban decay – as suggested by situational models of criminal activity – or are liquor stores more likely to open in declining neighborhoods? In this paper, I use administrative data on the locations of alcohol outlets in the city of Los Angeles, merged with detailed incident crime reports and property transactions, to evaluate the effects of alcohol outlet openings and closings on local crime rates and property values. I specify an event-study framework to measure the changes in violent and property crimes just after the opening and closing of outlets. Both types of crime increase following an outlet opening, with larger effects in the immediate vicinity of the new outlet. The overall impact of new outlet openings is driven by effects in low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods: openings in high-SES neighborhoods only have small effects on property crime. Outlet closings have smaller impacts, on average, although there is some indication that the closing of an outlet in a low-SES neighborhood reduces crime. A parallel analysis of residential property transaction values find that outlets located in low-SES neighborhoods are seen as a disamenity, whereas outlets located in high-SES neighborhoods are valued by homeowners. Overall, it appears that additional alcohol outlets – especially in lower-SES neighborhoods – contribute to both crime and urban decay. Details: Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkely, 2007. 54p. Source: Job Market Paper: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://websv03b.colgate.edu/portaldata/imagegallerywww/2050/ImageGallery/teh_jobmktpaper.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://websv03b.colgate.edu/portaldata/imagegallerywww/2050/ImageGallery/teh_jobmktpaper.pdf Shelf Number: 125085 Keywords: Liquor Stores Neighborhoods and Crime (Los Angeles) Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Butts, Jeffrey Title: Youth, Guns, and the Juvenile Justice System Summary: The falling rate of violent crime in the United States is not likely to reduce the need for effective policies and programs to address youth gun violence. The rate of firearm deaths among American youth is still one of the highest in the world. In the coming years, all levels of government, the private sector, and communities will require sound information and practical guidance as they try to reduce gun violence among young people. Funded by the Joyce Foundation, this report reviews recent trends in youth gun violence, policy responses to gun violence, and the growing variety of data resources for research on the effects of gun laws. The report is designed to inform discussions about these issues and to aid in the development of future research efforts. Details: Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2002. 30p. Source: Research Report: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/410417_youth_guns.pdf Year: 2002 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/410417_youth_guns.pdf Shelf Number: 125095 Keywords: Gun Violence Guns Juvenile Justice System Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime

Author: Adams, Tani Marilena Title: Chronic Violence and its Reproduction: Perverse Trends in Social Relations, Citizenship, and Democracy in Latin America Summary: This report reviews a broad literature on the causes and social effects of chronic violence in Latin America – particularly in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean – and details the consistent and diverse ways that chronic violence undermines social relations and support for democracy. The trends identified – also relevant for parts of Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Middle East – provoke ever increasing violence and social disintegration, and appear to constitute perverse norms among affected groups. Unabated, this problem –which remains largely overlooked by policy makers today – could constitute a growing threat to peace making and state building in affected regions throughout the world. The report proposes a collaborative initiative that will join international, national, and local actors to develop more effective approaches through research, policy reform, and local social action. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Latin American Program, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2012 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/LAP_111121_chronicviol2011_single_page_0.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/LAP_111121_chronicviol2011_single_page_0.pdf Shelf Number: 125096 Keywords: Violence (Latin America) Violent Crime

Author: SUNY Downstate Medical Center Title: Report on Violence Among Adolescents and Young Adults Summary: Since the early 1990's, the number of violent crimes committed in Brooklyn and elsewhere in New York City has steadily declined. Between 1993 and 2003, for example, the number of homicides committed in Brooklyn fell by 67 percent. Today Brooklyn is a much safer place than it was just a dozen years ago, and as a result, it is a better place to live, work, go to school, visit, and do business. But for all the progress we have made, we can't afford to relax our efforts. In Brooklyn and throughout the City, acts of violence are still far too common. Violence is not just a law enforcement problem—it is a very real public health problem. Homicide is the sixth leading cause of death among all New York residents younger than 65. Each year, tens of thousands of New Yorkers are treated in emergency rooms after being injured in an assault. Thousands are hospitalized for these injuries, and some are permanently disabled. Violence can also cause serious emotional harm, and fear of violence can prevent whole communities from fulfilling their potential. As with other major public health problems such as smoking, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS, the problem of violence calls for a community-wide response. We believe that with our strengths in research, health care, education, and community outreach, we at Downstate can make a valuable contribution to Brooklyn's campaign against violence—and that we have an obligation to do so. Effective community action begins with a clear understanding of the problem. Strong partnerships are needed to reduce the threat that violence poses to the health of our communities. We are pleased to offer this Report on Violence among Adolescents and Young Adults as a starting point for discussion. Details: Brooklyn, NY: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 2012. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 3, 2012 at: http://www.downstate.edu/bhr/reports/Violence-Report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.downstate.edu/bhr/reports/Violence-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125139 Keywords: Homicides Violence (New York City) Violent Crime

Author: Ramey, David Michael Title: Neighborhood Violent Crime in Contemporary Latino Destination Cities Summary: The emergence of new Latino destination cities over the 1990s presents a host of unanswered questions about neighborhood violent crime rates. While past neighborhood crime studies have found little or no evidence of an association between Latino immigrant concentration and violent crime in multiple cities, contemporary studies of neighborhood violent crime do not consider how varying characteristics of cities in which neighborhoods are embedded have a bearing on immigrant composition and violent crime. The current project uses the Neighborhood Change Database and the National Neighborhood Crime Study to examine the relationship between Latino migration and neighborhood violent crime in cities that vary according to their histories with Latino migration. Using multilevel modeling techniques, this analysis demonstrates that the effects of social disorganization and Latino population characteristics on neighborhood violence are significantly influenced by city-level Latino population growth. Details: Columbus, OH: Ohio State University, 2010. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed May 3, 2012 at: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=osu1275414603 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=osu1275414603 Shelf Number: 125142 Keywords: Demographics and Crime Hispanic-Americans Latinos (U.S.) Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Development Programme Title: Caribbean Human Development Report 2012: Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security Summary: The increase in violence and crime in Latin America and the Caribbean is an undeniable fact that erodes the very foundation of the democratic processes in the region and imposes high social, economic and cultural costs. Our region is home to 8.5 percent of the world’s population, yet it concentrates some 27 percent of the world’s homicides. Violence and crime are therefore perceived by a majority of Latin American and Caribbean citizens as a top pressing challenge. The resulting alarm has often led to short-sighted, mano dura (iron fist) policies, which have proven ineffective and, at times, detrimental to the rule of law. The situation varies much among and within countries. Broadly speaking, there are high- and low-crime countries in the region, and differences exist even within each of the sub-regions (i.e., South America, Central America, and the Caribbean). However perceived insecurity and citizens´ concern are independent of actual crime rates, so that mano dura policies are not exclusive of high-crime countries. In this context, we are confronted by a paradox: Why is it that, despite the democratization process experienced in the region in the last 20 years, citizen security levels, as well as the justice and security institutions in the region, are in crisis? Why is it that, despite the structural and institutional reforms promoted by countries in the region in order to construct governance mechanisms which are more transparent, horizontal and democratic, the justice and security institutions are overwhelmed and confidence in them is shattered? To begin to resolve this paradox and deal effectively with crime and violence, we need accurate assessments that provide evidence for action. To this end, the United Nations Development Programme, in association with governments, civil societies and international agencies, is leading numerous initiatives aimed at improving citizen security in Latin America and the Caribbean. This report is a one of these efforts. Drafted by a team of outstanding scholars building upon previous research and practical experience, this report also reflects findings from the analysis of extensive new survey data and sustained consultations involving over 450 experts, practitioners and stakeholders in seven Dutch- and English-speaking Caribbean countries. Of primary concern with citizen security is the issue of public confidence in state capacity to protect citizens and ensure justice. If citizens lack confidence in the police, the judiciary and other public authorities, no amount of repression will restore security. The success of any law enforcement system depends on the willingness of the people to participate and contribute. For the state to enjoy the trust and commitment of the people, it must strive to eradicate exclusion, improve transparency and create opportunities that encourage a sense of belonging for all. A key message of the report is that Caribbean countries need to focus on a model of security based on the human development approach, whereby citizen security is paramount, rather than on the traditional state security model, whereby the protection of the state is the chief aim. Indeed, the contrast between prevention on the one hand and repression and coercion on the other is ill conceived. Social inclusion to help prevent crime and violence and efficient and effective law enforcement are by no means incompatible or mutually exclusive. In a truly democratic society, broad based social inclusion and swift criminal justice–or “prevention” and “coercion”—serve to reinforce and complement each other. This is one of the most important lessons to be taken from this report – and not only for the Caribbean but for all of Latin America as well. An issue of common interest to Latin America and the Caribbean is security. Organized transnational crime, mainly that which involves drug trafficking, looms large in the security crisis currently affecting an increasing number of countries in both sub-regions. Although this report concentrates on implications for the domestic dimensions of the problem in the Caribbean, especially among youth, it is also important to note that the Caribbean is a critical transit route between drug producers and large-scale consumers. As a result of this geographical positioning, it is necessary for the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation with its Latin American neighbours and project a larger voice in the global dialogue on existing policies and possible alternatives. An improved worldwide policy addressing the problem of addictive drugs could contribute considerably to reducing levels of violence and social disruption in the Caribbean. This belief is substantiated by an encouraging finding presented in the report: despite exceptionally high homicide rates, the overall incidence of crime in the Caribbean as measured by the victimization survey data “compares favourably at the lower end with countries such as Japan,” referring to nations that participated in the 2004-2005 International Crime Victimization Survey This suggests that the spiral of violence generally associated with drug trafficking exists within the context of an otherwise durable social fabric that makes for lesser ordinary “street” crime. Details: New York: UNDP, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2012 at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/Latin%20America%20and%20Caribbean%20HDR/C_bean_HDR_Jan25_2012_3MB.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/Latin%20America%20and%20Caribbean%20HDR/C_bean_HDR_Jan25_2012_3MB.pdf Shelf Number: 125173 Keywords: Crime (Latin American and Caribbean) Drug Trafficking - Economic Development Homicides Transnational Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: Violent Attacks Against Roma in Hungary: Time to Investigate Racial Motivation Summary: Violent attacks against Roma, commonly believed to be racially motivated, are on the rise and have not been adequately investigated by the authorities. Over a period of 18 months in Hungary, between January 2008 and August 2009, six Romani men, women and children were killed in a series of similar attacks in different parts of Hungary. Four men were arrested soon after the last killing. However, in the same period, local NGOs recorded over 40 separate attacks on members of the Romani community in Hungary. At the same time, discriminatory attitudes towards Roma have been increasingly accepted in public discourse in Hungary since 2006. Abusive terms, initially used by far-right political groups, are now accepted in the mainstream media. The report presents first-hand accounts from victims of these violent attacks that many in the community believe are motivated by racial prejudice. It highlights the Hungarian authorities’ shortcomings in the investigation and prosecution of attacks against Roma and calls on them to ensure that members of the Romani community, as well as members of other groups, are protected from violence. It also recommends that the authorities improve the investigation and reporting of racially motivated crimes and ensure that their victims receive adequate support. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2010. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 8, 2012 at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR27/001/2010/en/7ee79730-e23f-4f20-834a-deb8deb23464/eur270012010en.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Hungary URL: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/EUR27/001/2010/en/7ee79730-e23f-4f20-834a-deb8deb23464/eur270012010en.pdf Shelf Number: 125217 Keywords: Hate Crimes Minorities Race/Ethnicity Romanies Violent Crime

Author: Roque, Silvia Title: Youth and Urban Violence in San Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Praia Summary: Overall, despite the differences between Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador and Praia in terms of the incidence of youth violence, historical approaches and experience in dealing with the issue, Brazil, El Salvador and Cape Verde have all favoured an enforcement-based approach, focusing primarily on repression and law-enforcement mechanisms (police action, specific youth violence legislation, and prosecution, prison and socio-educational systems), instead of interventions aimed at the root causes of violent behaviour. However, recent changes in federal government approaches to public security in Brazil, coupled with state level changes, suggest the materialisation of a discourse shift in the field of youth violence, which has been in the making since the late 1990s. Another common feature in these countries is the incomplete availability of qualified information systems on violence and violent criminality, especially on organised crime and female involvement in urban violence. Civil society actions to prevent and combat urban violence are very diverse. In Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, NGOs, associations and grassroots organisations have a fairly long track record when dealing with the issue of youth violence, promoting initiatives and programmes mostly aimed at youth violence prevention, especially at the primary level. These initiatives and programmes have been based on skills training, sports, culture, empowerment and, to lesser extent, professional training and labour market integration. In San Salvador, despite the severity of youth violence, civil society approaches are less diversified and effective. Like any other violence-afflicted country in Central America, violence prevention and especially intervention programmes, namely those aimed at the perpetrators of violence, face greater disadvantages and less funding and support from the region’s crime-weary population. In Praia, the involvement of civil society in this matter has been slow. However, in recent years, the experiences of civil society organisations, sometimes in partnership with public institutions, have been singled out as good examples and as having had some direct impact on youth involved in violence in the Cidade da Praia. Responding to and effectively preventing youth urban violence requires a comprehensive approach which takes into account the intra-social forms of violence committed by and against youth, as well as the structural conditions which determine the marginalisation of youth. This includes prevention programmes which help young people in vulnerable situations, intervention programmes which offer alternatives for those attracted to violence, rehabilitation prospects for those who wish to leave violent groups, and those leaving prison and socioeducational systems. Capable and accountable law-enforcement bodies, protection and support mechanisms for victims of violence, adequate arms control policies, up-to-date data collection and analysis systems on youth and violence, and whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches to violence are also key. Details: Brussels: Peace Studies Group, Initiative for Peacebuilding, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2012 at: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201202IfPEWYouthViolenceRioSanPra.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South America URL: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201202IfPEWYouthViolenceRioSanPra.pdf Shelf Number: 125228 Keywords: Gangs Juvenile Offenders Urban Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence (San Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Cape

Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: The Effects of Summary: A number of American police departments have been experimenting with new problem-oriented policing frameworks to prevent gang and group-involved violence generally known as the “pulling levers” focused deterrence strategies. Focused deterrence strategies honor core deterrence ideas, such as increasing risks faced by offenders, while finding new and creative ways of deploying traditional and non-traditional law enforcement tools to do so, such as directly communicating incentives and disincentives to targeted offenders. Pioneered in Boston to halt serious gang violence, the focused deterrence framework has been applied in many American cities through federally sponsored violence prevention programs. In its simplest form, the approach consists of selecting a particular crime problem, such as gang homicide; convening an interagency working group of law enforcement, social-service, and community-based practitioners; conducting research to identify key offenders, groups, and behavior patterns; framing a response to offenders and groups of offenders that uses a varied menu of sanctions (“pulling levers”) to stop them from continuing their violent behavior; focusing social services and community resources on targeted offenders and groups to match law enforcement prevention efforts; and directly and repeatedly communicating with offenders to make them understand why they are receiving this special attention. These new strategic approaches have been applied to a range of crime problems, such as overt drug markets and individual repeat offenders, and have shown promising results in the reduction of crime. Details: Oslo, Norway: The Campbell Collaboration, 2012. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Campbell Systematic Review 2012:6: Accessed May 9, 2012 at: www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/1918/ Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 125231 Keywords: Collaboration Crime Prevention Focused Deterrence Strategies Gang Violence Problem-Oriented Policing (U.S.) Pulling Levers Violent Crime

Author: Peace Studies Group Title: Youth, Collective Urban Violence and Security: Key Findings Summary: The aim of this paper is to discuss three main critical challenges which research and policymaking in the field of collective youth violence in urban contexts face today. This paper argues that we need to shift the focus of research in this area from “problematic” youth to the study of the ways in which violence permeates daily lives and becomes normalised through specific local social and political conditions. The paper then suggests that, in light of recent theory and empirical research, the relationship between violence and poverty should be re-evaluated. Additionally, and in order to properly address the causes of youth collective violence, this paper argues for a change of focus in the analysis of youth violent mobilisation. The suggested focus rests on the appeal of the symbolic revenues that mark the search for a valued social status and possibilities in contexts of adversity and violence. In fact, symbolic factors associated with the involvement in drugs trafficking and other violent activities and with youths’ contact with firearms are key factors, namely the search for status, power and respect, and attracting recognition from their male and female peers. The adrenaline and danger which youth experience through these activities are highly connected with gender constructions. Finally, this paper supports the progressively accepted evidence in favour of an urgent shift in how to address and prevent youth violence, claiming that repressive policies have hitherto failed to contain violence and to contribute to improving the formulation of preventive policies. This paper is based on data collection and analysis as well as reports from several studies conducted since 2006 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Salvador (El Salvador), Praia (Cape Verde) and Bissau (Guinea-Bissau). Details: Brussels: Peace Studies Group, Initiative for Peace Building, 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2012 at: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201107IfPEWYouthUrbanViolenceFindings.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201107IfPEWYouthUrbanViolenceFindings.pdf Shelf Number: 125236 Keywords: Gang Violence Urban Violence Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Williams, Phil Title: Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability Summary: The rationale for this series is a reflection of the ways in which the world of armed groups has changed and is continuing to change, and the impact of these changes on threats and challenges to national and global security. Although challenges posed by various kinds of violent armed groups initially appear highly diverse and unrelated to one another, in fact they all reflect the increasing connections between security and governance—and, in particular, the relationship between poor governance and violent armed groups. The growth in the number of states with capacity gaps, functional holes, and legitimacy deficits helps to explain the resurgence of a new medievalism, and the rise of illegal quasi-governments in localized areas. The irony is that after several decades in which the number of sovereign states represented in the United Nations (UN) has increased significantly, relatively few of these states can truly claim a monopoly on force within their territorial borders. Violent challengers to the Westphalian state have taken different forms in different parts of the world. These forms include tribal and ethnic groups, warlords, drug trafficking organizations, youth gangs, terrorists, militias, insurgents, and transnational criminal organizations. In many cases, these groups are overtly challenging the state; in others they are cooperating and colluding with state structures while subtly undermining them; in yet others, the state is a passive bystander while violent armed groups are fighting one another. The mix is different, the combinations vary, and the perpetrators of violence have different motives, methods, and targets. In spite of their divergent forms, however, nonstate violent actors share certain viii qualities and characteristics. As Roy Godson and Richard Shultz have pointed out, “As surprising as it may seem, pirate attacks off Somalia, militias in Lebanon, and criminal armies in Mexico are part of a global pattern and not anomalies.” Indeed, these violent armed groups or, as they are sometimes called, violent nonstate actors (VNSAs) represent a common challenge to national and international security, a challenge that is far greater than the sum of the individual groups, and that is likely to grow rather than diminish over the next several decades. Although the U.S. military—especially the Air Force and the Navy—still place considerable emphasis on the potential emergence of peer competitors among foreign armed forces, more immediate challenges have emanated not from states but from various kinds of VNSAs. This monograph, “Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability,” focuses on the complex relationship between human security, crime, illicit economies, and law enforcement. It also seeks to disentangle the linkages between insurgency on the one hand and drug trafficking and organized crime on the other, suggesting that criminal activities help sustain an insurgency, but also carry certain risks for the insurgency. Subsequent monographs will focus on specific areas where violent armed groups operate, or they will delve into specifics about some of those groups. Some works will be descriptive or historical, while others are more analytical, but together they will clarify the security challenges that, arguably, are the most important now faced by the United States and the rest of the world. The series will include monographs on Mexico, the Caribbean, and various kinds of violent armed groups. Details: Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Securities Studies; Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 2012. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2012 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1101.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1101.pdf Shelf Number: 125243 Keywords: Criminal Organizations Drug Trafficking Organized Crime Terrorists Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Cheng, Cheng Title: Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence? Evidence from Castle Doctrine Summary: Since Florida adopted the first castle doctrine law in 2005, more than 20 other states have passed similar self-defense laws that justify the use of deadly force in a wider set of circumstances. Elements of these laws include removing the duty to retreat in places outside of one’s home, adding a presumption of reasonable belief of imminent harm necessitating a lethal response, and removing civil liability for those acting under the law. This paper examines whether aiding self-defense in this way deters crime or, alternatively, escalates violence. To do so, we apply a difference-in-differences research design by exploiting the within-state variation in law adoption. We find no evidence of deterrence; burglary, robbery, and aggravated assault are unaffected by the laws. On the other hand, we find that murder and non-negligent manslaughter are increased by 7 to 9 percent. This could represent either increased use of lethal force in self-defense situations, or the escalation of violence in otherwise non-lethal situations. Regardless, the results indicate that a primary consequence of strengthening self-defense law is increased homicide. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012. 36p. Source: NBER Working Paper 18134: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2012 at http://www.nber.org/papers/w18134.pdf?new_window=1 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18134.pdf?new_window=1 Shelf Number: 125387 Keywords: Castle Doctrine Deterrence Homicide Legislation Self-Defense Violent Crime

Author: Violence Policy Center Title: Iron River: Gun Violence and Illegal Firearms Trafficking on the U.S.-Mexico Border Summary: Mexico is under siege, its democratic governance is at risk. This report examines the role of the U.S. civilian gun market in the drug-related violence in Mexico that is creeping northward into the United States. Part One provides an overview of the conflict and its links with the United States. These links include the “drug war,” the U.S. civilian firearms market, and transnational street gangs involved in drug and firearms trafficking. Part Two outlines in more detail the role of the U.S. civilian gun market in fueling the war in Mexico. It focuses on weak regulation and the deliberate introduction of military-style firearms that today define the civilian market. Part Three suggests ways to control the firearms traffic. It emphasizes “upstream” measures to inhibit the movement of firearms from legal commerce into illegal trade, as opposed to only law enforcement efforts, which are aimed “downstream” and focus on apprehending and prosecuting smugglers after the damage is done. Some steps can be taken immediately by strong presidential leadership without the need for new legislation. Others require legislation or rule-making procedures. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2009. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 9, 2012 at: http://www.vpc.org/studies/ironriver.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.vpc.org/studies/ironriver.pdf Shelf Number: 116390 Keywords: Firearms Trafficking Gun Trafficking (U.S., Mexico) Gun Violence Trafficking in Weapons Violent Crime

Author: Santos, Rita Title: Women and Gun Violence: Key Findings from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Salvador (El Salvador) and Maputo (Mozambique) Summary: Since men constitute the majority of those who use and are victimised by guns worldwide, prevention and combat policies and programmes have been aimed almost exclusively at men and boys, paying scant attention to the roles and impacts of gun violence on women and girls. However, the continuum of violence experienced by women and girls in these contexts is a synthesis of the main social ingredients of violence and its cultural basis. Thus, alongside sound knowledge of men’s and boys’ involvement in gun violence, a clear understanding of women’s and girls’ needs, rights and vulnerabilities is essential to reduce gun violence in general. This report aims to contribute to fill this gap. This report will concentrate on the analysis of the typologies and motivations for the involvement of women and girls in armed violence (as direct agents who actively participate, or indirect agents who play supporting roles such as in the transportation of firearms, drugs or information), and identify the importance and symbolism which they attribute to firearms; the examination of the direct consequences (death and injuries) and some of the indirect effects of armed violence on the lives of women (guns as instruments of intimidation and sources of insecurity in situations of domestic violence as well as determinants for the condition of survivors or relatives of lethal victims of gun violence); the initiatives, formal and informal, led by women in these contexts in response to gun violence, namely efforts to improve arms control regulations. Details: Brussels: Peace Studies Group, 2011. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed july 10, 2012 at: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/IfPEW20110501WomenAndGunViolence.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/IfPEW20110501WomenAndGunViolence.pdf Shelf Number: 125532 Keywords: Arms Control Gun Violence Guns Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Blomberg, Thomas G. Title: An Analysis of Violent Crime in Palm Beach County and Strategies of Violence Reduction Initiatives in U.S. Cities Summary: The first section of this report provides a comprehensive overview of the crime problem in Palm Beach County with emphasis on violent crimes involving a firearm and murder offenses. In particular, Palm Beach County experienced a significant increase in the number of gun-related crimes of violence and homicide in 2004, especially amongst younger citizens. The second section of the report examines the violence reduction initiatives in other U.S. cities with a focus on their strategies and outcomes. Details: Tallahassee: Florida State University, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Center for Criminology and Public Policy Research, 2006. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2012 at: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20Report.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125654 Keywords: Crime Rates Gun Violence Violence (Florida) Violent Crime

Author: Harvard Law School, Human Rights Program, International Human Rights Clinic Title: No Place to Hide: Gang, State, and Clandestine Violence in El Salvador Summary: Fifteen years after the civil war in El Salvador came to an end, violence and insecurity continue to shape the daily lives of many Salvadorans. This report examines the phenomenon of youth gangs and documents human rights violations associated with gang violence and Salvadoran governmental responses to it. Our examination is situated in the context of an assessment of the current state of the rule of law in El Salvador. The war in El Salvador during the 1980s was one of the bloodiest and most brutal in a region gripped with civil conflicts throughout that decade. The Salvadoran conflict gained worldwide notoriety for the prevalence of human rights abuses and death squads, that operated with the apparent acquiescence of state authorities, to terrorize civilian populations. Unfortunately, as discussed in Section I of this report, efforts since the war to build functioning democratic institutions in El Salvador have largely failed to overcome the legacies of institutional incapacity and politicization. Current levels of violence are extraordinarily high. El Salvador’s homicide rate is nearly double the average for Latin America, a region with high levels of violence by global standards. Continued political polarization, weak judicial and law enforcement institutions, and the persistence of extra-judicial violence seriously undermine citizen security and the rule of law in El Salvador. Violent street gangs have grown rapidly in this fractured and dysfunctional socio-political context. The deportation of tens of thousands of Salvadorans from the United States since the late 1990s (a consequence of forced emigration of Salvadoran families during the civil war years and subsequent changes to U.S. immigration laws) helped spur the growth and development of these gangs, a process we describe in Section II. In recent years, and as a result of particularized political conditions and law enforcement responses in El Salvador, the dynamics of the gang phenomenon have evolved. The two major rival gangs – the Mara Salvatrucha and the Mara 18, both of which have U.S. roots and a U.S. presence – engage in brutal battles for control of neighborhoods and communities throughout the country. Gangs’ methods of recruitment, and the sanctions they impose on members who demonstrate disloyalty or who attempt to withdraw from active gang life, are increasingly violent. Active and former gang members report that it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for young people to escape the pressure of gang recruitment or to leave a gang. Gangs frequently use extortion to gather funds and solidify territorial control. There is evidence that organized criminal networks are operating with growing sophistication and impunity in El Salvador. The relationship between these organized criminal networks and the upper tiers of gang hierarchies is uncertain, as is the role of state actors in these activities, but the effect on Salvadoran citizens – a deepening sense of impunity and insecurity – is clear. The primary governmental response to the gang phenomenon, which relies heavily on repressive law enforcement-military tactics, mass arrests, and profiling of youth and alleged gang members, has been ineffective and even counter-productive. Governmental responses to the gang phenomenon are explored in great depth in Section III of this report. Homicide rates have soared since 2003, when former President Francisco Flores launched the Mano Dura (“Iron Fist”) crackdown. Meanwhile, the government’s focus on anti-gang efforts has distorted the complex nature of violence in El Salvador. The vast majority of homicides in El Salvador remain in impunity. Human rights organizations and civil society observers believe that some of the upsurge in killings in recent years is attributable to death squads who target alleged gang members or other criminals and who operate with impunity. Also in the past several years, the political roots of violence in El Salvador have become increasingly visible. Clashes between protesters and police on July 5, 2006 are one example of the relationship between political polarization and violence in El Salvador, and spikes in unexplained, brutal homicides in periods prior to national elections are another. In the midst of this social and political conflict, individual Salvadorans living in poor and marginalized communities have no place to hide: they are targeted by violent actors on all sides. Young people and other residents of areas with a gang presence, active gang members, and inactive gang members are targeted for threats, abuses, and even killings by gangs, police, and clandestine actors like death squads. We present narrative excerpts from interviews with victims and witnesses of gang, police, and clandestine violence in El Salvador in Section IV. The report is based on fact-finding visits to El Salvador in March- April and August-September 2006, and months of follow-up research prior to and after these trips. It draws extensively on interviews with current and former gang members and other victims and witnesses of violence in El Salvador, as well as with staff of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental officials. To protect the safety of confidential sources, we refer to them only by pseudonyms and initials. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School, Human Rights Program, 2007. 111p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 18, 2012 at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/hrp/documents/FinalElSalvadorReport(3-6-07).pdf Year: 2007 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/hrp/documents/FinalElSalvadorReport(3-6-07).pdf Shelf Number: 110108 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Homicides Organized Crime Violence (El Salvador) Violent Crime

Author: Blomberg, Thomas Title: An Evaluation of the Youth Violence Prevention Program in Palm Beach County Summary: Since the early 1990s, Palm Beach County has employed research in its efforts to successfully confront crime and improve its criminal justice system. Through the efforts of its Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), Palm Beach County has implemented such research-based initiatives as Weed and Seed, and drug courts. What is particularly noteworthy about Palm Beach County’s research-driven orientation to confront crime and improve its criminal justice system has been its concerted effort to not only implement research validated initiatives but to evaluate these initiatives in order to conclusively determine their actual effectiveness. This commitment to research and validated crime and criminal justice initiatives has been exemplified once again as Palm Beach County has mobilized against the problem of youth violence. Beginning in 2004, a series of media stories detailed frequent violent and often fatal crimes with firearms in the county. The perception was that the County was in the midst of a violent crime epidemic. In response, the Criminal Justice Commission initiated a study to determine if the perception of a crime epidemic was, in fact, correct. The study assessed the County’s historical trends in the levels of violent crime, gun-related crime, and murder. The study found that while the County’s overall crime rate had declined from 1990-2005, violent crime including those involving firearms, had increased with the murder rate having experienced particularly substantial increases from 2000 to 2005. Of additional importance was the study’s finding that violent criminal offenders in Palm Beach County were most often adolescents or young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. These findings led the Criminal Justice Commission to assess what other communities across the country were doing to combat youth violence. After reviewing the federally sponsored youth violence reduction efforts of Boston, Massachusetts; Oakland, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Detroit, Michigan; Richmond, Virginia; Birmingham, Alabama; Buffalo, New York; Riverside, California; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; and Seattle, Washington, it became evident that there were promising youth violence reduction program strategies that might be useful in Palm Beach County. Specifically, the most promising programs would need to be comprehensive and include law enforcement, prevention, intervention, and offender reintegration services. Moreover, it was clear that to maximize the program’s potential for youth violence reduction success, it would be essential to involve the community in the planning and implementation stages of these programs. Ultimately, it was decided that while Palm Beach County’s youth violence problem mirrored those of other communities, it was critical that a tailored community-wide program be implemented that explicitly addressed the specifics of Palm Beach County’s high violent crime communities. In recognition of the findings and conclusions of the study of violent crime in Palm Beach County, it was concluded that the county would implement a comprehensive approach that employed key elements of the national model established by the U.S. Department of Justice for Youth Violence Prevention. The county invited cities to participate and agree to the following conditions: • Abide by the requirement that all city-related projects and efforts will service the residents within the identified geographic areas as outlined by Criminal Justice maps • The city will make a commitment of building space for services within the identified geographical areas • Design a phase-in plan, including timeline, for the creation of a Youth Empowerment Center • Design a phase-in plan, including timeline, for a Justice Service Center • Participate in the multi-agency task force law enforcement component of the Youth Violence Prevention Project • Utilize the findings of the Project’s 500 youth surveys to develop and prioritize youth empowerment programs • Pay the city’s portion of all goods, services, and personnel used in connection with this project • Develop separate community advisory boards for youth and young adults • Participate in all aspects of evaluation including data collection, data sharing, site monitoring, and visits The county’s comprehensive approach for confronting youth violence involved an integration of the national model for Youth Violence Prevention with the findings and conclusions of the research study of violent crime in Palm Beach County. Further, county professionals from the criminal justice system, education, human services, and local youth contributed to the planning for the County’s comprehensive approach to youth violence reduction. Four subcommittees were formed, namely, crime prevention, law enforcement, courts, and corrections, and charged with developing a strategic plan. Additionally, a youth workgroup of 25 youth from around the county was established and began its efforts with a survey of over 500 youth throughout the county. The recommendations from the youth workgroup and the four subcommittees were examined and used to support the county’s implementation of a multi-agency comprehensive program model. Ultimately, Palm Beach County’s Youth Violence Prevention Program Model included four components, namely, (1) Crime Prevention; (2) Law Enforcement; (3) Courts; and (4) Corrections, and involved a joint county/city effort. Based on the findings from the study of violent crime in the county, five program sites or violent crime “hot spots” were identified and these cities agreed to implement the Youth Violence Prevention Project. Moreover, in order to conclusively determine the effectiveness of the program in the five program sites, five matching control sites (did not implement the YVPP) were identified by the FSU Evaluation Team. The method used to select appropriate matching control sites included the use of U.S. Census data and Uniform Crime Report (UCR) data. On the basis of implementation, results, and outcomes reported in this Report, Palm Beach County’s first year experiences in implementing the violent crime reduction program model appear successful. The County has demonstrated an ability to mobilize different agencies, services, youth, and other citizens in a common collaborative mission to reduce violent crime. The County’s violence reduction efforts have been facilitated by its now several decade old collaborative history that has involved multiple agencies and citizen involvement in confronting crime. Beginning with Weed and Seed in the early 1990s and continuing with drug courts and the current violence reduction programs, the County has established infrastructures that include productive relationships between the Criminal Justice Commission, Board of Supervisors, Sheriff’s Office, various police departments, State Attorney’s Office, Courts, Corrections, County businesses, various County citizens groups, and others. This collaborative history and set of established multiple relationships has directly and positively impacted the County’s current violent crime reduction efforts. Details: Tallahassee: Center for Criminology and Public Policy, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 2008. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2012 at: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20County%20YVPP%20Year%201%20Report.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.criminologycenter.fsu.edu/p/pdf/Palm%20Beach%20County%20YVPP%20Year%201%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125674 Keywords: Crime Prevention (Florida) Delinquency Prevention Programs - Gangs Gun Violence Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Weiss, Billie Title: An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in USA Cities Summary: Research has shown that violence is a serious issue for cities. Despite the evidence little data have been collected reporting on cities’ overall strategies, resources, and activities to address this problem. In an effort to inform urban efforts to reduce violence, UNITY conducted an assessment to establish baseline measurements of the magnitude of youth violence, the level of concern within the city and collaborative efforts to address and monitor the issue. The assessment was conducted by Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center (SCIPRC) at UCLA School of Public Health. The study included standardized interviews with Mayors, Police Chiefs, Health Department Directors and School Superintendents, or their designees in a representative sample of the largest cities, populations of 400,000 or more, across the U.S. Major Findings • Most cities cited a lack of a comprehensive strategy. • Public Health Departments are not generally included in city strategies. • Law enforcement and criminal justice are the most prevalent strategy used in the cities. • Gang violence was identified as the major type of youth violence. • Cities, for the most part, lack clearly developed outcomes, evaluations, or evaluation plans to measure and monitor their efforts. • Cities with the greatest coordinated approach also had the lowest rates of youth violence. Recommendations For cities: • Adopt a comprehensive approach to youth violence that includes an equitable distribution of prevention, intervention and suppression/enforcement. • Establish greater collaboration between city entities and across jurisdictional borders to county and state entities. • Develop and implement a city-wide plan with measurable objectives and an evaluation component. For the nation: • Create a national agenda to address youth violence in the largest cities developed and adopted by several national partners. • Provide training for State and Local Public Health Departments about their role in violence prevention and also provide incentives and opportunities to participate in city-wide efforts. • Provide cities with the opportunity to network and mentor each other in their efforts to reduce and prevent violence through UNITY. Details: Los Angeles: Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center, UCLA School of Public Health, 2008. 153p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 19, 2012 at: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/UNITY-SCIPRCassessment.June2008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/UNITY-SCIPRCassessment.June2008.pdf Shelf Number: 125680 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention Gangs Juvenile Offenders Urban Areas Violent Crime Youth Violence (U.S.)

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Title: Current Practices in Electronic Surveillance in the Investigation of Serious and Organized Crime Summary: The value of employing electronic surveillance in the investigation of some forms of serious crime, in particular organized crime, is unquestionable. It allows the gathering of information unattainable through other means. Some countries have utilized surreptitious electronic surveillance for nearly a century. For others it is a more recent phenomenon, and for some it is not yet utilized at all. The use by law enforcement of electronic surveillance should not be an investigative tool of first resort, instead its use should be considered when other less intrusive means have proven ineffective or when there is no reasonable alternative to obtain crucial information or evidence. Even when electronic surveillance is appropriate, it will generally need to be used in conjunction with other investigation methods in order to be most effective. For those jurisdictions without any regulation, or with legislation which is lacking in some respect, the challenge is to develop a balanced system for the use of electronic evidence gathering. The balance which needs to be struck is that between the effective use of electronic evidence gathering and the protection of citizens’ rights. This includes balancing the cost of utilizing these methods against the ultimate public benefit gained from a conviction. These considerations should be weighed carefully by legislators, prosecutors, law enforcement and the like. It should also be noted that in some countries the existence of a federal system of governance means that electronic surveillance can be regulated at both a local and at a national level. Federal law will often apply where the investigation is into crime that crosses borders, however, organized crime is of course also investigated by local law enforcement. It is not possible for this document to comprehensively consider regulation of individual states, regions or provinces within countries, although their mention will occur where valuable examples arise. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2009. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 24, 2012 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/Law-Enforcement/Electronic_surveillance.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/organized-crime/Law-Enforcement/Electronic_surveillance.pdf Shelf Number: 125751 Keywords: Criminal Investigations Electronic Surveillance Organized Crime Video Surveillance Violent Crime

Author: Institute for Security Studies Title: Unban Violence and Humanitarian Challenges: Joint Report Summary: This second colloquium organised jointly by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) aimed to present the causes and humanitarian consequences of urban violence, as well as related trends and challenges for the European Union and humanitarian actors. Two case studies have been selected, focusing on different types of violence affecting urban environments. The first case study examines pilot projects to address humanitarian needs arising from organised crime and gang violence in megacities; the second is an analysis of the humanitarian challenges emerging from urban violence in the context of uprisings, referring specifically to the lessons learned from the protests in the Arab world. Urban violence represents numerous challenges for policy makers and humanitarian actors alike. Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and it appears that urban centres will absorb almost all new population growth in the coming decades. It has therefore become increasingly important to understand the dynamics of violence in an urban setting. By bringing together experts, academics and representatives from various relief organisations, the ICRC and the EUISS hope to have contributed to the debate and spurred further interest in this increasingly important issue. The present publication includes summaries of both the presentations provided by the speakers and the discussions held during the colloquium. Details: Paris: Institute for Security Studies, 2012. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2012 at: http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Urban_violence_and_humanitarian_challenges.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Urban_violence_and_humanitarian_challenges.pdf Shelf Number: 125774 Keywords: Cities and Crime Gangs Organized Crime Urban Areas (International) Violence Violent Crime

Author: City of Albany Gun Violence Task Force Title: Final Report to the Common Council Summary: With the enactment of an ordinance in July, 2007, the City of Albany’s Gun Violence Task Force was formed “to research and develop strategies to reduce gun violence.” The Task Force was comprised of thirteen voting members, whose work was to be completed within one year. The Task Force was specifically charged to: o prepare a report on the number and types of gun-related offenses, with as much detail as possible, in the City of Albany from the year 2000 to the present; o compare the number and types of incidents to at least five other municipalities of similar size; o research and report on programs used successfully by other municipalities to reduce gunrelated violence and the approximate cost of such programs. The Task Force itself specified a two-fold mission of assessment and recommendation. o To the end of assessment, it is our purpose: 1. to ascertain the root causes of gun violence; 2. to examine the manifestations of gun violence; and 3. to engage in dialogue with the people concerning gun violence. o To the end of recommendation, it is our purpose: 1. to identify resources to address gun violence; 2. to suggest a strategy to alleviate gun violence; and 3. to recommend programs to combat gun violence. With this report, the Task Force fulfills its mandates and completes its work, with the hope that the information offered herein will prove useful to the City as it formulates initiatives to reduce gun violence. The report includes four principal parts. First we summarize the organization of the Task Force and its work. Then we provide an overview of the gun violence problem, including a brief review of the causes of gun violence, a consideration of the role of street gangs in gun violence, and a discussion of the supply of crime guns. Third, we summarize information on gun violence in Albany. Finally, we offer recommendations that, as a set, are based on several strategies, and which include multiple programs, identifying existing and potential resources wherever we were able to do so. We have not included, nor were we asked to formulate, specific financing packages for recommended infrastructure or programming. The Task Force understood its role to be one of recommendation and not implementation. Decisions about the priority accorded to preventing and controlling gun violence, and the allocation of public resources, are properly those of the elected leadership of the City. Details: Albany, NY: City of Albany, 2009. 281p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 31, 2012 at: http://www.albanyny.gov/_files/Gun%20Violence%20Task%20Force%20Final%20Report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.albanyny.gov/_files/Gun%20Violence%20Task%20Force%20Final%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 125819 Keywords: Gun Violence (New York) Guns Street Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Moreno Gómez, Edgar Title: Staging the War on Drugs: Media and Organised Crime in Mexico Summary: The steep upsurge in the number of drug‐related homicides in Mexico has been matched by an even greater increase in the news coverage of violence and organised crime. However, both journalists and scholars have overlooked how organised crime makes use of the media and vice versa. By drawing on previous research on the relationship between the media, terrorism and public opinion this Working Paper looks into the rise of mass‐mediated organised crime in Mexico. Based on a quantitative analysis of the news coverage of violence and organised crime in three major newspapers as well as a qualitative study of selected events, the paper offers an insight to understand the political ramifications of the news coverage of violence. Even when drug trafficking organisations are not terrorists who seek the publicity of the press to advance a political cause, this paper shows that they have important goals related to the media, the impact of news on public opinion and the consequent influence over policy making. Details: Madrid: Elcano Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies, 2012. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Elcano Royal Institute Working Papers No. 8: Accessed August 2, 2012 at: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?id=147776 Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?id=147776 Shelf Number: 125843 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime (Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Assistance Title: Reducing Crime Through Intelligence-Led Policing Summary: Through the Targeting Violent Crime Initiative, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, has identified numerous law enforcement agencies throughout the United States that have experienced tremendous success in combating complex crime problems plaguing their communities. A cornerstone of these agencies‟ efforts appears to be the incorporation of intelligence-led policing, along with other initiatives, to address their crime problems. To better understand the role of ILP in these successes, BJA requested a study of selected programs that represent a broad spectrum of agencies that are geographically diverse and varied in agency size and available resources. The purpose of the study was to identify commonalities, challenges, and best practices that may be replicated in other jurisdictions. The study was composed of case studies of selected agencies and involved delving into the nature and scope of the crime problems targeted, examining institutional changes made to address those crime problems, and identifying ongoing or newly implemented complementary efforts. Many, but not all, agencies selected for the study were grantees of the BJA Targeting Violent Crime Initiative. A protocol was developed to collect program information, and a team visited ten agencies to review data and policies and conduct interviews. Although the agencies exhibited differing operational practices and organizational styles, it quickly became apparent that they shared certain commonalities that were critical to their success. These include:  Command commitment  Problem clarity  Active collaboration  Effective intelligence  Information sharing  Clearly defined goals  Results-oriented tactics and strategies  Holistic investigations  Officer accountability  Continuous assessment The case studies in this report validate the fact that implementing ILP substantially enhanced the ability of these high-performing agencies to achieve success. ILP was implemented in varying degrees within these agencies and was often complemented by other policing practices, such as community policing, problem solving, and CompStat based on robust data collection and analysis. The success of these programs also reflects BJA‟s principles of:  Emphasizing local control  Building relationships in the field  Developing collaborations and partnerships  Promoting capacity building through planning  Encouraging innovation. Details: Washington, DC: BJA, 2012. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 7, 2012 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/ReducingCrimeThroughILP.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/ReducingCrimeThroughILP.pdf Shelf Number: 125904 Keywords: Crime Analysis Intellence-Led Policing (U.S.) Intelligence Analysis Problem-Oriented Policing Violent Crime

Author: Chadwick-Parkes, Sandra Title: Youth Armed Violence Interventions: The Caribbean and its Toronto Diaspora Summary: With 66 per cent of all homicides occurring in countries not experiencing major violent conflict, armed violence is now a global social problem. Even more alarming is that much of this violence is perpetrated by young people, who are also over-represented among the victims. Youth armed violence is now a grave concern at every level of society and initiatives to deal with this issue have been increasing. More recently, steps have been undertaken to map those initiatives, especially at the community level, and document and disseminate good practice in addressing the problem. In furtherance of the goal of the Small Arms Working Group and Project Ploughshares to reduce violence and build peace, this study presents case studies of two specific programs that are enjoying some measure of success: The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) in Kingston, Jamaica and the Breaking the Cycle (BTC) Project in Toronto. Both programs were selected because of their success with gang-associated, violent youth in Jamaica’s inner city and in Toronto’s Caribbean diaspora communities respectively. Both are linked by the study’s Caribbean youth focus. The link goes even deeper: the perception is that much of the violence in Toronto is perpetrated by youth of Caribbean, particularly Jamaican, heritage. The research highlights several models for addressing youth armed violence. While both programs adopt variations of these approaches, the Armed Violence Reduction and Development (AVR) approach, which aims at reducing the risks and impacts of armed violence, is particularly relevant. PMI intervenes first to quell violence and then offers livelihood opportunities to address poverty. Also acknowledging the direct link between low socio-economic status and violence, BTC offers the opportunity to exit gangs and lead more productive lives through education and by building leadership skills. Both programs also address the psychological issues typical of violence, such as anger management, conflict resolution and the need for life-coping skills. However, because of the complex and interrelated causes of such violence, the models associated with youth armed violence agree on the need for multi-sector, multi-level interventions. Details: Waterloo, ONT: Project Ploughshares, 2012(?). 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 10, 2012 at: http://www.ploughshares.ca/sites/default/files/youth%20violence%20manual%20web%20pdf.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.ploughshares.ca/sites/default/files/youth%20violence%20manual%20web%20pdf.pdf Shelf Number: 125954 Keywords: Gangs Gun Violence Homicides Violent Crime Youth Violence (Jamaica, Toronto)

Author: Kabir, Mohammad Title: Safety and Security in North Bengal, Bangladesh: A Youth Perception Survey Summary: There is an increasing recognition that a secure environment is a precondition for development. Armed violence, insecurity and poverty are often inter-connected and not only undermine individual security but also impede progress towards the eradication of poverty. Over the past decade, there has been a perceived increase in incidents of violence, including armed violence, in North Bengal, Bangladesh. The prevalence of armed groups and incidences of violence and crime threaten community safety and security in a region which has often been identified as vulnerable to instability and insecurity. However, there have been no recent empirical studies that have explored perceptions of young women and men in North Bengal regarding safety and security and future options for creating a secure and stable region. Perceptions of the youth are important since they are the future leaders who will determine the future course of their country in both ideological and socio-political development terms. The principal aim of this study is to develop a better understanding of perceived and actual trends in insecurity and ways to address them as seen from the hearts and minds of young people in North Bengal. Details: Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangaladesh Enterprise Institute; London: Saferworld, 2012. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 11, 2012 at: http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/North%20Bengal%20report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Bangladesh URL: http://www.saferworld.org.uk/downloads/pubdocs/North%20Bengal%20report.pdf Shelf Number: 125986 Keywords: Violence (Bangladesh) Violent Crime Violent Extremism

Author: London. Assembly. Time for Action Panel Title: Time to Reflect: The Development of Time for Action, the Mayor's Strategy to Tackle Serious Youth Violence Summary: The Time for Action strategy is a set of programmes aimed at reaching young people in London who may be at risk of becoming a victim, or perpetrator of crime. The Time for Action Panel welcomes the Mayor’s focus on addressing some of the causes of serious youth violence by expanding young people’s opportunities to participate in constructive activities and improve their life chances. It is important that the Mayor shows leadership by supporting programmes which can act to improve young people’s life chances and reduce youth violence. Final evaluation reports for the programmes have not yet been produced so it is too early to make an assessment of overall effectiveness. Some programmes have been fully worked up and are operational but others have been slow to get going. While the overall strategy has been led by the Deputy Mayor for Policing, other Mayoral Advisors have led on other programmes at different times. There are many lessons to be learnt by the GLA from its work in this area as the Mayor considers future interventions and further roll out of these programmes. In developing the programmes it is important to better understand the causes and drivers of serious youth violence and there is more the Mayor can do to commission and publish research which would support his interventions. This is vital to ensure effective programme design and targeting of resources. Our focus has been on three particular areas where the Mayor has intervened and significant GLA resources have been expended: to support offender rehabilitation, to support looked after children and to support mentoring of young black boys. The Panel has looked in detail at the creation of the Heron Unit at Feltham Young Offenders Institute that seeks to deliver intensive rehabilitation for young men who have stepped forward for a second chance. Our impression of the work of the Unit has been very positive and there is now some quantitative data to suggest that the Unit may be able to improve the chances of successful rehabilitation once the young men leave. We look forward to the final evaluation report in the summer and to hearing from the Mayor what further support the GLA will be offering to the Unit. The local authority is the corporate parent for looked after children but there are important strategic interventions that the Mayor can make to support these children. His work to support looked after children has shifted focus from boosting school attendance and achievement to supporting looked after children make the transition from school to university and to help raise aspirations. His intervention has been welcome but there is more that can be done through a campaign for more foster parents and by providing support into employment through ring-fencing apprenticeships in the GLA group. The Mayor’s mentoring programme has not met its delivery targets and there are concerns amongst some Panel members about the capacity of the consortium to create sufficient numbers of successful mentoring relationships. Part of the reason why the mentoring programme is behind schedule may be due to the way the appointment of the delivery consortium was made and the subsequent problems with the winning bid’s delivery partners. Details: London: Greater London Authority, 2012. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2012 at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/13977/1/12-03-16-Time-to-Refelct.Pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/13977/1/12-03-16-Time-to-Refelct.Pdf Shelf Number: 125994 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Offenders (London, U.K.) Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Soeiro, Mafalda Title: Determinants of Highter Education Students' Willingness to Pay for Violent Crime Reduction: A Contingent Valuation Study Summary: By eliciting an individual’s Willingness to Pay (WTP) for a reduction in crime risks, the contingent valuation method is one of the most solid methodologies in use to estimate the intangible costs of crime. However, very few studies have applied contingent valuation methods to random samples of the population located in high crime rate areas. This study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first attempt to apply the contingent valuation method to estimate how much a specific group of society, which is relatively prone to falling victim to (violent) crime, i.e., students, is willing to pay to reduce the likelihood of being the victim of violent crime. In contrast to the existing literature, our study focuses on a rather unexplored context, Portugal, where criminality and violent crime rates are relatively low by international standards, even though they have been on the rise. Based on responses from 1122 higher education students in a broad range of degrees (from Economics to Psychology and the Humanities), we found that 33% of our respondents have been victims of crime in the past, although in general they did not result in physical or psychological injuries. A reasonable percentage of the students (almost 40%) is very worried about falling victim to a crime and 52.8% worries moderately. Over 40% of our respondents were willing to pay a certain amount but less than 50€, whereas 20.8% were willing to pay between 50€ and 250€. On average, all other determinants constant, younger and female students revealed that they were more inclined to pay so as to avoid violent crime than their older and male counterparts. Low and high income Portuguese students do not differ in their willingness to pay more to avoid being victims of violent crime. Cautious behaviour, such as locking doors at home, and a strong opinion about policies and payment vehicles with potential to reduce the risk of crime is positively associated with the WTP. Finally, the students’ field of study surfaced as a key determinant of WTP – students enrolled in Economics and Management revealed a higher WTP. Such findings are likely to have a critical impact on crime and insurance policies. Details: Porto, Brazil: Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto, 2010. 41p. Source: FEP Working Papers N. 384: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2012 at http://wps.fep.up.pt/wps/wp384.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://wps.fep.up.pt/wps/wp384.pdf Shelf Number: 126018 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Crime Reduction Violent Crime

Author: FMR Research Title: Final Report May 2009: Evaluation of Nite Zone Summary: This report is a study evaluating the Nite Zone programme implemented by the Glasgow City Centre Alcohol Action Group (GCCAAG). This report highlights the findings of the evaluation and offers recommendations regarding improvements for the project. The evaluation was undertaken during January to April 2009. Glasgow city centre can host between 70,000 to 100,000 people on a Friday or Saturday night which creates challenges when looking at protection and control issues around alcohol. This led to the establishment of the Glasgow City Centre Alcohol Group (CCAAG) in 2003 to tackle alcohol related harm in the City Centre. GCCAAG is a partnership between Strathclyde Police, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Community & Safety Services and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The remit of the group is to develop actions around a range of activities to reduce alcohol-related harm and promote a safer environment by co-ordinated action; with the implicit recognition that at all levels alcohol-related harm cannot be tackled without multi-agency effort. Nite Zone draws together a number of community safety strands which helps to facilitate the prompt and safe exit of users of the Glasgow city centre night time economy. While initially focusing on the area around Glasgow Central Station when the project was established in December 2005, the project was extended to Sauchiehall Street in June 2006. Nite Zone‟s main aims are to get people who are using the night time economy quickly and safely out of the city centre with a positive impact on violent crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime. 1.2 Objectives The overarching aim of this evaluation was to evaluate and report on the contribution that Nite Zone had made with regard to reducing violence in the City Centre as well as reviewing the success of the specific strands of the Nite Zone initiative. These include: increasing the capacity of night taxi ranks; amending traffic sequences to reduce congestion at night; provision of public street white lighting; developing a radio network involving night clubs and other late night premises; providing Taxi and Bus Marshalls; increasing CCTV operators and providing Public Help Points; and providing first aid to people in taxi queues. Details: Glasgow: FMR Research, 2009. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 16, 2012 at: www.shiftingthebalance.scot.nhs.uk Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 126047 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorders Crime Prevention Disorderly Conduct Nightime Economy (Scotland) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Stults, Brian J. Title: Determinants of Chicago Neighborhood Homicide Trends: 1980-2000 Summary: One of the most important social changes in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s was the dramatic increase and subsequent decrease in crime, and particularly violent crime, in large cities. For example, the homicide rate in Chicago nearly tripled between 1965 and 1992, after which point it declined by more than 50% through 2005. Surely this is a remarkable pattern of change, but is this trend representative of all areas in the city? The general purpose of the proposed project is to examine homicide trends in Chicago neighborhoods from 1980-2000 using three data sources available from ICPSR and the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). Drawing on the social disorganization and concentrated disadvantage literature, this study will use growth-curve modeling and semi-parametric group-based trajectory modeling to: 1) assess neighborhood variation in homicide trends; 2) identify the particular types of homicide trajectory that Chicago neighborhoods follow; 3) assess whether structural characteristics of neighborhoods influence homicide trends and trajectories; and 4) determine the extent to which the influence of structural characteristics is mediated by neighborhood levels of collective efficacy. This project extends prior research by not only describing the homicide trends and trajectories of Chicago neighborhoods, but also identifying the neighborhood characteristics that directly and indirectly influence those trends. Results show that considerable variation exists in homicide trends across Chicago neighborhoods. In the group-based trajectory analysis, homicide trajectories are consistently associated with initial levels of concentrated disadvantage as well as change over time. Change in family disruption is also predictive of trajectory group assignment, but only among neighborhoods with very high initial levels of ii homicide. In the growth curve analysis, concentrated disadvantage is associated with initial levels of homicide, but not change over time. In contrast, social disorganization and immigrant concentration emerge as significant predictors of variability in homicide trends. Additional models incorporating data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) show that neighborhood ties and perceived social disorder mediate a substantial portion of the effects of concentrated disadvantage and social disorganization on homicide rates. Details: Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University, 2012. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239202.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239202.pdf Shelf Number: 126260 Keywords: Homicide (Chicago) Neighborhoods and Crime Social Disorganization Violent Crime

Author: Davis, Diane E. Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence Summary: While the sources and forms of social and political violence have been extensively examined, the ways ordinary people along with their neighbors and officials cope with chronic urban violence have earned far less attention. This eight-case study of cities suffering from a history of violence explores this latter phenomenon, which we call resilience. We define resilience as those acts intended to restore or create effectively functioning community-level activities, institutions, and spaces in which the perpetrators of violence are marginalized and perhaps even eliminated. This report identifies the sets of conditions and practices that enhance an individual or a community’s capacity to act independently of armed actors. We specify the types of horizontal (e.g., intra-community, or neighborhood-to-neighborhood) and vertical (e.g., state-community) relationships that have been used to sustain this relative autonomy. Violence and responses to it are situated in physical space, and we look for the spatial correlates of resilience, seeking to determine whether and how physical conditions in a neighborhood will affect the nature, degrees, and likelihood of resilience. Urban resilience can be positive or negative. Positive resilience is a condition of relative stability and even tranquility in areas recently or intermittently beset by violence. Strong and cooperative relationships between the state and community, and between different actors—businesses, civil society, the police, etc.—tend to characterize positive resilience. Negative resilience occurs when violence entrepreneurs have gained effective control of the means of coercion, and impose their own forms of justice, security, and livelihoods. In such situations—most frequently in informal neighborhoods where property rights are vague or contested—the community is fragmented and seized by a sense of powerlessness, and the state is absent or corrupted. Our findings suggest that resilience appears at the interface of citizen and state action, and is strengthened through cooperation within and between communities and governing authorities. Resilience is robust and positive when ongoing, integrated strategies among the different actors yield tangible and sustainable gains for a particular community: improvement in the physical infrastructure, growing commercial activity, and communityoriented policing, to name three common attributes. When citizens, the private sector, and governing authorities establish institutional networks of accountability that tie them to each other at the level of the community, a dynamic capacity is created to subvert the perpetrators of violence and establish everyday normalcy. The security activities produced through citizen-state networks are most accountable, legitimate, and durable when they are directed and monitored by communities themselves, in a relationship of cooperative autonomy. More broadly, urban resilience benefits from good urban planning—promoting and investing in mixed commercial and residential land use, for example, particularly in areas of the city at-risk for crime, and building infrastructure that enables free movement of people within and between all neighborhoods (via pedestrian corridors; parks; public transport) to promote security and livelihoods. This speaks to the challenge of informality—the communities built up, usually on the city’s periphery, without regard to ownership rights. The legal entanglements of informality can be daunting, but some cities have finessed this to provide services, with substantially positive outcomes. Formal property rights or not, citizens of all income groups need to have the opportunity to live in vibrant areas where social, economic, and residential activities and priorities reinforce each other in ways that bring a community together in the service of protecting and securing those spaces. This process yields good results for the entire metropolitan area. Finally, this report develops the idea of legitimate security as a way to address the vexing interactions of the state and communities in the provision of security and positive resilience. The relationship of at-risk communities with the police is often troubled. Legitimate security addresses this by seeking to ensure democratic and participatory governance in every sense—political, civil, and social. It recognizes needs specific to marginalized and underrepresented populations, including ethnic/racial minorities, women, the poor, and indigenous groups. It is, moreover, a viable alternative to deleterious responses to insecurity—e.g., privatization of security, fortification of urban spaces, and vigilantism, among others. Legitimate security fosters broad participation and initiatives from “below” with an increased focus on multi-sector partnerships to provide more effective, lasting, and accountable ways forward for cities seeking security. Details: Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for International Studies; Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development, 2012. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2012 at: http://web.mit.edu/cis/urbanresiliencereport2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://web.mit.edu/cis/urbanresiliencereport2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126361 Keywords: Crime Prevention Neighborhoods and Crime Social Capital Urban Areas and Crime Urban Planning Violence Violent Crime

Author: Truman, Jennifer L. Title: Prevalence of Violent Crime among Households with Children, 1993-2010 Summary: Presents data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) on nonfatal violent crime involving members of a household as victims and reports on the annual prevalence of that violent crime among U.S. households with children from 1993 to 2010. The report estimates the number of children age 17 or younger living in households in which at least one household member age 12 or older experienced violent crime during a given year. As defined in NCVS, nonfatal violent victimizations include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. Estimates of the number of children are provided by age of children (ages 0 to 11 and ages 12 to 17), type of crime, and location of the crime. The report also examines households that experienced violent crime by whether children lived in the household, type of crime, and location of the crime. Data on victimized households by type, composition, and characteristic are also presented. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, 2012. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2012 at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/pvchc9310.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/pvchc9310.pdf Shelf Number: 126407 Keywords: Families Victimization Surveys Violent Crime

Author: Alderden, Megan A. Title: Gang Hot Spots Policing in Chicago: An Evaluation of the Deployment Operations Center Process Summary: From 2000 to 2007, Chicago experienced a significant decline in violent crime (murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault/battery), particularly gun-related public violence. In public discourse, this decline was attributed to the Chicago Police Department (CPO) and, in particular, to a process spearheaded by the Deployment Operations Center (DOC). The primary mission of the DOC was to analyze crime and intelligence data, identifying areas of the city believed to have a high probability for violent crime (i.e., violent crime "hot spots"). Areas identified by DOC analysts, termed Level II deployment areas, were used to guide deployment decisions for specialized units, whose responsibility was to enter designated hot spots and suppress gang, drug, and gun crime. The primary purpose of this study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, was to evaluate whether the aforementioned crime reductions could be attributed to the DOC process. To accomplish this, researchers used both qualitative and quantitative research methods, collecting data on various elements of the DOC logic model - analysis of crime and intelligence data, identification of hot spots, communication of designated hot spots to CPO personnel, redeployment of officers to hot spots, and engagement in suppression activities. CPO administrators believed that, through this process, gang, drug, and gun-related crime would be reduced. Details: Final Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2011. 117p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239207.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239207.pdf Shelf Number: 126452 Keywords: Crime Hot Spots Gangs (Chicago) Gun Violence Homicides Policing Violence Violent Crime

Author: Liem, Marieke Christine Agatha Title: Homicide Followed by Suicide. An Empirical Analysis Summary: When headlines such as the ones above confront us every now and then our illusion of safety is shattered: the perpetrator is not a stranger, but someone who is well‐known to us. Although already considered to be incomprehensible, when in such killings the perpetrator subsequently kills himself, we remain puzzled. The event is even more puzzling given the fact that usually, these perpetrators are older, white men, who do not have a criminal record (Marzuk et al., 1992; Stack, 1997), thereby challenging our idea of the ‘conventional’ criminal. Some see the perpetrator as a victim of his own acts, whereas others are of the opinion that his suicide is spiteful as he cannot be brought to justice for his4 cruel acts. Acts in which a homicide is followed by the suicide of the perpetrator are termed homicide‐suicides. So far our knowledge of homicide‐suicide is remarkably limited, particularly in the Netherlands. In the first place, this concerns our empirical knowledge of the phenomenon. Given the differences in their very nature, both homicide and suicide have mostly been studied independently, or, as Stack has (1997) has pointed out: “Research on homicide has neglected suicide and research on suicide has neglected homicide”. Even though numerous studies have been conducted on both homicide (for an overview, see Nieuwbeerta & Leistra, 2003) and on suicide (e.g. Garssen & Hoogenboezem, 2007; Neeleman, 1998) in the Netherlands and elsewhere, up until now only a limited number of studies have undertaken the endeavor to examine homicide‐suicides theoretically and empirically. Compared to the studies carried out on homicide and suicide, research on homicide‐suicide is considerably limited. A second gap in our knowledge exists regarding theoretical approaches to homicide-suicide. So far, no comprehensive theoretical approach to the homicide‐suicide phenomenon has been developed. Rather, from a current theoretical point of view homicide‐suicide constitutes a combination of both homicide and suicide, both types of lethal violence resulting from aggressive impulses. These theories, however, do not clarify under which circumstances one chooses to commit one type of lethal violence over another type – and they certainly do not explain the occurrence of a homicide - suicide. Homicide‐suicide is typically regarded as a variation of homicidal behaviour, where the subsequent suicide is the result of feelings of guilt or a fear of the judicial consequences, or as a variation of suicidal behavior, in which the victim is ‘taken along’ in the suicide of the perpetrator (Cavan, 1928; Milroy, 1993; West, 1965). The fact that we hardly have any adequate empirical or theoretical knowledge on homicide‐suicide has major implications both from a criminal justice and a public health perspective. Within the criminal justice system, particularly concerning detention facilities, there is a need to distinguish suicidal from non‐suicidal homicide perpetrators. DuRand et al. (1995), for example, have shown that a charge of murder or manslaughter poses an important risk factor in prison suicide. Various other studies have found that the majority of those committing suicide in prison were accused of murder or manslaughter (Danto, 1989; Salive et al., 1989; Smialek & Spitz, 1978). Yet, none of these studies regarded the suicide as a reaction to the initial homicide. Rather, the homicide is considered as a correlate rather than a cause of prison suicide. Distinguishing suicidal from non‐suicidal homicide perpetrators might allow for improvements in the prevention of suicide in detention. From a public health perspective, considering homicide‐suicide as primarily homicidal implies that prevention measures for homicide are parallel with those for homicide‐suicide. Similarly, considering homicide‐suicide as primarily suicidal infers that similar prevention measures for suicide might contribute to preventing homicidesuicides. However, perceiving of homicide‐suicide as a separate phenomenon might require a different approach to prevention altogether. To sum up, homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator constitutes a neglected phenomenon in the scientific realm. This study aims to increase our knowledge of homicide‐suicide in at least four ways, namely by: 1. Systematically reviewing previous empirical studies on homicide‐suicide as well as previous theoretical notions connected with the homicide‐suicide phenomenon; 2. Describing the nature and incidence of homicide‐suicide in the Netherlands and putting these findings into an international perspective; 3. Advancing the state of knowledge by not only assessing homicide‐suicides in isolation, but by comparing these acts to both homicide and suicide, in that way coming to an understanding of which characteristics explain the occurrence of homicide‐suicide relative to other types of lethal violence; 4. Empirically assessing existing theoretical assumptions on homicide‐suicide. Details: Utrecht, The Netherlands: Utrecht University, 2010. 257p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed October 5, 2012 at: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2010-0204-200151/liem.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2010-0204-200151/liem.pdf Shelf Number: 126559 Keywords: Homicide Murder Suicide Violent Crime

Author: Webster, Daniel W. Title: The Case For Gun Policy Reforms In America Summary: Each year, more than 31,000 people in the United States die as a result of gunshot wounds. In 2010, firearms were used in almost 338,000 nonfatal violent crimes and more than 73,000 people were treated for gun injuries. But, the true toll of gun violence is not measured in numbers. The victims of gun violence are young people who die too soon, families left to grieve, and community members who feel unsafe in their neighborhoods. According to The Case for Gun Policy Reforms in America, a new report from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, gun violence in America can be prevented with common sense policy solutions that are widely supported by the American public. The report summarizes existing gun policy research by Johns Hopkins and other institutions. Among several recommendations, the report argues that ownership restrictions should be broadened to include adults convicted of misdemeanors and juveniles convicted of serious crimes in juvenile court – two groups that are more likely to use a gun to commit a crime in the future. Background checks should be required of all gun purchasers to ensure that prohibited persons do not gain access to dangerous weapons. Under current federal law, 40 percent of gun sales are not subject to background checks. Better regulation and oversight of gun dealers can also prevent firearms from being resold illegally to criminals. The nature of guns is also changing. Better regulation and oversight of military-style assault weapons and large capacity magazines – magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition – can lessen the impact of mass shootings, in which the perpetrator is more likely to use an assault weapon and high-capacity magazine. There is broad public support for improved gun policies to restrict gun ownership by potentially dangerous people. A recent Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Luntz Global poll showed that 82 percent of gun owners supported mandatory background checks for all firearm sales. Another poll showed board support for measures to either expand current gun prohibitions for potentially dangerous people or enhance accountability, so that prohibited individuals cannot access a firearm. The same poll found that 58 percent of adults surveyed supported a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Details: Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2012. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 26, 2012 at: http://www.joycefdn.org/assets/1/7/WhitePaper102512_CGPR.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.joycefdn.org/assets/1/7/WhitePaper102512_CGPR.pdf Shelf Number: 126808 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence (U.S.) Guns Violent Crime

Author: Bellis, Mark A. Title: Protecting People, Promoting Health – A Public Health Approach to Violence prevention in England Summary: Preventing violence must be seen as a priority for public health, health care and multi-sectoral working in England. Violence is a major cause of ill health and poor wellbeing as well as a drain on health services and the wider economy. However, it is preventable using measures that save much more money than they cost to implement. Interventions, especially those in early childhood, not only prevent individuals developing a propensity for violence but also improve educational outcomes, employment prospects and long-term health outcomes. Abuse in childhood increases risks of violence in later life, but also risks of cancer, heart disease, sexually transmitted infections, substance use, and a wide range of health conditions that are currently stretching health care resources (see chapter 3). Moreover, without safe and secure communities, measures to encourage people to exercise, socialise or adopt more sustainable lifestyles (e.g. using public transport) are more likely to fail as people feel trapped in their houses and cars and unable to engage with local communities. Even broader economic inequalities can remain stubbornly entrenched when investment in the poorest communities is inhibited by risks of violence to staff and customers. The breadth of individuals and organisations affected by violence and the number that need to be coordinated in order to prevent it mean that public health is uniquely positioned to lead programmes on violence prevention, support the implementation of violence prevention activity by partner agencies and make a major contribution to integrated multi-agency working for violence prevention. This document is designed as a resource for those that wish to rise to this challenge. Details: London: Department of Health, 2012. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: https://www.wp.dh.gov.uk/publications/files/2012/11/Violence-prevention.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.wp.dh.gov.uk/publications/files/2012/11/Violence-prevention.pdf Shelf Number: 126821 Keywords: Crime Prevention Public Health Initiatives Violence (U.K.) Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Burton, Patrick Title: Country Assessment on Youth Violence, Policy and Programmes in South Africa Summary: It is increasingly recognised that young people are central to issues of crime and violence in South Africa. While research, policy and programming have historically focused on children and adults, there is a growing emphasis on youth as both victims and perpetrators of violence. This report presents the findings of a country assessment commissioned by the World Bank to support its Incorporating Human Rights into Youth Violence Programming and Policy Dialogues in Mexico and South Africa project. This aims to encourage policy dialogue on youth and violence with the South African government and other stakeholders. The report:  examines the current situation of youth violence in South Africa;  summarizes the policy response by the government and the prevailing legal and institutional framework;  identifies innovative programming by civil society organisations; and  identifies entry points for deeper policy dialogue and improved interventions to address youth violence. Details: Washington, DC: Social Development Department, The World Bank, 2012. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2012 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/07/03/000333038_20120703041946/Rendered/PDF/707330WP0South00Box370051B00PUBLIC0.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South Africa URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/07/03/000333038_20120703041946/Rendered/PDF/707330WP0South00Box370051B00PUBLIC0.pdf Shelf Number: 126822 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Young Adult Offenders Youth and Violence (South Africa)

Author: Amnesty International Title: Nigeria: Trapped in the Cycle of Violence Summary: Since 2009, acts of violence by the Islamist armed group known as Boko Haram have been carried out across northern and central Nigeria with increasing sophistication and deadliness. Nigeria’s security forces have perpetrated serious human rights violations in their response – including enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, house burning and unlawful detention. at the same time, the Nigerian government has failed to adequately prevent or investigate the attacks or to bring perpetrators to justice. This cycle of attacks and counter-attacks has been marked by unlawful violence on both sides, with devastating consequences for the human rights of the people trapped in the middle. They live in considerable fear and insecurity, unprotected from attacks by Boko Haram and facing human rights violations at the hands of the very state security forces mandated with their protection. This report presents research gathered by Amnesty International during visits to Nigeria between February and July 2012. it details human rights abuses and violations in northern and central Nigeria and includes testimonies from survivors and victims’ families. The report sets out key recommendations for the Nigerian government to ensure that human rights violations are not perpetrated by its security forces in the name of national security. it urges the government of Nigeria to fulfil its duty to take measures to prevent and protect civilians from attack and to investigate all such crimes, and to bring to justice those responsible. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2012. 88p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2012 at: http://allafrica.com/view/resource/main/main/id/00050475.html Year: 2012 Country: Nigeria URL: http://allafrica.com/view/resource/main/main/id/00050475.html Shelf Number: 126877 Keywords: Extrajudicial Executions Human Rights Security Forces Violence ( Nigeria) Violent Crime

Author: Heung, Carly Title: Alcohol and Community-based Violence: A Systematic Review Summary: Alcohol is one of the most widely available psychoactive drugs. Both alcohol use and violence share some common physiological, social, and economic variables. While the link between alcohol consumption and violent behaviour has been well established, the mechanisms – social and environmental influences – by which this occurs, are not fully understood. This association highlights the need to gain a better understanding of the contributing factors associated with alcohol-related violence. Purpose: To identify the associated effects of alcohol sales on community-based violence as explained in the existing literature. Methodology: A systematic review of recent literature published from 1999 to 2009 was completed. The search strategy included only articles published in English, with a specific focus on alcohol sales and community-based violence. Electronic databases, grey literature, reference lists of relevant studies and previously published reviews on similar topics were searched using seventeen keywords representing ‘alcohol use’ and ‘community-based violence’. Results: Twenty-eight studies were identified that addressed alcohol outlet density, hours and days of alcohol retail sale, price of alcohol, alcohol sales, characteristics of violent bars, and alcohol-related violent injuries from Emergency Room data. The general finding is that alcohol-related violence is perpetuated by the availability and harmful use of alcohol. Recommendations and Conclusion: These research findings provided ample basis for providing direction and recommendations for informing public health policies to reduce alcohol’s contribution to community-based violence. Eight strategies and 21 commendations are proposed which follow a coordinated, comprehensive health promotion approach incorporating healthy public policy and community action along with the ‘four pillars’: prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and enforcement. Details: Toronto: Alcohol Policy Network, Ontario Public Health Association, 2010. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2012 at: http://www.apolnet.ca/resources/pubs/rpt_Alcohol_and_Violence-2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.apolnet.ca/resources/pubs/rpt_Alcohol_and_Violence-2010.pdf Shelf Number: 126879 Keywords: Alcohol Abuse Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Violence Violent Crime

Author: Violence Policy Center Title: Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2010 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24 Summary: Homicide is the second leading cause of death for California youth and young adults ages 10 to 24 years old. In 2008, the most recent year for which complete data is available from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), homicides in California were outpaced only by unintentional injuries" the majority of which were motor vehicle fatalities" as the leading cause of death for this age group. Of the more than 800 homicides reported, 84 percent were committed with firearms. Nationally in 2008, California had the ninth highest homicide rate for youth and young adults ages 10 to 24.1 Broken out by gender, homicide retains its number two ranking for males and drops to number four for females for this age group in California. For males, of the 741 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 86 percent of the killings. For females, of the 87 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 66 percent of the killings. When analyzed by race and ethnicity, however, the rankings become less uniform and the severe effects of homicide on specific segments of this age group more stark. For blacks ages 10 to 24 in California in 2008, homicide was the leading cause of death. For Hispanics, American Indian and Alaska Natives, and Asian/Pacific Islanders it was the second leading cause of death. For whites it was the fourth leading cause of death. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2012 at: http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126987 Keywords: Gun Violence Homicides (California) Violent Crime Youth and Violence

Author: U.S. Department of Defense. Defense Science Board Title: Task Force Report: Predicting Violent Behavior Summary: This report conveys the findings and recommendations of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force (TF) on Predicting Violent Behavior. This study was chartered and co-sponsored by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD(AT&L)) and the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)). This DSB study is one of several reviews that resulted from the killings that took place on November 5, 2009 at the Fort Hood, Texas Soldier Readiness Center, and is submitted in response to the Terms of Reference (TOR) of May 21, 2011. The overall conclusions of the Task Force are the following:  Mass-casualty attacks are high consequence but very low-incidence. o However, threats of targeted violence are relatively numerous.  There is no silver bullet to stop ALL targeted violence. o There is no effective formula for predicting violent behavior with any degree of accuracy.  PREVENTION should be the goal rather than PREDICTION. o Good options exist in the near-term for mitigating targeted violence by intervening in the progression from violent ideation to violent behavior and by creating contexts that minimize alienation or isolation.  In the near-term, professional threat management as practiced by law enforcement-led Threat Management Units (TMUs) offer effective means to help prevent targeted violence. o TMUs have been widely deployed, with operational success in the private sector, academia, and elsewhere in government – but not across the Department of Defense (with the exception of the Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)). o The Department of Defense (DoD) must implement threat management standards of practice, with an emphasis on low footprint, high impact TMUs that largely utilize existing resources.  Improved information sharing – considering appropriate accommodation for privacy and free religious practice – is a vital enabler of effective threat management.  Science and Technology (S&T) shows some promise as an aid to threat management. o Near-term S&T efforts should focus on conducting rigorous case studies and instituting resilience training. o These case studies should include clinical medical, psychological and behavioral indicators as research better defines their relevance and precision. o Over the long-term, screening technology related to biomarkers has potential. Details: Washington, DC: Department of Defense, 2012. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 27, 2012 at: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/PredictingViolentBehavior.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/PredictingViolentBehavior.pdf Shelf Number: 127008 Keywords: Prediction Threat Management Violence (U.S.) Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Rogan, Michael G. Title: Is the Narco-violence in Mexico an Insurgency? Summary: Since Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on the drug cartels in December 2006, more than 35,000 Mexicans have died due to narco-violence. This monograph examines whether the various Mexican drug trafficking organizations are insurgents or organized criminal elements. Mexican narco-violence and its affiliated gang violence have spread across Mexico’s southern border into Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Additionally, the narco-violence is already responsible for the deaths of American citizens on both sides of the United States – Mexico border, and the potential for increased spillover violence is a major concern. This monograph argues that the Mexican drug cartels are transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) that pose a national security threat to the regional state actors; however, they are not an insurgency for four reasons. First, none of the cartels have the political aim or capability to overthrow the Mexican government. Second, the various TCOs are competing criminal organizations with approximately 90 percent of the violence being cartel on cartel. For example, the violence in the city of Juárez is largely the result of the fighting between the local Juárez cartel and the Sinaloa cartel for control of one of the primary smuggling routes into the United States. Third, the cartels’ use of violence and coercion has turned popular support against them thus denying them legitimacy. Fourth, although the cartels do control zones of impunity within their areas of influence, the Mexican government has captured, killed, and extradited kingpins from every major TCO. The monograph also examines the violence that has taken place in Colombia as a case study comparison for the current narco-violence in Mexico. The Colombian government battled and defeated both the Medellín and Cali drug cartels in the 1990s. It also has made significant progress against two leftist insurgent groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The Colombian government also reached agreement with the right-wing United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia (AUC) who officially disbanded in April 2006. The primary implication of this monograph is that it is the responsibility of the leadership of the Mexican government, its law enforcement institutions, its judicial system, and the military to defeat the TCOs. The case study of Colombia provides strong evidence of the importance of competent political, judicial, law enforcement, and military leadership. It is also clear that the United States provided valuable assistance, but it was the Colombians’ efforts that reduced violence, secured the population, and marginalized the insurgents. The conclusion of this monograph is that the TCOs have a weak case for being an insurgency due to their lack of legitimacy because violence has been excessively cruel and lacking in purpose in the eyes of the Mexican people. Details: Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies, 2011. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2012 at: http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=721559 Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=721559 Shelf Number: 127032 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Gang Violence Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Crandall, Vaughn Title: Practice Brief: Call-In Preparation and Execution Summary: The National Network for Safe Communities’ Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), also known as “Operation Ceasefire,” has repeatedly demonstrated that serious violence can be dramatically reduced when law enforcement, community members, and social services providers join together to directly engage with violent street groups to clearly communicate (1) a law enforcement message that future violence will be met with clear and predictable consequences, (2) a community moral message that violence will no longer be tolerated, and (3) a genuine offer of help to those who want it. The strategy’s central tool to communicate these messages is a call-in—a face-to-face meeting between GVRS representatives and street group members. Practice Brief: Call-In Preparation and Execution is intended to help law enforcement, community, and social services partners already engaged in implementing GVRS to design, prepare, and execute their first and subsequent call-ins. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2012. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2012 at: http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=723721 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=723721 Shelf Number: 127086 Keywords: Community Crime Prevention Community Participation Community-Oriented Policing Violence Prevention (U.S.) Violence Reduction Strategies Violent Crime

Author: ASI Global, LLC Title: Kidnapping for Ransom in Mexico Summary: idnapping for ransom continues to be one of the most serious security risks throughout Mexico, making it one of the countries with the highest number of kidnappings in the world. The majority of kidnappings that take place in Mexico are attributed to small criminal groups that typically operate within a city or municipality rather than large organized groups whose areas of operation span across several cities or states. Some of these gangs are very sophisticated and choose their targets carefully, while others pick up victims of opportunity on the basis of a less selective process. Kidnapping for ransom was once mainly a concern for high-profile Mexican businessmen and their families. While they remain at high risk, organized crime groups now focus on a broader array of targets, including middle-class individuals and even simple merchants or traders. While these gangs operate independently for the most part, many have been linked to Mexican drug cartels. Details: Houston, TX: ASI Global, 2012. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 2, 2012 at http://www.asiglobalresponse.com/downloads/Mexico_Analyst_Report_February_2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.asiglobalresponse.com/downloads/Mexico_Analyst_Report_February_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 127106 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Violence Kidnapping (Mexico) Ransom (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: Kennedy, David M. Title: The High Point Drug Market Intervention Strategy Summary: Drug markets are the scourge of too many communities in the United States. They destroy neighborhoods, a sense of community, and the quality of life. They contribute to crime, shootings, prostitution, assaults, robbery, and have a negative effect on local businesses and on business and residential property values. Police sweeps, buy-bust operations, warrant service, and the arrests and jailing of drug dealers have not eliminated the problem. The drug dealers return, new dealers come into the neighborhood, and the drug markets are quickly back in business. Exasperated by the problem, the High Point (North Carolina) Police Department tried a different tactic and, to the surprise of many, succeeded in eliminating the notorious West End drug market. Creating swift and certain consequences by “banking” existing drug cases; addressing racial conflict between communities and law enforcement, setting strong community and family standards against dealing; involving dealers’ family members, and offering education, job training, job placement, and other social services, the police department was able to close the drug market. Buoyed by this success, the police also were able to close three other drug markets in the city using the same tactics. After studying the successes in High Point, other cities across the country have used similar strategies with similar levels of success. The High Point strategy does not solve the drug problem, but by eliminating street drug markets, we can reduce crime, reduce racial conflict, reduce incarceration, build a sense of camaraderie among residents, and turn some dealers’ lives around. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing, 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 4, 2012 at: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/publications/e08097226-HighPoint.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/publications/e08097226-HighPoint.pdf Shelf Number: 127117 Keywords: Drug Markets Drug Offenders Nuisance Behaviors and Disorders Pulling Levers Strategy Violence Violent Crime

Author: Samper, Jota (Jose) Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence Case Study of Medellín, Colombia Summary: The guiding question for this case study on urban resilience in situations of violence is how connections between individuals, communities and the state (Evans 1996) affect conditions for resilience. It is territorially focused on the informal settlements in Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city, where various violence entrepreneurs have produced acts of violence that at times have made the city one of the most dangerous in the world. Non-state as well as state armed actors have enacted violence, but together individuals, communities and the public authorities are coping with fluctuating conditions of insecurity by fostering positive resilience to strengthen communities and foster connections with the state. Together this has contributed to violence reductions, or at least pressures against the actors of violence. The qualitative research for the report is based on semi-structured interviews with community members, state officials, academics and armed and formerlyarmed actors. The author also conducted participant observation in community meetings in two districts of Medellín (Comunas 5 & 6, and Comuna 13) that have negotiated long histories of violence. Out of more than six decades of violence there has emerged a sophisticated group of resilient community organizations that have managed to cope with attacks by both illegal armed actors in their communities and by excessive force on the part of the state. Positive interactions between the state and these community organizations have contributed to the production of innovative resilience strategies and the adaptation of these strategies within a larger institutional scale and framework implemented by the state. The report is divided into four sections. The first provides an overview of the conditions of violence in Medellín. In particular, it focuses on how spatial conditions play a fundamental role in the intensification of insecurity in some parts of the city. It highlights the importance of urban informality—physically and socially—as causal factors in understanding the complexity and multiplicity of armed actors that historically used informal territories as urban battlefields (J. J. Betancur 2007b; Roldán 2003; Samper 2010). The second section presents a short overview of some of the security strategies that the city government has implemented in Medellín. It focuses specifically on two non-traditional security strategies—investments in urban infrastructure, especially in improving access to the informal settlements, and participatory budgeting—which unexpectedly enhanced security externalities. It concentrates on those strategies because they closed the physical and social distance between the informal communities and formal state structures, a distance that for as long as sixty years has been in the form of isolation (Davis 1999). The third and fourth sections are centered on resilience. The third reveals how community efforts to preserve conditions of security are the result of coping strategies with different armed actors (both non-state and state) within the context of complex informal governance structures embedded in informal settlements. These organizations are often extremely fragile, as measured by the constant attacks on the lives of their leaders, but their survival proves their resilience and of how they pose a real (or perceived) menace to illegal armed groups. The fourth section explores how interactions between state security agents and community organizations provide broader scopes of resilience than would be possible if both were working separately. These interactions between community efforts and state interventions point to the fact that in Medellín connections between the state and civil society have produced two crucial outcomes in terms of resilience: (1) they provide the state with a testing ground for new security strategies that can be implemented in the larger metropolitan area, thus extending conditions of resilience throughout the city; and (2) they enhance the power of existing community governance institutions in ways that provide community organizations with the legitimacy to contest the excesses of state-induced violence. Finally, the report concludes with an understanding that these state-community synergies are not static but rather dynamic as they result from the externalities of ongoing programs, with each cycle of community-state interaction producing new and enhanced resilience mechanisms. Details: Cambridge, MA: Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 7, 2012 at: http://www.urcvproject.org/uploads/Medellin_URCV.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.urcvproject.org/uploads/Medellin_URCV.pdf Shelf Number: 127139 Keywords: Urban Areas Urban Violence Urban Violence (Medellín, Colombia) Violent Crime

Author: Broid, Daniel Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence Case Study of Mexico City, Mexico Summary: This report documents five cases of urban resilience in the face of chronic violence in Mexico City. Rather than examining the history and origins of violence, it focuses on the ways that citizens, the private sector, and governing officials have responded to violence through a series of coping and violence reduction strategies. It does so by examining the agents and strategies of resilience in five different locations spread across the historic central city and a more peripheral neighborhood. The report shows that projects or interventions where public authorities, citizens, and the private sector came together produced more effective and sustainable resilience than did interventions produced by only one or the other of these actors. Multi-stakeholder collaboration created clear channels of communication, increased the accountability of public agencies, and enabled ongoing discussion and implementation of new strategies that could proactively be deployed to meet future security needs. The report also highlights the difficulties in finding ways to sustain relationships between the public authorities and community residents in the absence of strong private sector pressures and/or organized civil society presence, finding these problems more common in low-income residential neighborhoods where urban violence also tended to be concentrated. Nevertheless, the report suggests that recent urban redevelopment priorities for downtown Mexico City have been relatively successful in pushing back against violence and its perpetrators. By examining them more carefully, it is possible to see how and resilience is fostered through connections among city planning authorities, commercial interests and civil society organizations. Details: Cambridge, MA: Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 7, 2012 at: http://www.urcvproject.org/uploads/Mexico_URCV.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.urcvproject.org/uploads/Mexico_URCV.pdf Shelf Number: 127140 Keywords: Urban Areas Urban Violence Violence (Mexico City, Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: Kartas, Moncel Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence: Case Study of Kigali, Rwanda Summary: The question guiding the Kigali case study is how formal and informal institutions interact in the process of urban adaptation to external and internal shocks and stress factors. For instance, if state institutions are failing to provide acceptable levels of services, do informal groups rise in prominence (numbers, resources, visibility, or physical activity)? If such informal institutions do become more salient, how does the state then react to them? By defining urban resilience as an ongoing process of coping and adaptation of territorially bounded units (characterised as a city’s formal as well as informal social, political, and economic institutions and its members and affiliates) to exogenous and endogenous stress, the present study distinguishes between what could be called “negative” and “positive” resilience. The main emphasis of this case study has been placed on the security dimension of resilience. The main argument is that it is not the formal or informal nature of institutions which matter for the production of positive or negative effects, but rather that the strategic orientation underlying their organisation, and the social dynamics in which they operate, influence their ultimate effect on violence and perceived insecurity. In other words, even if the same measures are introduced in urban and rural areas, in an urban space they develop their own urbanspecific resilience mechanisms. Overall, the research team noticed the stark absence of available data sets related to urban parameters such as infrastructure, security, health, housing, and education. Moreover, Rwandan official showed great reluctance in sharing information, datasets, reports and studies with the research team, even when it was stated that the project was being conducted for USAID. Surprisingly, even within and between various government and city-level administrations, there appears to be little capacity and/or willingness to share documents and data. Ultimately, and as no previous work exists on urban violence in the city of Kigali, the research strategy had to be adapted accordingly. The focus was moved to: • localising where and what data exists; • understanding the broad urban dynamics in Kigali and the main urbanisation policies; and • identifying instances of urban resilience in the different sectors discussed by conceptual framework of the project (security, infrastructure, basic service delivery, etc.). To this end, the research has focused on qualitative approaches based on open interviews and narrative conversations. Furthermore, the team used basic participant observation techniques and a thorough visual exploration of the city and its different neighbourhoods using photographic support. The present report is thus able to provide an interpretation and illustrations of urban resilience in Kigali, but not a systematic survey supported by GIS data. The report is divided into five sections. The first provides a descriptive account of Kigali’s main stress factor, namely its demographic explosion, against the backdrop of its topography. It also gives a schematic picture of the city’s neighbourhoods and the scope of informal and formal settlement. The second section introduces the Kigali City Master Plan (KCMP) to familiarise the reader with the macro-policies of the authorities towards urbanisation. It also highlights how the city has shown signs of resilience through the adaptation of its population and institutions to wide-spread expropriation, eviction and resettlement schemes. The third section focuses on the evolution of informal security institutions and their interaction with formal institutions, notably with the security sector reform efforts undertaken by the government and their link to the government’s decentralisation and community-based development policy. The fourth section seeks to relate instances of informal coping strategies with phenomena of urban resilience through a number of illustrations in the fields of public utilities (electricity, sanitation, and waste management), microfinance, and transportation. A final section then briefly reflects on the links between urbanisation and development in present-day Rwanda. Details: Cambridge, MA: Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2012 at: http://graduateinstitute.ch/webdav/site/ccdp/shared/5917/Kigali_URCV.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Rwanda URL: http://graduateinstitute.ch/webdav/site/ccdp/shared/5917/Kigali_URCV.pdf Shelf Number: 127203 Keywords: Urban Areas (Rwanda) Urban Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Denyer-Willis, Graham Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence Case Study of Sao Paulo, Brazil Summary: This report documents urban resilience to chronic violence in São Paulo. As one of the world’s largest urban conurbations, São Paulo is marked by contrasting patterns of urbanization. These patterns are emblematic of different examples of state-society relations and reflect the differing ways that the state has been present (or not) in the provision of goods and services. Specifically in downtown São Paulo, the state was a lead actor in directing urban development, enforcing regulations, providing infrastructure, ensuring security. In contrast, its presence on the poorer periphery was more distant, as this is where expansion was haphazard, homes self-constructed and security almost absent. These patterns of urbanizations are tied to different histories of violence as well as possibilities for resilience across São Paulo. This report examines how state-society relations condition community responses to violence. It explores the ways in which a community is constituted vis-à-vis the presence of the state and how this influences resilience in volatile security environments. It does so by focusing on two neighborhoods of São Paulo: Luz, in the historical center of the city, and Santo Diego, on the urban periphery, or periferia, a colloquial term in that carries heavy insinuations of criminalized space, unplanned sprawl and high rates of poverty and violence. This report examines how state-society relations condition community responses to violence. It explores the ways in which a community is constituted vis-à-vis the presence of the state and how this influences resilience in volatile security environments. It does so by focusing on two neighborhoods of São Paulo: Luz, in the historical center of the city, and Santo Diego, on the urban periphery, or periferia, a colloquial term in that carries heavy insinuations of criminalized space, unplanned sprawl and high rates of poverty and violence. Details: Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for International Studies; Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development, 2012. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 16, 2012 at Year: 2012 Country: Brazil URL: Shelf Number: 127221 Keywords: Urban Areas Urban Violence Violence (Sao Paulo, Brazil) Violent Crime

Author: Truman, Jennifer L. Title: Criminal Victimization, 2011 Summary: This report presents 2011 estimates of rates and levels of criminal victimization in the U.S. This bulletin includes violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) and property victimization (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft). It describes the annual change from 2010 and analyzes 10-year trends from 2002 through 2011. The bulletin includes estimates of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and injury and use of weapons in violent victimization. It also describes the characteristics of victims. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. During 2011, about 79,800 households and 143,120 persons were interviewed for the NCVS. Details: Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012. 15p. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin: Internet Resource: Accessed December 21, 2012 at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv11.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv11.pdf Shelf Number: 127253 Keywords: Crime Statistics Property Crime Victimization Surveys Victims of Crimes Violent Crime

Author: Rios, Viridiana Title: Why Are Mexican Traffickers Killing Each Other? Government Coordination and Violence Deterrence in Mexico's Drug War Summary: Mexico’s Drug War was a drug war between criminal organizations ignited by a state that enforced the law without coordinating with its different levels of government. In this paper, I show why. In doing so, I provide a theory of how political institutions induce competing groups to either peacefully cooperate or go to war. I argue that when formal and informal institutions lead to coordination among different levels of government, such that they act as a single coordinated entity, criminal organizations behave and organize in ways that are less prone to violence, and thus, less damaging to citizens. A time-variant data-set of Mexico’s cocaine markets at the sub-national level and Cox proportional-hazards regressions are used to test my argument. I provide empirical evidence that the propensity of criminal organizations to engage in damaging criminal activities increases when municipal and state governments are not coordinated (i.e. are ruled by different political parties). A detailed description of corruption dynamics within Mexico’s drug trafficking industry is also presented to show how lack of government coordination caused a war of 51,000 casualties on the US-Mexico border. Details: Cambridge, MA: Department of Government, Harvard University, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2013 at http://www.gov.harvard.edu/files/Rios2012_CoordinationCriminality.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.gov.harvard.edu/files/Rios2012_CoordinationCriminality.pdf Shelf Number: 127267 Keywords: Deterrence Drug Trafficking Drug Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime War on Drugs

Author: Humansecurity-cities.org. Title: Human Security for an urban Century: Local Challenges, Global Perspectives Summary: The objective of this project has been to examine in detail the nature and scale of organized armed violence in urban areas and to explore the value of bringing a human security lens to the challenges posed by cities at the beginning of an “Urban Century.” For the first time in history, the majority of people now live in cities. Rapid urbanization is already shaping trends in global peace and security. Armed violence is increasingly taking place in sprawling hillside slums, involving adolescent boys with automatic weapons, corrupt police officers determined to “clean up” city streets, or vigilante groups who take justice into their own hands. The violence feeds on the toxic mix of transnational criminal organizations and failed public security. This book is the product of a unique research partnership between the Human Security Research and Outreach Program of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and the Canadian Consortium on Human Security, a research network operated through the University of British Columbia’s Centre of International Relations. Over the past year, our two organizations have together explored the issues of human security in urban spaces. Through this partnership, we have sponsored expert dialogues and conferences, supported graduate student research awards, created a new website (www.humansecurity-cities.org), and presented our early findings to international experts at the United Nations World Urban Forum in Vancouver in June 2006. These research and outreach efforts were critical to the identification of a new community of expertise relevant to the human security and cities agenda. This book provides an overview of what we have learned from these expert consultations. It provides a collection of contributions from 40 leading academics, civil society experts, government officials, and graduate students woven together with a general narrative that tells a compelling story about the human security challenges and opportunities we will face. Among its main conclusions is that building secure cities — cities with effective public security; inclusive, participatory governance; and positive social capital — will be critical to the prevention of armed violence and the protection of civilian populations from such violence when prevention fails. This research suggests that achieving “cities without slums” — the 11th target of the seventh UN Millennium Development Goal — will require a clear recognition of the linkages between security and development. It also suggests that much more work is required by researchers and policy makers in order to fully understand the profound implications rapid urbanization holds for for the human security agenda. Details: Ottawa: humansecurity-cities.org, 2007. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2013 at: http://www.eukn.org/E_library/Security_Crime_Prevention/Security_Crime_Prevention/Human_security_for_an_urban_century_local_challenges_global_perspectives Year: 2007 Country: International URL: http://www.eukn.org/E_library/Security_Crime_Prevention/Security_Crime_Prevention/Human_security_for_an_urban_century_local_challenges_global_perspectives Shelf Number: 127337 Keywords: Armed Violence Crime Prevention Urban Areas Urban Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Institute for Economics and Peace Title: Violence Containment Spending in the Untied States: A New Methodology to Categorize and Account for the Economic Activity Related to Violence Summary: It has been well established that violence has a marked effect on economic activity with many studies demonstrating the negative economic impacts of crime, incarceration, insurgencies and especially war. However, there have been no studies to systematically aggregate the economic costs of all forms of violence, including the costs of prevention and protection, to understand how much of an economy is captured by violence and violence containment. For the purposes of classification, this form of economic activity has been defined as the violence containment industry (VCI). Aggregated as an industry sector it would be the single largest in the United States. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has developed a new methodology to quantify the cost of violence and the economic gains associated with peace for the U.S. economy. All expenditure that is related to violence containment, whether performed by the military on the international stage or domestically through the provision of services to fight crime, has been classified together as the Violence Containment Industry or alternately, as violence containment spending. This provides a framework to classify and better understand a substantial part of the U.S. economy as well as providing a platform for future research. Given the sheer size of the U.S. economy that is dedicated to containing violence, quantifying the expenditure as a discrete industry creates a unique basis for further analysis and debate. IEP defines violence containment spending as economic activity that is related to the consequences or prevention of violence where the violence is directed against people or property. This includes all expenditures related to violence, including but not limited to medical expenses, incarceration, police, the military, insurance, and the private security industry. It is divided into local, state, and federal government expenditure as well as private spending by corporations, households, and individuals. While expenditures on containing violence are an important and necessary public good, the less a nation spends on violence related functions the more resources a nation can allocate to other, more productive areas of economic activity. Expenditure on violence containment is economically efficient when it effectively prevents violence for the least amount of outlay. However, money that is spent on surplus violence containment, or money that is spent on inefficient programs has the potential to constrain a nations’ economic growth. This is simply because much of this type of expenditure is fundamentally unproductive, and if redirected toward productive pursuits, would improve government balance sheets, company profits and ultimately, the productivity and wellbeing of society. The research presented in this report shows that in 2010, VCI accounted for $2.16 trillion or around 15% of U.S. gross domestic product. This figure is considered conservative due to the difficulties of accounting for all private and public sector spending. Having not conducted an analysis of the size of the violence containment spending in other countries it is difficult to assess independently how the U.S. fares compared to other countries. Given the size of its defense and associated homeland security spending, the final size of the VCI in the U.S. is likely higher than other developed nations. THE KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY ARE: • Violence Containment spending in the U.S. amounted to $2.16 trillion in 2010 equivalent to just over $15,000 for each taxpayer or $7,000 per year for every man, woman and child.¹ • If violence containment spending was represented as a discrete industry, it would be the largest industry in the United States economy, larger than construction, real estate, professional services or manufacturing. • If violence containment spending was represented as a discrete national economic entity, it would be the seventh largest economy in the world - only slightly smaller than the UK economy. • Violence containment spending is four times higher than the national defense budget. • Public sector spending on VCI accounts for 10.8% of GDP while private sector spending is 4.2% of GDP.² • If U.S. federal violence containment spending was reduced by $326 billion or 25%, i.e. to the same relative levels as in 2001, then in one year the saved funds would be sufficient to entirely update the energy grid, rebuild all levies and renew the nation’s school infrastructure. Violence containment spending has been broken down into both the public and private sectors, and is represented in terms of net value added.³ It shows that the Federal Government spends over $1.3 trillion or approximately 9% of GDP on violence containment. This is more than was spent on pensions and more than double what was spent on infrastructure in 2010. National defense spending includes the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and the debt servicing on these expenditures which is based on the proportion of military related government expenditure.4 Private sector spending on violence containment is conservatively estimated to be $605 billion or 4.2% of 2010 GDP. The remaining amount is spent by state and local government on police, justice, corrections and other security related measures. The approach presented in this report enables a new and novel approach to understanding the international economic competitiveness of a nation, based on calculating the percentage of GDP spent on violence containment. The less a nation spends on violence containment, providing it is also more peaceful, then the more competitive the economy should be, due to the ability to deploy its resources more efficiently. This evidently is only one dimension of national competitiveness, but a uniquely original and important one. For business, higher violence containment spending can result in unaccounted costs such as higher taxes, increased sunken costs and increased ancillary costs such as investing in security systems, security guards or even higher insurance premiums. Additionally, the higher the level of violence in a corporation’s area of operations then the more management time is devoted to responding to security rather than market development or competitive issues. This represents ‘lost’ opportunity which could be transferred into developing capital and expanding profits. Given the enormity of the number of items that needed to be counted in this exercise, it is inevitable many much smaller items were excluded given the difficulty of obtaining data on the true value-added figure. As an illustrative example some of the more meaningful items excluded have been included on page ten. The sheer size of spending on the Violence Containment Industries very clearly illustrates the enormous benefits of investing in the prevention of violence. If policymakers clearly understood the economic burden of non-productive violence containment then improving the levels of peacefulness would be seen as central to long term structural reforms. Details: New York: Institute for Economics and Peace, 2012. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2013 at: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Violence-Containment-in-the-US-Report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Violence-Containment-in-the-US-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 127342 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Economics of Crime (U.S.) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Willits, Dale Title: Predictors of Firearm Usage in Violent Crimes: Assessing the Importance of Individual, Situational, and Contextual Factors Summary: The New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center (NM SAC) received funding from the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) to complete a study examining the degree to which person, incident, and structural characteristics predict firearm usage in violent crimes. Given the significant threat to public safety that firearm crimes pose, a better understanding of the dynamics of firearm crimes is relevant not just to researchers, but to law enforcement and to the community at large. Recognizing this, Federal, State, local and private funds have been allocated in support of a range of law enforcement initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence in communities across the country. Project Safe Neighborhoods, initiated in 2001, and its predecessor, the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI) are notable examples of federal initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence by funding multi-agency intervention, prevention and enforcement strategies. Other interventions include the creation of gun courts and mandatory sentencing laws designed to increase penalties for firearm use and the unlawful carrying of firearms (Committee on Law and Justice, 2004). The rationale for these and other initiatives builds on the importance of reducing firearm violence in the broad interest of public safety. A large body of research on firearms has addressed the consequences of firearm usage in crimes, and reinforces the public safety rationale that guides firearm crime reduction initiatives. These studies suggest that firearm usage increases crime-related injury severity and mortality (Brennan and Moore, 2009; Hemenway, 2004; May et al., 1995; McGonigal et al., 1993). For example, Brennan and Moore (2009: 218) note that “firearms increase the likelihood of death by 40 times” compared to incidents not involving any weapon. Conversely, knives increase the likelihood of death by 4 times, highlighting the particularly serious nature of firearm violence (Brennan and Moore, 2009). Law enforcement and the courts clearly take gun crimes seriously. Studies have shown that crime clearance rates are higher for firearm crimes compared to those for crimes that do not involve firearms (Roberts, 2008). Additionally, sentences are generally longer for crimes that involve firearms compared to those that do not (Bushway and Piehl, 2011; Lizotte and Zatz, 1986). Though it is important to study the consequences of and systemic responses to firearm usage, we argue that it is also important to study the predictors of firearm usage in crimes. In fact, a better understanding of the characteristics that predict firearm use can help frame effective intervention. Most firearm crime reduction interventions are reactive—e.g., firearm enhancements to criminal sentences, targeted policing in areas with high rates of firearm violence, gun buy-back programs, etc. However, if we can identify some of the incident-level characteristics that increase the odds of firearm violence, criminal justice professionals might be able to craft preventative policies that aim to stop firearm violence before it happens. Details: Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico, Institute for Social Research, 2012. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2013 at: http://www.jrsa.org/ibrrc/background-status/New_Mexico/NM_FirearmUsage.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.jrsa.org/ibrrc/background-status/New_Mexico/NM_FirearmUsage.pdf Shelf Number: 127343 Keywords: Firearms and Crime Gun Violence Guns Violent Crime

Author: Treyger, Elina Title: Migration and Violent Crime: Lessons from the Russian Experience Summary: The relationship between migration, both internal and international, and crime is not a matter of merely academic interest. Many laws and public policies directly and profoundly affect migration within and across national borders. At a time when international migration is attracting increasing attention of policy makers, courts, and legislators, there is a real need to better understand and predict the public-order consequences of laws affecting population movements. This article exploits the Russian experience to further that aim. The relationship between population movements and crime has been the subject of a growing social science literature. That literature yields but one clear conclusion: that the relationship defies generalization. In some contexts, a concentration of newcomers (whether native or foreign) in communities correlate with higher, and in other contexts, with lower, violent crime rates across space. Some population movements appear to improve, and others to erode, the social capacity for informal control over crime. In this article, I marshal evidence for one promising explanation for the disparate consequences of different population movements, emphasizing the role of social ties and networks. That explanation suggests that where migrations destroy social networks among the migrants or in receiving communities, the social capacity for informal control over violent behaviors is undermined, and public order is liable to suffer. By contrast, where social networks drive migrations and are preserved or reconstituted in areas of settlement, no comparable disruptive effects ensue. Russia’s experience under Soviet rule furnishes a singularly fitting example of population movements that definitively disrupted preexisting social structures and obstructed formation of new ones. I make use of statistical analysis to demonstrate that the Russian post-communist geography of homicide was shaped profoundly by communist-era migration and settlement patterns. In this way, it offers evidence for the proposition that network-disrupting migrations are strongly associated with higher violent crime rates, and that state laws and policies that produce these sorts of movements come at a high social cost. The idiosyncratic character of Russia’s migration history makes it an empirically convenient case – the proverbial “natural experiment” – to explore the full effects of specifically network-disrupting population movements. Its idiosyncrasy notwithstanding, the Russian experience yields generalizable implications for our understanding of the migration-crime relationship, and our ability to identify those policies that are most likely to disrupt the social processes of informal control and contribute to violent crime. Details: Washington, DC: George Mason University, School of Law, 2013. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: George Mason University Law and Economics Research Paper Series 13-01 Accessed January 22, 2013 at: http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/publications/working_papers/1301Migration&ViolentCrime.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/publications/working_papers/1301Migration&ViolentCrime.pdf Shelf Number: 127346 Keywords: Immigrants and Crime Immigration Migration (U.S.) Russian Immigrants Social Disorganization Violent Crime

Author: Thaler, Kai Title: The Utility of Mixed Methods in the Study of Violence Summary: The study of violence has expanded in recent decades, concurrent with a rise in the use of mixed quantitative and qualitative methods in research throughout the social and health sciences. Methodologists have also begun to engage in a thorough theorization of both the epistemological foundations and empirical practice of mixed methods research. Mixed methods enable us to tie the broader patterns revealed by quantitative analysis to underlying processes and causal mechanisms that qualitative research is better able to illuminate, examining and explicating the interactions of structure and agency. This paper examines how qualitative and quantitative research methods may best be integrated in the study of violence, providing and critiquing examples from previous work on different forms of violence. Through the use of mixed methods, we can both improve the accordance of theories and empirical studies with social reality and gain a more nuanced understanding of the causes and consequences of violence. Details: Brighton, UK: MICROCON: A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict, Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex,, 2012. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: MICROCON Research Working Paper 61: Accessed January 22, 2013 at: http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/RWP61_KT_FINAL.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/RWP61_KT_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 127348 Keywords: Mixed Methodology Violence Violent Crime

Author: Nowak, Matthias Title: Urban Armed Violence Summary: Currently the majority of the world’s population lives in urban settlements. Cities are important sites of opportunities and contribute to economic growth and development, yet they also face many challenges; e.g. increasing numbers of urban residents live in poverty, lack basic services, and suffer high levels of armed violence and insecurity. With the growth of the urban population, urban armed violence is increasingly recognized as a major issue confronting efforts to safeguard urban human security and safety. But urban settlements also provide space for innovation and creativity in dealing with human security needs. A starting point for addressing the delicate balance between urban security needs and the opportunities that cities offer is to understand the scope and intensity of and trends in urban armed violence in order to inform context-specific and evidence-based policies and interventions. This Research Note addresses the state of research into and some of the main debates around urban armed violence. It draws on relevant literature and research and in particular on work done by the Small Arms Survey and the Geneva Declaration Secretariat in this area. Firstly, it briefly introduces data and research findings on sub-national and city-level armed violence, with a particular focus on lethal violence. The second section examines the use of firearms in urban violence. The following section summarizes some of the main debates and questions around researching, preventing, and reducing urban armed violence. The Research Note concludes with some recommendations for policy and further research. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2012. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Small Arms Survey Research Notes, Number 23: Accessed January 24, 2013 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-23.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-23.pdf Shelf Number: 127376 Keywords: Armed Violence Gun Violence Urban Areas Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bhalla, Kavi Title: Tracking National Homicide Rates: Generating Estimates Using Vital Registration Data Summary: Violent deaths make up a substantial proportion of global mortality and morbidity. While reliable data is not available from much of the world, estimates from international studies suggest that between 526,000 and 600,000 violent deaths are committed annually, accounting for around one per cent of global deaths. Among young adult males, deaths from intentional interpersonal violence (hereafter referred to as ‘homicides’) account for over ten per cent of all deaths globally. In addition to deaths, interpersonal violence leads to substantial disability resulting from nonfatal injuries. Together, these deaths and injuries account for 1.3 per cent of the total global burden of disease and injury. This Issue Brief analyses the regional availability and quality of death registration data for estimating the national incidence of homicides. Key findings include: While death registration data is available for most high-income countries, its availability is erratic in other regions. Data is available for many countries from the Caribbean, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe. However, little or no death registration data is available from countries in Africa, South Asia, and South-east Asia; Death registration-based homicide estimates provide useful insight into the global distribution of violence: Homicide rates are substantially higher in Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and the four Latin American regions, as compared with other regions of the world; Homicide rates are relatively low in high-income countries, the notable exception being the United States; Homicide rates are relatively stable in many regions and declining in Central and Eastern Europe; Homicide rates are lowest among the youngest and oldest age groups in most countries. However, homicide rates peak among young adults (15–29 years) in some regions and among older adults (45–59 years) in others; Firearms and sharp objects are the two most common mechanisms of homicide. Firearms are the most common mechanism of homicides in the most violent countries (those with the highest total homicide rates). The following section describes how death registration data is collected and presents a method with which to test certain aspects of its quality. The results of applying such quality tests to global death registration data are outlined. Finally, this Issue Brief discusses the implications of these findings for future research on improving estimates of national and regional homicide rates using data from the health sector. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2012. 12p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief, No. 1: Accessed January 24, 2013 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/SAS-AVD-IB1-tracking-homicide.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/SAS-AVD-IB1-tracking-homicide.pdf Shelf Number: 127377 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun Violence Homicide Interpersonal Violence Violence (International) Violent Crime

Author: Selee, Andrew Title: Crime and Violence in Mexico and Central America: An Evolving but Incomplete U.S. Policy Response Summary: Amid dramatic increases in crime and violence in Mexico and Central America, the US government has significantly increased its attention to public security issues in the region since 2007, with the Merida Initiative and the Central American Regional Security Initiative. The US policy response has been hampered to an extent, however, by US and regional obstacles. The authors suggest the policy emphasis has begun to shift in important ways, with more attention paid to addressing the citizen security crisis — a move away from the earlier near-total focus on combating drug trafficking and transnational crime. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Migration Policy Institute, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2013 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/RMSG-EvolvingPolicyResponse.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Central America URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/RMSG-EvolvingPolicyResponse.pdf Shelf Number: 127404 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Organized Crime Transnational Crime (Central America and Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Sohnen, Eleanor Title: Paying for Crime: A Review of the Relationships Between Insecurity and Development in Mexico and Central America Summary: For Mexico and Central America, insecurity, crime, and violence are major barriers to economic growth and development. Insecurity negatively impacts citizens’ health and quality of life. It erodes trust and cooperation, both interpersonal as well as between citizens and governments and security and judicial institutions. It reduces individuals’ and businesses’ willingness to invest in human and physical capital. And it diverts scarce public resources toward health and security spending — limiting the capacity of government institutions to finance and carry out other critical functions, and often crowding out public investment in human development. In effect, crime, violence, and insecurity can stunt countries’ social, economic, and political growth, rendering them vulnerable to stagnation and decay. If left unchallenged, crime and insecurity can prevent these societies from realizing their full developmental and economic potential. The relationship between violence and development is complicated. Across the world, however, several trends are clear: Countries with lower levels of income inequality and unemployment have lower homicide rates. Meanwhile, countries with higher growth rates have lower crime rates overall — both violent crime and property crime. Furthermore, studies have found a global correlation (though causation cannot be inferred) between relatively high rates of homicidal violence and failure to achieve progress on certain Millennium Development Goals, namely: eradicating extreme poverty, youth unemployment, and hunger; improving primary school enrollment ratios; and reducing infant mortality and adolescent birth rates. Overall, during the period from 1990 to 2008, countries with lower average homicide rates had an 11 percent higher chance of improving their standing in the United Nations’ Human Development Index — a composite measure of social and economic development — than those with higher homicide rates. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center, Migration Policy Institute, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2013 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/RMSG-PayingforCrime.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/RMSG-PayingforCrime.pdf Shelf Number: 127406 Keywords: Homicides Poverty Violence (Mexico and Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Berman, Greg Title: From Chicago to Brooklyn: A Case Study in Program Replication Summary: The last 25 years have seen the emergence of a remarkable number of new criminal justice innovations in the United States. Drug courts, family justice centers, HOPE Probation, community policing programs… these and other initiatives have spread from coast to coast. Most of these projects began life as one-of-a-kind experiments before being broadly replicated. Replication sounds easy, but experience tells us that it is anything but. Just because a program works in one location doesn’t mean it will automatically be effective in another. Balancing the demands of model fidelity with the need to adapt to local conditions on the ground is one of the most pressing challenges of replication, but it is far from the only one. In an effort to highlight some of the issues that replication efforts inevitably face, this paper tells the story of Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) Crown Heights, an effort to bring CeaseFire, a violence reduction project that originated in Chicago, to Brooklyn. The goal is to provide a ground-level view of the replication process from the perspectives of those charged with implementing the model. Along the way, this essay attempts to tease out lessons that will be relevant not just to those interested in the CeaseFire model, but to anyone charged with replicating a model originally created somewhere else. Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2011. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 29, 2013 at: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Chicago_Brooklyn.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Chicago_Brooklyn.pdf Shelf Number: 127410 Keywords: Ceasefire Program Gangs Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Picard-Fritsche, Sarah Title: Testing a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence. An Evaluation of Crown Heights Save Our Streets, a Replication of the Cure Violence Model Summary: Save Our Streets (SOS) is a community-based project established to address the problem of gun violence in Crown Heights, a neighborhood in central Brooklyn, New York. SOS is a replication of Chicago Ceasefire, a public health model for gun violence prevention founded in Chicago in 1999. The primary components of the Chicago Ceasefire model are outreach and conflict mediation directed towards individuals at high risk for future gun violence, as well as broader community mobilization and public education efforts throughout the target community. In 2008, using a quasi-experimental comparison neighborhood design, researchers with Northwestern University found that the original Chicago Ceasefire project had a statistically significant impact on the incidence and density of gun violence in three of five intervention neighborhoods (Skogan et al. 2008). A subsequent evaluation of a replication effort in Baltimore found that it too reduced gun violence in three of four intervention neighborhoods (Webster et al. 2009). However, an evaluation of a Pittsburgh replication that opted to omit several of the original program elements did not detect positive results (Wilson et al., 2010). The SOS project sought to implement the original Chicago model with high fidelity--with the help of technical assistance from the Chicago-based founders. Accordingly, this process and impact evaluation provides an important opportunity to determine whether Chicago Ceasefire can be effectively exported to other communities (the City of New York, for example, currently has Ceasefire replications in the works in several neighborhoods including Harlem, Jamaica, East New York, and the South Bronx). Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2012? 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 29, 2013 at: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/SOS_Evaluation.pdf. Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/SOS_Evaluation.pdf. Shelf Number: 127411 Keywords: Ceasefire Program Gangs (New York City) Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bateson, Regina Title: The Political Consequences of Crime Victimization in Latin America Summary: In the last two decades, violent crime rates in Latin America have increased exponentially. Though this is one of the most significant recent developments in the region, the political consequences of Latin America’s violent crime epidemic are largely unknown. Many scholars and commentators imply that the crime wave bodes ill for democracy in the region, suggesting that high levels of violent crime cause disillusionment with government, reduce mass political participation, and increase popular support for authoritarianism and mano dura. This paper evaluates the micro-foundations of that conventional wisdom. Analysis of data from the Latinobarómetro and LAPOP surveys consistently and convincingly shows that recent crime victimization is associated with increased political participation. Rather than becoming disenchanted or disempowered, Latin American crime victims are actually more politically active than comparable citizens who have not been victimized. Crime victimization has a more ambiguous relationship to political opinions. Victims are less satisfied with law enforcement than their non-victimized peers, and they are more likely to be concerned about crime as a public policy issue. Some regressions suggest that victims may have more pro-authoritarian views than their peers and may be more likely to support mano dura and vigilantism, but this result is not consistent across analysis of multiple surveys so the true relationship is difficult to ascertain. Details: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Apr 02, 2009. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 29, 2013 at: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/files/kyHPZ6/Bateson_CPW_April_14.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/files/kyHPZ6/Bateson_CPW_April_14.pdf Shelf Number: 127424 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Latin America) Crime Victimization Victims of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Uchida, Craig D. Title: Los Angeles, California Smart Policing Initiative Reducing Gun-Related Violence through Operation LASER Summary: The Los Angeles Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) sought to reduce gun-related violence in specific neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles, through application of the SARA problem-solving model—Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment. As part of the scanning phase, the LAPD and its research partner examined gun-related crimes by Division and by Reporting District for 2011. In 2011, the Newton Division was ranked third in gun violence among the 21 Divisions. The Los Angeles SPI team next sought to identify specific areas for intervention in the Newton Division, employing a geographic analysis of data on gun-related crimes, arrests, and calls for service over a six-year period (2006-2011). The location-based analysis resulted in the identification of five large hotspots. Once the target areas were identified, the Los Angeles SPI team developed their intervention strategy, called Los Angeles’ Strategic Extraction and Restoration Program (Operation LASER). Established in September 2011, Operation LASER’s overall goal is to target with laser-like precision the violent repeat offenders and gang members who commit crimes in the target areas. LASER involves both location- and offender-based strategies, most notably the creation of a Crime Intelligence Detail (CID). CID’s primary mission centers on the development of proactive, real-time intelligence briefs called Chronic Offender Bulletins. The bulletins assist officers in identifying crime trends and solving current investigations, and they give officers a tool for proactive police work. The Los Angeles SPI team assessed the impact of Operation LASER using Interrupted Time-Series Analysis. In particular, the team analyzed monthly crime data for the Newton Division and 18 other divisions from January 2006–June 2012. Results show that Part I violent crimes, homicide, and robbery all decreased significantly in the Newton Division after Operation LASER began. After the program was implemented, Part I violent crimes in the Newton Division dropped by an average of 5.4 crimes per month, and homicides dropped by 22.6 percent per month. Importantly, the crime declines did not occur in the other LAPD divisions, which provide strong evidence that Operation LASER caused the declines in the Newton Division. The Los Angeles SPI experience offers a number of lessons learned for both police managers and line officers. The initiative underscores the value of the SARA model as an evidence-based framework for crime control, and it highlights the central role of both crime analysis and technology in data-driven decision-making. The Los Angeles SPI invested heavily in the relationship between line officers and crime analysts, and the investment paid off in sizeable reductions in gun-related crime in the target areas. The initiative also demonstrates the importance of focusing intervention strategies on both people and places to achieve success in crime control and prevention. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, bureau of Justice Assistance, 2012. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2013 at: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/spotlights/LA%20Site%20Spotlight%20FINAL%20Oct%202012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/spotlights/LA%20Site%20Spotlight%20FINAL%20Oct%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 127437 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun Violence (Los Angeles, CA) Hotspots Policing Operation LASER Problem-Solving Violent Crime

Author: U.S. Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence Title: Defending Childhood. Protect. Heal. Thrive. Summary: Exposure to violence is a national crisis that affects approximately two out of every three of our children. Of the 76 million children currently residing in the United States, an estimated 46 million can expect to have their lives touched by violence, crime, abuse, and psychological trauma this year. In 1979, U.S. Surgeon General Julius B. Richmond declared violence a public health crisis of the highest priority, and yet 33 years later that crisis remains. Whether the violence occurs in children’s homes, neighborhoods, schools, playgrounds or playing fields, locker rooms, places of worship, shelters, streets, or in juvenile detention centers, the exposure of children to violence is a uniquely traumatic experience that has the potential to profoundly derail the child’s security, health, happiness, and ability to grow and learn — with effects lasting well into adulthood. Exposure to violence in any form harms children, and different forms of violence have different negative impacts. Sexual abuse places children at high risk for serious and chronic health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicidality, eating disorders, sleep disorders, substance abuse, and deviant sexual behavior. Sexually abused children often become hypervigilant about the possibility of future sexual violation, experience feelings of betrayal by the adults who failed to care for and protect them. Physical abuse puts children at high risk for lifelong problems with medical illness, PTSD, suicidality, eating disorders, substance abuse, and deviant sexual behavior. Physically abused children are at heightened risk for cognitive and developmental impairments, which can lead to violent behavior as a form of self-protection and control. These children often feel powerless when faced with physical intimidation, threats, or conflict and may compensate by becoming isolated (through truancy or hiding) or aggressive (by bullying or joining gangs for protection). Physically abused children are at risk for significant impairment in memory processing and problem solving and for developing defensive behaviors that lead to consistent avoidance of intimacy. Intimate partner violence within families puts children at high risk for severe and potentially lifelong problems with physical health, mental health, and school and peer relationships as well as for disruptive behavior. Witnessing or living with domestic or intimate partner violence often burdens children with a sense of loss or profound guilt and shame because of their mistaken assumption that they should have intervened or prevented the violence or, tragically, that they caused the violence. They frequently castigate themselves for having failed in what they assume to be their duty to protect a parent or sibling(s) from being harmed, for not having taken the place of their horribly injured or killed family member, or for having caused the offender to be violent. Children exposed to intimate partner violence often experience a sense of terror and dread that they will lose an essential caregiver through permanent injury or death. They also fear losing their relationship with the offending parent, who may be removed from the home, incarcerated, or even executed. Children will mistakenly blame themselves for having caused the batterer to be violent. If no one identifies these children and helps them heal and recover, they may bring this uncertainty, fear, grief, anger, shame, and sense of betrayal into all of their important relationships for the rest of their lives. Community violence in neighborhoods can result in children witnessing assaults and even killings of family members, peers, trusted adults, innocent bystanders, and perpetrators of violence. Violence in the community can prevent children from feeling safe in their own schools and neighborhoods. Violence and ensuing psychological trauma can lead children to adopt an attitude of hypervigilance, to become experts at detecting threat or perceived threat — never able to let down their guard in order to be ready for the next outbreak of violence. They may come to believe that violence is “normal,” that violence is “here to stay,” and that relationships are too fragile to trust because one never knows when violence will take the life of a friend or loved one. They may turn to gangs or criminal activities to prevent others from viewing them as weak and to counteract feelings of despair and powerlessness, perpetuating the cycle of violence and increasing their risk of incarceration. They are also at risk for becoming victims of intimate partner violence in adolescence and in adulthood. The picture becomes even more complex when children are “polyvictims” (exposed to multiple types of violence). As many as 1 in 10 children in this country are polyvictims, according to the Department of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s groundbreaking National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). The toxic combination of exposure to intimate partner violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or exposure to community violence increases the risk and severity of posttraumatic injuries and mental health disorders by at least twofold and up to as much as tenfold. Polyvictimized children are at very high risk for losing the fundamental capacities necessary for normal development, successful learning, and a productive adulthood. The financial costs of children’s exposure to violence are astronomical. The financial burden on other public systems, including child welfare, social services, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and, in particular, education, is staggering when combined with the loss of productivity over children’s lifetimes. It is time to ensure that our nation’s past inadequate response to children’s exposure to violence does not negatively affect children’s lives any further. We must not allow violence to deny any children their right to physical and mental health services or to the pathways necessary for maturation into successful students, productive workers, responsible family members, and parents and citizens. The findings and recommendations of the task force are organized into six chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the problem and sets forth 10 foundational recommendations. The next two chapters offer a series of recommendations to ensure that we reliably identify, screen, and assess all children exposed to violence and thereafter give them support, treatment, and other services designed to address their needs. In the fourth and fifth chapters, the task force focuses on prevention and emphasizes the importance of effectively integrating prevention, intervention, and resilience across systems by nurturing children through warm, supportive, loving, and nonviolent relationships in our homes and communities. In the sixth and final chapter of this report, the task force calls for a new approach to juvenile justice, one that acknowledges that the vast majority of the children involved in that system have been exposed to violence, necessitating the prioritization of services that promote their healing. Details: Washington, DC: The Task Force, 2012. 183p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2013 at: http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/defendingchildhood/cev-rpt-full.pdf Shelf Number: 127452 Keywords: Child Abuse Child Sexual Abuse Children, Exposure to Violence (U.S.) Community Violence Intimate Partner Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Wepundi, Manasseh Title: Availability of Small Arms and Perceptions of Security in Kenya: An Assessment Summary: Kenya has experienced the effects of small arms availability and misuse for many years, but the unprecedented violence that erupted after the December 2007 general elections placed the issue of small arms reduction higher on the national agenda. The government of Kenya started a number of important initiatives, such as the establishment of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons (KNFP) as an interagency directorate within the Office of the President, Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security. Despite significant progress, law enforcement efforts to control the proliferation of small arms still face significant challenges. The extent of illicit firearms and their distribution over the Kenyan territory were the object of the 2003 National Mapping for Illicit SALW, carried out by the KNFP, which informed the development of the Kenya National Action Plan for Arms Control and Management (KNFP, 2006). However, for the eight subsequent years there has been no study with national coverage, with most research on small arms in Kenya focusing on the northern parts of the country (North Rift, Upper Eastern, and North Eastern Province). This joint study by the Government of Kenya and the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey aims to assess small arms proliferation in Kenya (mapping their location, sources, and movements) and the capacity of various actors involved in small arms control and peace-building efforts in the country. For this purpose, the study adopted a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods involving approximately 2,500 interviews with households, representatives of civil society organizations, law enforcement agents, and other key informants from 31 out of the 47 counties of Kenya. The geographical coverage of the sample specifically included all counties perceived as highly volatile (those where small arms are endemic, those with significant pastoralist communities who have propensity for small arms ownership to protect their livestock, emerging areas, and high-density urban areas with high crime levels), as well as representatives from areas considered to be of medium and low volatility. The major findings of the study are the following: • Between 530,000 and 680,000 firearms may be in civilian hands nationally. • Despite an overall perception of a reduction in the number of firearms nationally, some zones, including areas such as Mt Elgon and Rift Valley, where important disarmament initiatives have been carried out, have recorded a significant increase in gun possession since 2003. • The period of violence around the December 2007 elections has left its mark on the population, with the majority of household respondents stating that they feel the most insecure during election periods. • Approximately 20 per cent of household respondents were victims of a crime or an act of violence over the year preceding the interviews, but twice as many felt that there is a likelihood of their being a victim of violence and/or crime in the next year. • More than one-third of those who were victims of crimes were confronted with a firearm. • There is a discrepancy between the views of law enforcement agencies and civil society organizations as regards the effectiveness of current efforts to reduce firearm proliferation and increase security, with the former being more optimistic than the latter. Based on main findings above, the study provides a number of recommendations on monitoring and understanding the nature of the problem, changes to the institutional environment, measures to reduce access to small arms and light weapons and to deal with victims, and steps to address development using a more systemic approach. This study is composed of five chapters. The first covers the background and introduces the study. The second and the third discuss findings based on surveys of households, law enforcement agents, and members of civil society organizations, as well as qualitative information based on statements from focus group discussions and key informant interviews on arms trends, sources, and movements, and ongoing efforts made by the government to limit the proliferation of firearms. The fourth chapter contains conclusions and recommendations, and the fifth describes in detail the methodology used in several of the study’s components. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2012. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2013 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR16-Kenya.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Kenya URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR16-Kenya.pdf Shelf Number: 127460 Keywords: Gun Violence Illicit Firearms Violent Crime Weapons (Kenya)

Author: Buckley, Paul Title: Violence at Work. Findings from the British Crime Survey 2011/12 (England and Wales) Summary: Work related violence remains a low risk in the workplaces of England and Wales in 2011/12. The trend in workplace violence remains on a downward trajectory and this has been a stable trend over the last number of years. However with 643’000 estimated incidents of violence in the workplace it is clear that there remain a high number of incidents occurring annually. The risk to both genders remains broadly similar in 2011/12 and this is relatively stable over a number of recent survey years. The occupations at highest risk remains stable also with protective service , health and education having they highest risks of experiencing violence at work. Again this has been broadly stable over the survey series. A considerable proportion of individuals are subject to repeat victimisation which may pertain to the nature of the job situation or an endemic problem within a particular area of work. In many cases individuals are likely to know the offender; however respondents are generally unclear if the offender is under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Whilst the majority of injuries sustained in a violent incident are classified as minor injuries it remains the case that a proportion are of a more serious nature with consequences both physically and psychologically for the individuals involved. For incidents of assault in the workplace 59% resulted in no physical injury whilst 41 resulted in a physical injury. Of these physical injuries minor bruising or a black eye was the most common injury at 29%. Severe bruising from heavier trauma was suggested in 12% of physical assaults in the workplace. Details: Bootle, UK: Health and Safety Executive and Office for National Statistics, 2013. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/violence/violence-at-work.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causinj/violence/violence-at-work.pdf Shelf Number: 127559 Keywords: Crime Statistics Violent Crime Workplace Crime Workplace Violence (U.K.)

Author: Violence Policy Center Title: Black Homicide Victimization in the United States. An Analysis of 2010 Homicide Data Summary: America faces a continuing epidemic of homicide among young black males. The devastation homicide inflicts on black teens and adults is a national crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of affected communities. This study examines the problem of black homicide victimization at the state level by analyzing unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data for black homicide victimization submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The information used for this report is for the year 2010 and is the most recent data available. This is the first analysis of the 2010 data on black homicide victims to offer breakdowns of cases in the 10 states with the highest black homicide victimization rates and the first to rank the states by the rate of black homicides. It is important to note that the SHR data used in this report comes from law enforcement reporting at the local level. While there are coding guidelines followed by the law enforcement agencies, the amount of information submitted to the SHR system, and the interpretation that results in the information submitted (for example, gang involvement) will vary from agency to agency. While this study utilizes the best and most recent data available, it is limited by the quantity and degree of detail in the information submitted. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://www.vpc.org/studies/blackhomicide13.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.vpc.org/studies/blackhomicide13.pdf Shelf Number: 127575 Keywords: African Americans Gun Violence Homicides (U.S.) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Birdsey, Emma M. Title: Criminal Offences Involving Firearms in New South Wales, 1995-2011 Summary: Aim: To investigate trends over time, spatial patterns, and characteristics of criminal offences involving firearms. Method: This study used data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Characteristics and spatial patterns of offences involving firearms were described and trends across 1995 to 2011 were analysed using Kendall’s rank-order correlation test. Results: The number of incidents involving a firearm declined (48% between 1995 and 2011). Robbery involving a firearm decreased (51%, 1995-2011) and unlawfully discharge firearm decreased (24%, 1995-2011), although discharge firearm into premises increased (144%, 1995-2011). The rate of shoot with intent incidents per 100,000 population in Sydney was greater than the rest of NSW. The average age of male offenders was 24.2 years for robbery, 26.6 years for murder and attempted murder, 30.9 years for assault, and 36.5 years for harassment involving firearms in 2011. Homicide, assault, abduction and kidnapping, and harassment involving firearms occurred mostly in residences in 2011. Robbery involving firearms occurred mostly in business/commercial premises. The rate of firearm theft was lower in Sydney than the rest of NSW in 2011 (0.8 and 6.4 per 100,000 population, respectively). Firearms were most frequently stolen from residences (79%, 2011). Rifles were the most stolen firearm (66%, 2011). Conclusion: Despite the recent upward trend in drive-by shootings, the long-term trend in criminal offences involving firearms is down. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2012. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Bureau Brief; Issue Paper No. 82: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb82.pdf/$file/bb82.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/bb82.pdf/$file/bb82.pdf Shelf Number: 127582 Keywords: Drive-By Shootings Firearms and Crime Gun Violence (Australia) Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Guerrero-Gutiérrez, Eduardo Title: Security, Drugs, and Violence In Mexico: A Survey. 7th North American Forum, Washington, DC, 2011 Summary: The survey is composed by five sections. The first one is a diagnosis with two components. The first one is a brief description of Mexico’s security institutions. The survey includes a brief update of the most significant changes on these institutions during the last year, especially a report on the current situation of the police forces. The second component has to do with the present dynamics of Mexican organized crime. Here, the survey provides an account of Mexico’s drug trafficking organizations, including the different criminal activities these organizations perform, their geographic distribution, and the relationships among them. Also, the fragmentation of some of these organizations is described, and a new typology of cartels is included. The second section is about organized crime violence. Considering that violence trends are changing quickly this survey includes a general update of the phenomenon. In addition to the factors that explain increases of violence, the survey also points out the main factors that explain the geographic dispersion of violence as well as its regional specifics. The third section reviews the government’s strategy and actions against organized crime. This section includes an analysis of the outcomes of the Federal Government’s deployment of the force against organized crime through “joint operations” (operativos conjuntos), and an assessment of the government’s security policy impact on violence levels. The fourth section describes the general traits of the Mexican and North American drug markets. Finally, the fifth section addresses Mexican public opinion; it brings together the results of recent polls regarding security and government actions against organized crime, and provides an account of the government’s communication strategy on security issues. This Survey’s Data Sources The survey exhibits extensive public data from Mexican government agencies, and from American and international agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice and United Nations. Some tables and figures derive from two databases constructed by the author, through the systematic recollection of information in newspapers, weekly magazines, and press releases from official agencies. The first database shows the number of organized crime executions. For its construction more than 30,000 news articles related to organized crime homicides were collected. These articles were taken from the following 19 national and regional newspapers: Crónica, El Economista, El Financiero, El Gráfico, El Norte, El Sol de México, El Universal, Excélsior, Imagen, Impacto, La Jornada, La Prensa, La Razón, La Segunda de Ovaciones, Metro, Milenio, Ovaciones, Reforma, and UnoMásUno. This database is complementary to the official one, which has not been updated since December 2010. The second database contains information on 1,029 messages placed by criminal organizations next to corpses of executed individuals. Details: Mexico: Lantia Consultores, S.C., 2011. 146p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2013 at: http://iis-db.stanford.edu/evnts/6716/NAF_2011_EG_(Final).pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://iis-db.stanford.edu/evnts/6716/NAF_2011_EG_(Final).pdf Shelf Number: 127617 Keywords: Criminal Cartels Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Trafficking Organized Crime (Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Olson, Eric L. Title: Is More Getting Us Less? Real Solutions for Securing Our Border Summary: Ongoing reports about Mexico’s bloody conflict with organized crime have raised again the question of whether the United States should do more to prevent such violence from “spilling over” into the country. While officials have documented few cases of actual “spill over,” fears of exploding violence in Mexico and concerns about illegal migration are driving a policy debate that is centered on “securing the border.” To whit, President Barack Obama announced last May the deployment of 1,200 more National Guard troops to enhance border security, and requested an additional $500 million from Congress to further modernize southwestern border security. In August, the U.S. Congress approved a $600 million “Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010” in near record time. The question is whether such policy actions are effective. Details: Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center, 2011. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2013 at: http://welcometheimmigrant.squarespace.com/storage/Is_More_Getting_Us_Less_021511.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://welcometheimmigrant.squarespace.com/storage/Is_More_Getting_Us_Less_021511.pdf Shelf Number: 127619 Keywords: Border Patrol Border Security Criminal Cartels Organized Crime (Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Azrael, Deborah Title: Developing the Capacity to Understand and Prevent Homicide: An Evaluation of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission Summary: The Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission (MHRC) was established in May 2004 to address the city’s persistent lethal violence problem. The MHRC is a multi-tiered intervention with four levels, each of which involves participation by a different set of agencies and stakeholders. A key assumption underlying the four levels of MHRC review, and driving its decision to include stakeholders outside of the traditional criminal justice arena, was that the development and implementation of homicide prevention strategies is a complex and multi-faceted process that can be strengthened by input and buy-in from stakeholders throughout the community. The goal of the MHRC was to foster and support innovative homicide prevention and intervention strategies using the emerging tool of strategic problem analysis. In February 2005, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded the Harvard School of Public Health to evaluate the MHRC. The evaluation, which utilized a randomized matched pair design, consisted of three principal components: 1) a formative evaluation, 2) a process evaluation, and 3) an impact evaluation. More specifically, through semi-structured interviews and analysis of homicide data collected as part of the project, the evaluation examined whether homicide reviews provide additional insights into the nature of homicide problems relative to traditional methods; whether these insights lead to the development of new strategic responses to homicide problems; whether law enforcement agencies, social service providers, and the community feel that sharing information improves their ability to work together; and whether these responses seem to have short-term homicide reduction impacts. The NIJ-sponsored evaluation closely examined MHRC work from January 2005 through December 2007. During this time period, the MHRC conducted thirty criminal justice reviews, fifteen community service provider reviews and two community reviews, covering cases from January 2005 through November 2007. Overall, the homicide review process revealed that homicides in the City’s intervention districts were largely clustered in very specific places, such as in and around taverns, and among active offenders who were very well known to the criminal justice system. Homicides were often the outcome of an ongoing dispute between individuals and/or groups (usually gangs) and involved respect, status, and retribution as motives. The MHRC process yielded a comprehensive set of actionable policy and program development recommendations. These recommendations were ratified by and the implementation was continuously monitored by the MHRC Working and Executive Committees. In general, the MHRC recommendations better positioned criminal justice, social service, and community-based organizations to address high-risk places and high-risk people central to recurring homicide problems. MHRC participants credited the implementation of the recommendations with improving both criminal justice and community provider capacity to prevent violence. A key to this increased capacity was the improved communication, information sharing and cooperation both within and between criminal justice agencies, community service providers and community members. The impact evaluation used statistical models to analyze a time series of monthly counts of homicides in the control and treatment districts (January 1999 – December 2006). The impact evaluation revealed that the implementation of the MHRC iv interventions was associated with a statistically significant 52% decrease in the monthly count of homicide in the treatment districts. The control districts experienced a non-significant 9.2% decrease in homicide, controlling for the other covariates. While these analyses can’t be used to specify the exact effect of the MHRC interventions, the empirical evidence suggests that the MHRC interventions were associated with a noteworthy decrease in homicide. As such, the MHRC homicide review process seems to add considerable value to understanding the nature of urban homicide problems, crafting appropriate interventions to address underlying risks associated with homicides, implementing innovative strategies to address these risks, and assessing the impacts of these strategies. Details: Unpublished report to the U.S. Department of Justice, 2013. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/240814.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/240814.pdf Shelf Number: 127695 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun Violence Homicide Prevention Homicides (Milwaukee, U.S.) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Molzahn, Cory Title: Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2012 Summary: The year 2012 marked the end of the six-year term of President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012), who was both lauded for his administration's unprecedented assault on organized crime groups and criticized for the loss of human life that accompanied this fight. From the beginning of his presidency, President Calderon made security a primary focus of his administration by doubling national security budgets and deploying tens of thousands of federal forces to the states most impacted by violence among drug trafficking organizations. However, under President Calderon, the number of overall homicides annually increased more than two and a half times from 10,452 in 2006 to 27,213 in 2011, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia, INEGI). During the first five full years of Calderon's term - from 2007 through 2011 - INEGI reported 95,646 people killed, an average of 19,129 per year, or more than 50 people per day. By these measures, there was a 24% average annual increase in overall homicides during the Calderon administration. Calculating that overall homicides appear to have dropped by roughly 5-10% in 2012, our estimate is that the total number of homicides during the Calderon administration was likely around 120,000 to 125,000 people killed, depending on whether INEGI or the National System of Public Security (Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Publica, SNSP) data are used. In July 2012, Mexico elected a new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office on December 1, restoring to power the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI), which governed Mexico without interruption for over seven decades until it lost the presidency in 2000. For better security coordination among government agencies, President Pena Nieto has instructed the Interior Ministry (Secretaria de Gobernacion, SEGOB) to oversee the creation of a new network, the System of Coordination and Cooperation (Sistema de Coordinacion y Cooperacion). In January 2012, Pena Nieto gave a clear message regarding the direction that his presidency will follow on security policy when he unveiled the "Pact for Mexico" (Pacto por Mexico), an agreement signed along with representatives from Mexico's major political parties. The Pacts 34-page itemized list of policies and reform's set forth proposals in several areas related to security and justice issues, particularly focusing on reducing homicides, kidnapping, and extortion. The Pact outlined steps to establish a 10,000-person National Gendarmerie and a unified police command system at the state-level. Above all, from the outset of his term, Pena Nieto declared that his security strategy would abandon the Calderon administration's heavy dependence on military deployments and its focus on dismantling organized crime groups. This information is part of Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis through 2012, the fourth of a series of reports that the Trans-Border Institute's Justice in Mexico Project has put together each year since 2010 to compile the latest available data and analysis to evaluate these challenges. Details: San Diego, CA: Trans-Border Institute, Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego, 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://justiceinmexico.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/130206-dvm-2013-final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://justiceinmexico.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/130206-dvm-2013-final.pdf Shelf Number: 127699 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Drugs and Crime Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Leshnick, Sukey Soukamneuth Title: Evaluation of School-District-Based Strategies for Reducing Youth Involvement in Gangs and Violent Crime Summary: In 2007, the Employment and Training Administration provided funding to five school districts to improve services to youth who are involved, have been involved or are at risk of involvement with gangs or the juvenile justice system. A variety of educational, employment, and violence prevention programs and strategies were developed and designed to increase academic performance, lower the involvement of drop-outs and reduce involvement in crime and gangs. The Evaluation of School District-Based Strategies for Reducing Youth Involvement in Gangs and Violent Crime report summarizes findings that cover several key areas for improving services: community context, school district characteristics, in-school and out-of-school youth service models, and program outcomes. The goals of the evaluation were to document prevention and intervention strategies, assess partnership models, document outcomes, and identify successful strategies, challenges and lessons learned. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor/ETZ, 2010. 239p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2013 at: http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/Evaluation_of_School_District-Based_Strategies_for_Reducing_Youth_Involvement_in_Gangs_and_Violent_Crime_Final_Report.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/Evaluation_of_School_District-Based_Strategies_for_Reducing_Youth_Involvement_in_Gangs_and_Violent_Crime_Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 127711 Keywords: At-risk Youth Delinquency Prevention Educational Programs Gang Prevention Gangs (U.S.) Violent Crime Vocational Training and Education Youth Violence

Author: ActionAid Title: Women and the City II: Combating Violence Against Women and Girls in Urban Public Spaces - The Role of Public Services Summary: It is now well recognized that women and girls around the world face violence, sexual harassment and abuse in many of the spaces that they inhabit – their homes, workplaces, educational institutes, on streets and on public transport. Women’s fear of violence restricts their movement, limiting their use of public spaces, their movement from their homes and as a result, their full enjoyment of a range of human rights. ActionAid is working in different countries to make cities safe for women and girls through its Safe Cities Initiative.This initiative is founded on the concept of right to the city. The right to the city is the right of all city inhabitants, especially poor people, to have equitable access to all that a city has to offer and also to have the right to change their city in ways that they see fit. It entails: Freedom from violence and harassment, • including the fear of violence on the streets; Safe public spaces where women and girls • can move freely, without fear of assault; Access to water and sanitation, electricity, • transportation and other public amenities at residences and in public locations to reduce the risks of violence; Freedom from sexual harassment and abuse • in the workplace; Gender sensitive policing mechanisms for • reporting violence and obtaining redress, such as anti-violence centres/shelters; and Systems and structures for women and girls • to enjoy social, economic, cultural and political participation. This study, entitled Women and the city II: combating violence against women and girls in urban public spaces- the role of public services, was initiated to deepen our understanding about the links between violence against women and urban public services, to build evidence, to get communities as well as duty bearers to engage in the process and to strengthen our ability to work with women in these communities to seek change. Conducted in Brazil, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia and Nepal, this study comes at a time of significant global change. In 2008, the world reached a momentous milestone: for the first time in history, more than half of its human population – 3.3 billion people – lived in urban areas. By 2010, the global urban population outnumbered the rural population with 3.56 billion (51.5% of the global population) living in urban areas. This report is envisaged as a knowledge building and advocacy tool. Our expected audience includes local municipalities and community leaders, law enforcement, urban planners, non-governmental organisations, feminist movements, the safe cities movement in particular, policymakers and donors at the national and international levels. The report is divided into five sections, namely, an introduction that provides an overview of the right to the city and the global history of safe cities work; an outline of the methodology adopted for this study; country contexts for each of the six countries; key findings; and finally, recommendations. Details: Johannesburg, South Africa: ActionAid, 2013. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 1, 2013 at: http://www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/women_and_the_city_ii_1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/women_and_the_city_ii_1.pdf Shelf Number: 127741 Keywords: Fear of Crime Female Victims Public Space Urban Crime Urban Design Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Pint, Bianica Title: Exploring the Emergence of Organized Crime in Rio de Janeiro: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach Summary: This paper focuses on the emergence of criminal activity due to the unmet human needs of those living in Rio's favelas. An agent-based model is developed to explore how human needs, environmental factors, and individual attributes impact state-level behaviors. The emergence of organized crime is observed as "common" criminals turn into gang members. The prevention of conflict requires policies that anticipate responses and avoid conflict. By "re-creating" the current environment, we have the ability to potentially predict the onset of violence where it does not yet exist or understand the source of conflict in those areas already in the midst of violence. Details: Unpublished paper, 2010. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Paper presented at 2010 Second Brazilian Workshop on Social Simulation: Accessed March 7, 2013 at: Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: Shelf Number: 127854 Keywords: Favelas Organized Crime (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Violent Crime

Author: Shetret, Liat Title: Mapping Perceptions of Violent Extremism: Pilot Study of Community Attitudes in Kenya and Somaliland Summary: The greater Horn of Africa subregion faces a number of security and development challenges. These are further amplified by conditions of endemic sociopolitical and economic marginalization, political instability, and weak institutional capacity. The history of violent conflict in the subregion has offered an enabling environment for numerous domestic and subnational militant groups, many of which have engaged in acts of terrorism throughout the subregion for more than a half-century. Over the past few years, the international community has increasingly sought to develop effective measures and on-the-ground programming to prevent terrorism and counter violent extremism. Some multilateral organizations and donor countries have prioritized providing support for countering violent extremism (CVE) to certain developing countries and regions and their respective diasporas, which are perceived as being particularly vulnerable to violent radicalization and terrorist sympathies, support, or recruitment. In light of the general state of underdevelopment and fragility that characterizes the subregion, ongoing instability in Somalia, and heightened concern over the threat posed by the al-Qaida–affiliated, Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabaab, the greater Horn of Africa subregion has come to be a main geographic focus of such assistance. ABOUT THIS PROJECT This report presents the findings of a pilot demonstration project of the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (CGCC) titled “Assessing Community Attitudes Towards Violent Extremism and the Impact of International Prevention Programming,” undertaken in Kenya and Somaliland. In accordance with the core objectives of the project, this report offers insight into understanding • how local community members perceive relevant international actors and their interventions in coastal Kenya and Somaliland, • how these community members perceive the extent and impact of violent extremism, and • how relevant international actors are contributing or can best contribute to context-sensitive CVE programming in partnership with local communities. The pilot demonstration project was designed and implemented throughout 2012. It was led by the CGCC East Africa team, based in New York, along with researchers from Integrity Research and Consultancy; the Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (KMYA), an independent nonprofit organization based in Nairobi that works to empower youth across Kenya through capacity building, community dialogue, and civic development; and the Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention (OCVP), an independent academic institution based in Hargeisa, Somalia, that conducts research, analysis, and community training on issues of safety and security. As part of this pilot project, the project team spoke with a variety of community stakeholders in parts of Kenya and Somaliland to capture firsthand their perspectives on security and insecurity, including violent extremism and terrorism. The views expressed over the course of this project were compiled into a “perceptions mapping.” Additionally, the project team compiled a short film portraying local anecdotal perceptions on violent extremism in Kenya. Details: Goshen, IN: Center on Global Counterterrorism Coopoeration, 2013. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 7, 2013 at: http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/reports/Jan2013_MPVE_PliotStuday.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Africa URL: http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/reports/Jan2013_MPVE_PliotStuday.pdf Shelf Number: 127858 Keywords: Extremist Groups (Kenya, Somaliland, Africa) Terrorism Violent Violent Crime

Author: Butts, Jeffrey A. Title: Teaming Up for Safer Cities Summary: The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention is a White House inspired, locally coordinated effort to strengthen youth violence prevention in selected U.S. cities. Communities electing to participate in the National Forum collaborate to develop youth violence prevention strategies that draw upon a wide array of community and organizational resources, including law enforcement, courts, schools, social services, mental health agencies, faith-based organizations, the business community, and a variety of neighborhood and community-based groups. Six cities began working with the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention in 2010. They were Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and Memphis, as well as Salinas and San Jose, California. By 2012, the Forum had grown to ten cities, including Camden (New Jersey), Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. Soon after the National Forum began, the federal partners managing the effort asked the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice to observe the implementation of the National Forum and to prepare an assessment of the strategies pursued by each city. The research team at John Jay College worked with colleagues at Temple University’s Department of Criminal Justice to conduct the assessment. The project employed a number of techniques for measuing the implementation of the National Forum, including direct observations, participant interviews, and stakeholder surveys administered at three points in time. This report describes the results from the series of stakeholder surveys conducted in five of the first six cities to participate in the National Forum: Boston, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, and San Jose. (By 2012, the National Forum efforts in Chicago had not reached a point that would justify the city’s inclusion in this assessment report.) The first round of surveys was launched (via surveymonkey.com) in June 2011, while the second and third rounds began in February and August 2012, respectively. The last survey in the third round was received in October 2012. Thus, this report describes changes perceived by respondents during 15 months of National Forum implementation. Changes are slow to come in complex violence reduction initiatives. The assessment team didn’t expect to find large and profound improvements in the perceptions of respondents from National Forum cities. There were, however, a number of important indicators of postive change. Across the five surveyed cities, respondents reported improved law enforcement effectiveness, better access to family services and opportunities for youth, and more support for violence prevention from local officials. Most importantly, survey respondents in the third round of surveys were less likely than those in the first round to report increasing levels of particular forms of violence in the community. Perceptions of violence associated with drug sales and family conflict, for example, improved in National Forum cities. Perceptions of gang violence also improved. In the first survey, for example, 46 percent of respondents in the five cities believed that gang activity was becoming more visible in their communities. By the third survey, the same perception was reported by just 33 percent of respondents. Cities involved in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention are beginning to see substantive improvements in their efforts to stem youth violence. The results of these efforts are modest and they are almost always slow to develop. Some of the indicators that improved between the first and second surveys did not appear to improve in the third survey. Yet, the existence of any positive and measurable change in just 15 months is reason enough to believe that the efforts of the National Forum are having a beneficial effect on community safety. Details: New York: Research and Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, 2012. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2013 at: http://johnjayresearch.org/rec/files/2012/12/teamingup2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://johnjayresearch.org/rec/files/2012/12/teamingup2012.pdf Shelf Number: 127931 Keywords: Crime Prevention Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Kolbe, Athena R. Title: The Economic Costs of Violent Crime in Urban Haiti. Results from Monthly Household Surveys, August 2011- July 2012 Summary: Crime and victimization are amongst the most pressing concerns cited by Haitian citizens today. Surveys conducted on a monthly basis between August 2011 and July 2012 indicate that violent crime is increasingly common, particularly in the densely packed `popular` zones of Haiti’s largest urban centers. Paradoxically, in spite of increased international investment in restoring the capacities of the Haitian National Police, ordinary Haitians struggle to access basic policing services. This Strategic Brief is the second of a series that features findings from longitudinal surveys using random sampling methods. The assessment is focused principally on households residing in urban areas of Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Cap Haitien, Gonaives, St. Marc, Jacmel and Leogane. All respondents were randomly selected and surveyed about their experiences with crime, their quality of life, and their ability to access basic services such as health care. Taken together, these surveys also demonstrate the serious economic costs of insecurity amongst ordinary Haitians. The findings of the Strategic Brief are: • The crude murder rate for Port-au-Prince increased from 60.9 to 76.2 murders per 100,000 between February and July 2012, with residents of “popular zones” being 40 times more likely to be murdered than other urban dwellers. • The costs of a physical or sexual assault on a household member amounts to roughly 20 per cent of the household’s annual income while a murder can leave households with expenses that are 5.5 times the annual average annual income. • Children are particularly vulnerable to adverse outcomes after the victimization of a household member. When compared with children from households not experiencing crime, victimized children were more likely to be sent to live with other families as restaveks (unpaid domestic servants), to experience food insecurity, and to be forced to withdraw from school. • Funeral and burial costs averaged USD $4,958.70. Nearly all of the households surveyed took out loans to pay for the costs of the funeral; the interest charged on loans from moneylenders and morticians ranged from 50-150 per cent. • Reports of police bribes increased between A A ugust 2011 and July 2012. Nearly 25 per cent of victims of physical assaults and 19 per cent of victims of property crime said they were asked for or paid a bribe to police to facilitate the progress of their case. • More than half of sexual assault victims and household members who tried to report the crime to the police complained that officers refused to make a report or tried to dissuade the victim or family members from doing so. Roughly 12 per cent of sexual assault victims reported paying or being asked for bribes by police; the average bribe given was 1,209 gourdes (SD: 744.3 gourdes), about USD $30. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute, 2012. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Note 2: Accessed March 20, 2013 at: http://igarape.org.br/wp-content/themes/igarape_v2/pdf/Strategic_Note_2.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Haiti URL: http://igarape.org.br/wp-content/themes/igarape_v2/pdf/Strategic_Note_2.pdf Shelf Number: 128045 Keywords: Costs of Crime Crime Statistics (Haiti) Homicides Murders Victimization Surveys Violent Crime

Author: Bjelopera, Jerome P. Title: Public Mass Shootings in the United States: Selected Implications for Federal Public Health and Safety Policy Summary: This report focuses on mass shootings and selected implications they have for federal policy in the areas of public health and safety. While such crimes most directly impact particular citizens in very specific communities, addressing these violent episodes involves officials at all levels of government and professionals from numerous disciplines. This report does not discuss gun control and does not systematically address the broader issue of gun violence. Also, it is not intended as an exhaustive review of federal programs addressing the issue of mass shootings. Policy makers may confront numerous questions about shootings such as the December 2012 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, that claimed 27 lives (not including the shooter). Foremost, what are the parameters of this threat? How should it be defined? There is no broadly agreed-to, specific conceptualization of this issue, so this report uses its own definition for public mass shootings. These are incidents occurring in relatively public places, involving four or more deaths—not including the shooter(s)—and gunmen who select victims somewhat indiscriminately. The violence in these cases is not a means to an end—the gunmen do not pursue criminal profit or kill in the name of terrorist ideologies, for example. One Measure of the Death Toll Exacted by Public Mass Shootings. Applying this understanding of the issue, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) has identified 78 public mass shootings that have occurred in the United States since 1983. This suggests the scale of this threat and is intended as a thorough review of the phenomenon but should not be characterized as exhaustive or definitive. According to CRS estimates, over the last three decades public mass shootings have claimed 547 lives and led to an additional 476 injured victims. Significantly, while tragic and shocking, public mass shootings account for few of the murders or non-negligent homicides related to firearms that occur annually in the United States. Policymaking Challenges in Public Health and Safety Aside from trying to develop a sense of this phenomenon’s scope, policy makers may face other challenges when addressing this topic. To help describe some of the health and safety issues public mass shootings pose, this report discusses selected policy in three areas: law enforcement, public health, and education. While mass shootings may occur in a number of settings, the education realm is one that has received particular attention from policy makers, officials, and the public alike—at least since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO. The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has renewed such concerns for many. In the areas of law enforcement, public health, and education, this report discusses some key efforts to prevent mass shootings as well as efforts geared toward preparedness and response. Policy measures that deal with recovery are also discussed within the context of education and public health initiatives. Policy Effectiveness and Outlay of Resources. Many of the policymaking challenges regarding public mass shootings boil down to two interrelated matters: (1) a need to determine the effectiveness of existing programs and (2) figuring out where to disburse limited resources. Finally, baseline metrics related to this problem are often unclear or unavailable. This lack of clarity starts with identifying the number of shootings themselves, since no broadly agreed-to definition exists. Several questions flow from this issue. How many people have such incidents victimized? How much does prevention of, preparedness for, and response to such incidents cost the federal government? What measurements can be used to determine the effectiveness of such programs? Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Services, 2013. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: R43004: Accessed March 21, 2013 at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43004.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43004.pdf Shelf Number: 128065 Keywords: Gun Violence Mass Homicides (U.S.) Mass Shootings Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: Communities Shattered by Arms Proliferation and Abuse in Côte d’Ivoire Summary: The irresponsible and illegal supply of weaponry and munitions to the warring parties in Côte d’ivoire has continued for over a decade, despite the 2004 un arms embargo. these arms have contributed to an escalation of hostilities that fuelled a pattern of serious violations of human rights and violent crime, in particular during the 2011 postelectoral crisis. the violence that followed the disputed presidential election in november 2011 caused the most serious humanitarian and human rights crisis in Côte d’ivoire since the de facto partition of the country in 2002. all sides to the conflict committed international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. hundreds of people were unlawfully killed, women and children were subjected to rape and sexual violence, and people were forced to flee their homes. yet the weapons kept flowing. the dire situation in Côte d’ivoire underscores the urgency for un member states to finalize an effective arms trade treaty at the march 2013 un conference. such a treaty could protect and save lives by containing strong measures requiring all states parties to stop any international transfer of arms which carry a substantial risk of being used to facilitate atrocities or grave abuses of human rights. preventing the international arms trade from repeatedly shattering such societies requires the application of a global treaty with robust rules based upon respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2013 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Communities%20shattered%20by%20arms%20proliferation%20and%20abuse%20in%20Cote_d_Ivoire.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Cote d'Ivoire URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Communities%20shattered%20by%20arms%20proliferation%20and%20abuse%20in%20Cote_d_Ivoire.pdf Shelf Number: 128077 Keywords: Gun Violence Illegal Guns (Cote d'lvoire) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Upton, Val Title: Violence-related Accident & Emergency Attendances by English Local Authority Area Summary: This report details the first full national violence-related Accident & Emergency (A&E) first attendance dataset by local authority in England. The report outlines the methodology used to create an experimental complete national dataset using the HES A&E Attendances in England (experimental statistics). This work has been undertaken to address data quantity and data quality issues in the HES A&E dataset. • A&E departments see many individuals involved with assaults that are not reported to the police. Therefore, this experimental national dataset has been created to enhance existing intelligence on police recorded violent crime at the local authority level using A&E department data, and explore the geographical inequalities in violence-related A&E attendances across England. • This resident based experimental analysis provides new intelligence for a variety of agencies working in violence prevention (local authorities, police, NHS Trusts, community safety partnerships, public health research, and the voluntary sector). • Across England, based on HES A&E (experimental) and imputed values, the model estimates that in the 12 month period April 2010 to March 2011 there were 189,672 violence-related A&E first attendances (360.1 per 100,000 resident population). • At the regional level, violence-related A&E first attendances are higher in the north of England compared to southern regions (with the exception of London). Across the English Regions the estimates range between 224.9 per 100,000 in the East of England and 512.2 per 100,000 in the North West. • The estimates highlight wide geographical variation in violence-related A&E first attendances across English local authorities, ranging from 54.9 per 100,000 in East Devon to 994.8 per 100,000 in Liverpool. • Residents of larger cities, smaller provincial towns and coastal towns experience higher levels of violence-related A&E first attendances (e.g. Preston 806.2 per 100,000; Middlesbrough 809.4 per 100,000; Blackpool 696.6 per 100,000) than less densely populated areas (e.g. Mid Devon 64.4 per 100,000; West Somerset 99.0 per 100,000). • There is a strong positive correlation between deprivation and violence-related A&E attendances (r = 0.74; p<0.001) indicating that A&E attendances rise with increasing levels of deprivation. • The relationship between levels of urbanity and violence-related A&E attendances is significant albeit weaker than for deprivation (r = 0.53; p <0.001) indicating that higher numbers of attendances are not exclusive to more densely populated areas, and that some predominantly rural areas experience high levels of violence-related attendances (e.g. Allerdale 310.6 per 100,000). However, at the local authority level, areas with the lower violence-related A&E first attendance rates were predominantly rural (e.g. West Devon 60.3 per 100,000; South Lakeland 69.4 per 100,000). a The data used in this study are restricted to ‘first attendances’ to avoid duplicates (e.g. a patient may attend A&E subsequent to their first attendance as a planned follow up appointment to have a dressing changed, or as an unplanned follow up attendance relating to the original reason for the first attendance). • Approximately 59% of the variance in A&E attendance rates across England can be explained by levels of deprivation or levels of urbanity, with deprivation (ß = 0.63) having a much greater influence on violence-related A&E attendances than population density (ß = 0.23). • There is a strong positive correlation between violence-related A&E attendances and police recorded violence against the person (with injury) figures (r = 0.86; p <0.001) indicating a close link between the rate of A&E assault attendances and more serious police recorded violence. There are more A&E assault presentations per police recorded assault with injury in the most deprived areas of England, compared to more affluent areas. The process to derive these estimates has identified both data quality and quantity issues (e.g. missing data, invalid data) within the published HES A&E national dataset (experimental). With increased use of the data (e.g. to inform local policy and target local interventions to prevent violence) reporting should improve and the data will become a valuable resource for public health and health care planners as well as for multi-agency working with police and other services. The NHS Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) 2013-16 proposes the use of violencerelated hospital admissions as an outcome measure of violent crime. Using hospital admissions data (HES) for the outcome measure does identify more serious violence-related incidents however A&E attendances could be more informative. Hospital admissions data has been used as part of this model using linear regression to predict missing and invalid A&E attendance data. As a key finding, the analysis in this report identifies that hospital admissions data are a strong predictor of A&E attendances, legitimising the use of violence-related hospital admissions as an interim PHOF measure while A&E data quality and quantity improves. The government is committed to the use of A&E department data to achieve a reduction in violence. A range of evidence based and cost effective violence prevention interventions can be delivered to at risk communities by health, educational and social support services. A&E data can form a critical part of targeting such interventions as well as providing additional intelligence to inform criminal justice activities. Details: Liverpool: North West Public Health Observatory, Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, 2012. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 4, 2013 at: http://www.cph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Violence-related-Accident-Emergency-Attendances-front-page.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Violence-related-Accident-Emergency-Attendances-front-page.pdf Shelf Number: 128255 Keywords: Emergency Calls, Ambulances Hospitals Violence (U.K.) Violence-Related Injuries Violent Crime

Author: Denman, Kristine Title: Evaluation of Dlo’ayazhi Project Safe Neighborhoods Summary: Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide crime reduction initiative sponsored by the Department of Justice (DOJ). It has been in operation for over a decade. It began with a focus on firearm crimes, and in 2006, expanded to include gang crimes. This initiative is typically implemented in urban areas; however, in 2008 the DOJ invited the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety to apply for the program. The successful application outlined a plan for implementing PSN in and around the Crownpoint area of the Navajo Nation. In 2011, DOJ provided supplemental funding to continue PSN efforts in Crownpoint and expand into the Shiprock area, which is in the northwestern part of New Mexico. This report summarizes a process evaluation of these expansion efforts, as well as ongoing PSN efforts in the Crownpoint area. There are three primary principles that guide the PSN model: it is meant to be community based, coordinated and comprehensive. PSN is designed to be centered on the community in which it is being implemented, recognizing and reacting to community needs and the local resources available to address those needs (http://www.psn.gov/about/index.html). For example, while PSN focuses on gun and gang crime, the Navajo Nation PSN program has been expanded to include a domestic violence component. This addition represents a Task Force response to concerns about domestic violence voiced by representatives of the Navajo Nation. Across the country, United States Attorney’s Offices (USAO) coordinate PSN efforts in their respective districts. The USAO designates a Task Force Coordinator whose charge is to convene a PSN Task Force that brings together representatives from law enforcement and prosecution at all jurisdictional levels (local, tribal, state and federal), as well as community leaders, research partners, and others. This Task Force then meets regularly to develop collaborative strategies to address PSN program goals. The Task Force meetings are a venue for planning, reporting on and refining PSN activities and initiatives. In addition to managing these efforts, the PSN Task Force Coordinator reports back to the Department of Justice regarding local PSN efforts. Finally, PSN is meant to be comprehensive. The Navajo Nation PSN focuses on intervention, prevention, and prosecution of gun crimes, gang related/motivated offenses, juvenile violence and domestic violence offenses occurring on the Navajo Nation. Intervention involves violence suppression through targeted law enforcement operations. Prevention includes educational programming, outreach and support services. For example, the educational component involves a program called Project Sentry which targets at-risk youth, and is designed to prevent their involvement in gun and gang crime. Other prevention efforts occur as well. Outreach includes family advocacy and support for domestic violence issues and related problems, such as substance abuse. Finally, prosecution of targeted crimes occurs at the tribal and federal levels. The Navajo Nation PSN program is unique among PSN programs. It is among the first to be implemented on tribal lands, and must address challenges that differ from those typically seen in urban areas. First, the geography of the area differs from that of a typical urban PSN site. It is a very large geographical area, with many undeveloped roads and many areas that are sparsely populated. Second, there are fewer law enforcement officers per square mile relative to that seen in an urban area. In addition, this PSN initiative must take into account tribal law, and be able to work with tribal government in addition to negotiating municipal, state and federal laws. Finally, there are cultural differences and sovereignty issues that PSN must be sensitive to and take into account when implementing the initiative. However, the area is also similar to other PSN sites in that the community leaders have identified violence and gangs as a problem. They note that these problems are associated with substance abuse and poverty issues, like other PSN locales. Further, there is concern that particular housing structures on the Navajo Nation have become crime magnets, similar to urban dwellings. The USAO for the District of New Mexico (USAO NM) requested evaluation services in support of the Navajo PSN initiative from the New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center at the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Social Research. The USAO NM outlined two primary evaluation goals. First, the USAO NM expressed particular interest in determining how well the Task Force was coordinating activities and forging connections between disparate groups. Second, they were interested in better understanding the challenges to PSN implementation on the Navajo Nation so that they could best meet these challenges. There are five questions guiding this evaluation: 1. What portions of PSN are being implemented? 2. How well are PSN Task Force partners coordinating activities to implement the program goals? 3. What are Task Force members’ perceptions of PSN’s impact and success? 4. What are the facilitators to PSN implementation in the target areas? 5. What are the barriers to PSN implementation in the target areas? The purpose of this evaluation, then, is to determine whether the initiative is being implemented in the way that it is intended, to understand the perceived success of the initiative, and to pinpoint facilitators and barriers to implementation, focusing especially on coordination of activities. The results are meant to be used to make decisions about whether and how to refine the program activities and to provide feedback to the funders regarding program compliance. Details: Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico, Institute for Social Research; New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, 2013. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2013 at: http://nmsac.unm.edu/psn-process-evaluation-final-report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://nmsac.unm.edu/psn-process-evaluation-final-report.pdf Shelf Number: 0 Keywords: Crime Prevention Programs Domestic Violence Gang Violence Gun Violence Navajo Nation Project Safe Neighborhoods (New Mexico, U.S.) Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Mancini, Francesco, ed. Title: New Technology and the Prevention of Violence and Conflict Summary: There are now 6 billion cell phone subscriptions in the world, and one third of the world’s population is online. These numbers are growing rapidly, particularly in the developing world, and they demonstrate an unparalleled level of global interconnectivity. They also point to the unprecedented amount of data that we are generating while using new information and communication technologies (ICTs): in 2012 alone, humans generated more data than over the course of their entire history. This report explores the ways in which ICTs and the data they generate can assist international actors, governments, and civil society organizations to more effectively prevent violence and conflict. It examines the contributions that cell phones, social media, crowdsourcing, crisis mapping, blogging, and big data analytics can make to short-term efforts to forestall crises and to long-term initiatives to address the root causes of violence. Five case studies assess the use of such tools in a variety of regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America) experiencing different types of violence (criminal violence, election-related violence, armed conflict, shortterm crisis) in different political contexts (restrictive and collaborative governments). The cases demonstrate clearly that employing new technologies for conflict prevention can produce very different results depending on the context in which they are applied and whether or not those using the technology take that context into account. This is particularly true in light of the dramatic changes underway in the landscapes of violence and conflict on a global level. As such, instead of focusing on supply-driven technical fixes, those undertaking prevention initiatives should let the context inform what kind of technology is needed and what kind of approach will work best. With this in mind, lessons and insights from across the cases point to seven promising steps for strengthening prevention efforts that involve new technologies. 1. Even if you crowd-source your hammer, not every problem is a nail. New technologies have the potential to make huge contributions to violence- and conflictprevention efforts, but they are not a panacea for holistic solutions. International organizations and governments should examine all the tools at their disposal for preventing conflict, and civil society organizations should not be blinkered by their particular thematic focus. 2. Consider the context. The cases show that socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic factors will all influence whether technology can have a positive impact, which technology would be appropriate, and how technologies could or should be combined. International organizations and governments should make needs assessments and feasibility studies that address these factors standard practice. Civil society organizations should also include such needs assessments or conflict and peace assessments in their proposals when seeking funding from donors. 3. Do no harm. Failure to consider the possible knock-on effects of applying a specific technology can lead to fatal outcomes in violent settings. Spoilers also leverage new technologies to incite violence, promote conflict, and perpetrate crimes. As such, a conflict-sensitive approach remains vital from conception to completion of any initiative involving new technologies. As part of project design and implementation, every actor should identify possible spoilers, conduct a cost-benefit analysis that incorporates levels of risk, develop mechanisms to mitigate risks, and create contingency plans. 4. Integrate local input throughout, and don’t reinvent the wheel. Examples abound where an absence of local input meant there was a lack of buy-in from the affected communities, project financing was unsustainable, the credibility of the information collected was questionable, or there was duplication of work. Once a project is underway, continual consultation with and involvement of the affected community is vital. In general, the application of new technological tools to prevention efforts at the local level works best when integrated into existing civil society initiatives. 5. Use technology to help information flow horizontally more than vertically. Horizontal citizen-to-citizen ICT initiatives can help to connect more “warners” and “responders” more quickly and closer to the crisis. They can also contribute to communities’ resilience in the long term. International organizations should consider supporting spontaneous microinitiatives in this area, provide funding to develop local capacity, improve connectivity between different initiatives, and help the sharing of best practices. Civil society organizations should identify and reward skilled individuals and groups in local communities who can adopt new technologies for preventing violence and conflict. 6. Establish consensus regarding ownership, use, and sharing of information. New technologies make it possible for international organizations and government agencies to acquire more information and more granular information to inform prevention efforts. International organizations, governments, and civil society actors should establish consensus around questions of privacy, access, and use of digital data in any given initiative. This will make prevention efforts more legitimate in the eyes of the affected communities, and ultimately more effective. 7. Foster partnerships for better results. There are indications that prevention initiatives that drew on the complementary strengths of international donors, governments, the private sector, and civil society proved more effective. International organizations and governments are well placed to foster such partnerships and should invest in doing so for more promising results. Given the frequent paralysis at national and international levels when it comes to preventing conflict, the empowerment of individuals to participate in conflict-prevention initiatives in their own communities and societies may be one of the most significant innovations created by advances in technology. This is particularly true when it comes to bridging the persistent gulf between warning and response. Much more research is needed to assess how ICT can be used to generate action at the local level, as well as to inform or warn. In the long run, however, the most effective approach to using new technologies for conflict prevention may well be the one needed in prevention more broadly: one that successfully balances both grassroots, decentralized efforts and the more rationalized and coordinated activities of governments and international organizations. Details: New York: International Peace Institute, 2013. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2013 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ipi-e-pub-nw-technology-conflict-prevention-advance.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ipi-e-pub-nw-technology-conflict-prevention-advance.pdf Shelf Number: 128347 Keywords: Cell Phones Crime Prevention Technology and Crime Violence Prevention (International) Violent Crime

Author: Thomas, Kylie Title: The Power of Naming: ‘Senseless Violence’ and Violent Law in Post-Apartheid South Africa Summary: This report focuses on vigilantism, on the practice of ‘necklacing’ as a form of punishment, and on police violence in South Africa post-apartheid. The report engages with a series of questions about how popular forms of justice are imagined and enacted and about what the persistence of forms of violent punishment that originated during apartheid signifies in South Africa today. The report explores some of the complex reasons why people understand violence to be a means for achieving justice. It considers issues related to collective violence, violence connected to service delivery protests, and violence widely understood by perpetrators, onlookers, and researchers to be punitive in intent. It contests the idea that such forms of violence are ‘senseless’, arguing that to do so is to evade the question of how violence is bound to the political order, both past and present. Details: Cape Town: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 18, 2013 at: http://www.csvr.org.za/images/docs/VTP3/k_thomas_the_power_of_naming_senseless_violence_and_violent_law_in_post_apartheid_sa.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.csvr.org.za/images/docs/VTP3/k_thomas_the_power_of_naming_senseless_violence_and_violent_law_in_post_apartheid_sa.pdf Shelf Number: 128413 Keywords: Police Misconduct Vigilantism (South Africa) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bryant, Rhonda Title: Taking Aim at Gun Violence: Rebuilding Community Education & Employment Pathways Summary: In a single generation, our nation is faced with the prospect of losing over 132,000 black men and boys to gun violence. Moreover, for every black male who dies from gun violence, there are another 24 others who suffer non-fatal injuries - making the impacts of such violence even greater. In black communities, gun violence is about far more than reforming gun control laws and empowering law enforcement. Gun violence for young black males predominates in communities where residents live in concentrated disadvantage with high rates of unemployment, school dropout, and poverty. The absence of opportunities in these communities gives rise to criminal activity and the loss of too many young lives. Solving the crisis of gun violence in communities requires that America address the issue of concentrated poverty and geography. The rebuilding and strengthening of these communities through creating infrastructure to provide improved education and employment opportunities for black youth will significantly reduce issues of gun violence. Details: Washington, DC: CLASP, 2013. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 22, 2013 at: http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Taking-Aim-at-Gun-Violence.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Taking-Aim-at-Gun-Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 128428 Keywords: Firearms and Crime Gang Violence Gun Violence (U.S.) Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Fitzgerald, Jacqueline Title: Non-fatal Shootings in NSW Summary: This paper analyses the pattern of non-fatal shootings in NSW, covering trends, spatial distribution and other characteristics. Method: This study considers the incidence of non-fatal shooting incidents recorded by NSW Police, in particular shoot with intent, discharge firearm into premises and unlawfully discharge firearm. Analysis is limited to the information recorded about these incidents by NSW Police on the Computerised Operational Policing System. Results: Between 1995 and 2012 there have been frequent fluctuations in the recorded number of non-fatal shootings but no sustained increase over the period. The most notable results in 2012 were in April and July which showed record incidence of discharge firearm into premises. There was still, however, no discernible upward trend in offending even for this sub-offence. Shooting incidents are most common in Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield- Liverpool and Central Western Sydney. At least a third of shoot with intent and discharge firearm into premises incidents are gang, drug or organised crime related and about one in four shootings result in an offender being legally proceeded against. Conclusion: Despite a high number of incidents of discharge firearm into premises recorded in some months of 2012, shooting offences are not trending upwards, nor are they historically higher than at previous times. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2013. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue paper no. 85: Accessed April 25, 2013 at: http://apo.org.au/research/non-fatal-shootings-nsw Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/research/non-fatal-shootings-nsw Shelf Number: 128437 Keywords: Drive-By Shootings Gun Violence Violence (Australia) Violent Crime

Author: Moffatt, Steve Title: An update of long-term trends in property and violent crime in New South Wales: 1990-2012 Summary: Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyse the trends in the rates of annual recorded incidents of ten major categories of property and violent crime for the period 1990 to 2012 in New South Wales (NSW). Method: Offence rates were calculated using criminal incident data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) for the period 1995 to 2012, and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s recorded crime statistics report series for the period 1990 to 1994. Kendall’s trend test was run on the 23 annual rates for each of the ten major offence categories. Results: Some categories of crime in NSW are now at the lowest recorded levels they have been for over 20 years. Comparing per capita rates of crime in 2012 with per capita rates in 1990, lower rates were found for: murder (51% lower), motor vehicle theft (73% lower), break and enter non-dwelling (65% lower), break and enter dwelling (45% lower), robbery with a weapon not a firearm (29% lower), robbery with a firearm (71% lower), and robbery without a weapon (26% lower). Three of the ten offence types analysed in this report were found to have recorded rates higher in 2012 than in 1990: assault (74% higher), sexual assault (130% higher) and ‘other’ sexual offences (77% higher). It is not clear whether the increases in these offences are the result of higher rates of offending or greater willingness to report them. Conclusion: In the period since 1990, assault and sexual assault rates recorded significant long term upward trends whilst the other eight offences analysed in this report were trending down or stable. The 2012 recorded sexual assault rate was marginally above the previous highs of 2009 and 2010 and the rate since 2000 has recorded a significant uptrend. Apart from sexual assault, the remaining nine offence types have recorded significant downtrends in recorded rates since 2000. The three robbery and three property crime rates have all recorded falls of more than 55% since 2000. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2013. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Paper No. 84: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/BB84.pdf/$file/BB84.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/bocsar/ll_bocsar.nsf/vwFiles/BB84.pdf/$file/BB84.pdf Shelf Number: 128509 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Australia) Crime Trends Property Crimes Violent Crime

Author: New York City Council. Task Force to Conmbat Gun Violence Title: A Report to: New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn Summary: This report calls for a comprehensive community-based response to gun violence, including recommendations for programs that the City can fund in neighborhoods with the most gun violence as well as state and federal legislation that will make New York and all Americans safer. We are pleased that, under your leadership, over $4 million has already been allocated to begin implementing the Task Force’s recommendations. Details: New York: New York City Council, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://council.nyc.gov/html/pr/gvtfreport.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://council.nyc.gov/html/pr/gvtfreport.pdf Shelf Number: 128586 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence (New York City, U.S.) Guns Violent Crime

Author: Toomey, Traci L. Title: The Association between Density of Alcohol Establishments and Violent Crime within Urban Neighborhoods Summary: Background. Numerous studies have found that areas with higher alcohol establishment density are more likely to have higher violent crime rates but most of these studies did not assess the differential effects of type of establishments or the effects on multiple categories of crime. In this study, we assess whether alcohol establishment density is associated with four categories of violent crime, and whether the strength of the associations varies by type of violent crime and by on-premise establishments (e.g., bars, restaurants) versus off-premise establishments (e.g., liquor and convenience stores). Methods. Data come from the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2009 and were aggregated and analyzed at the neighborhood level. Across the 83 neighborhoods in Minneapolis, we examined four categories of violent crime: assault, rape, robbery, and total violent crime. We used a Bayesian hierarchical inference approach to model the data, accounting for spatial auto-correlation and controlling for relevant neighborhood demographics. Models were estimated for total alcohol establishment density as well as separately for on-premise establishments and off-premise establishments. Results. Positive, statistically significant associations were observed for total alcohol establishment density and each of the violent crime outcomes. We estimate that a 3.9% to 4.3%. increase across crime categories would result from a 20% increase in neighborhood establishment density. The associations between on-premise density and each of the individual violent crime outcomes were also all positive and significant and similar in strength as for total establishment density. The relationships between off-premise density and the crime outcomes were all positive but not significant for rape or total violent crime, and the strength of the associations was weaker than those for total and on-premise density. Conclusions. Results of this study, combined with earlier findings, provide more evidence that community leaders should be cautious about increasing the density of alcohol establishments within their neighborhoods. Details: Minneapolis, MN: School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 2012. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2013 at: http://www.sph.umn.edu/faculty1/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rr2011-019.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.sph.umn.edu/faculty1/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/rr2011-019.pdf Shelf Number: 128590 Keywords: Alcohol Outlets Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Neighborhoods and Crime Urban Areas Violent Crime

Author: Desai, Ashwin Title: The Cape of Good Dope? A post-apartheid story of gangs and vigilantes Summary: Everything lies in the challenge and the duel – that is to say, everything still lies in the dual personal relation with the opposing power. It is that power which humiliated you, so it must be humiliated. And not merely exterminated. It has to be made to lose face ... it must be targeted and wounded in a genuinely adversarial relation. (Baudillard 2002:25-26) Pagad (People Against Gangsterism and Drugs)entered the South African political landscape in dramatic fashion. On the night of the 4th August 1996, Pagad drove in convoy from the Gatesville Mosque to the house of the head of the Hard Livings gang, Rashaad Staggie. He was not home, but in an act of bravado, arrived. Already shots had been fired between Pagad and those inside Staggie’s Salt River home. While trying to alight from his vehicle, he was shot in the head. As he fell out of his bakkie, ‘his inert body, apparently dead, was kicked, jumped on, hit with the butt of a shotgun and shot several more times before a petrol bomb was hurled at the body. Miraculously, this revived the mortally wounded man and he rose and tried to run away, only to be brought down by a volley of gunfire from the crowd’. (Sunday Tribune 11 August 1996) All this happened in the full glare of the media and with the police present. It was one of the first times a movement in post-apartheid South Africa acted with such impunity and with such directness in respect of their aims and objectives. Pagad wanted to rid the flats of gangs and drugs. Participants in its first big mass march had just killed a leading gangster and known drug-dealer. Five years later Pagad was involved in another dramatic incident in the city centre: Shots were fired and pedestrians scrambled for cover as policemen engaged in a shootout with seven men who escaped from court in Cape Town . . . The seven members of Pagad’s G-Force, faced urban terrorism charges. They apparently overpowered a policemen in the high court’s holding cells during a lunch break and seized his gun . . . scaled a gate to reach Queen Victoria Street, and were then involved in a shootout with the police in the after-lunch traffic in the city centre. (The Mercury, 5 October 2001) What had happened in the five years that turned Pagad from being an organisation seeking to rid the Cape Flats of druglords into fugitives from the law? Details: Durban, South Africa: Centre for Civil Society; University of KwaZulu-Natal, School of Development Studies, 2004. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Acessed May 1, 2013 at: http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Desai%20Pagad%20Research%20Report.pdf Year: 2004 Country: South Africa URL: http://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/Desai%20Pagad%20Research%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 128593 Keywords: Gangs (South Africa) Vigilantes (South Africa) Vigilantism Violence Violent Crime

Author: Lamb, Robert Dale Title: Microdynamics of Illegitimacy and Complex Urban Violence in Medellin, Colombia Summary: For most of the past 25 years, Medellin, Colombia, has been an extreme case of complex, urban violence, involving not just drug cartels and state security forces, but also street gangs, urban guerrillas, community militias, paramilitaries, and other nonstate armed actors who have controlled micro-territories in the city's densely populated slums in ever-shifting alliances. Before 2002, Medellin's homicide rate was among the highest in the world, but after the guerrillas and militias were defeated in 2003, a major paramilitary alliance disarmed and a period of peace known as the "Medellin Miracle" began. Policy makers facing complex violence elsewhere were interested in finding out how that had happened so quickly. The research presented here is a case study of violence in Medellin over five periods since 1984 and at two levels of analysis: the city as a whole, and a sector called Caicedo La Sierra. The objectives were to describe and explain the patterns of violence, and determine whether legitimacy played any role, as the literature on social stability suggested it might. Multilevel, multidimensional frameworks for violence and legitimacy were developed to organize data collection and analysis. The study found that most decreases in violence at all levels of analysis were explained by increases in territorial control. Increases in collective (organized) violence resulted from a process of "illegitimation," in which an intolerably unpredictable living environment sparked internal opposition to local rulers and raised the costs of territorial control, increasing their vulnerability to rivals. As this violence weakened social order and the rule of law, interpersonal-communal (unorganized) violence increased. Over time, the "true believers" in armed political and social movements became marginalized or corrupted; most organized violence today is motivated by money. These findings imply that state actors, facing resurgent violence, can keep their tenuous control over the hillside slums (and other "ungoverned" areas) if they can avoid illegitimizing themselves. Their priority, therefore, should be to establish a tolerable, predictable daily living environment for local residents and businesses: other anti-violence programs will fail without strong, permanent, and respectful governance structures. Details: College Park, MD: University of Maryland, 2010. 657p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 6, 2013 at: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/10242 Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/10242 Shelf Number: 128671 Keywords: Gangs Homicides Militias Organized Crime Paramilitaries Rule of Law Urban Areas Violence (Colombia) Violent Crime

Author: Racovita, Mihaela Title: In Search of Lasting Security: An Assessment of Armed Violence in Nepal Summary: This study, conducted together with its Kathmandu-based partner, Interdisciplinary Analysts, presents original research based on a national household survey covering more than 3,000 respondents as well as focus group discussions and key informant interviews in Nepal’s Hill and Terai regions, as well as data collected from official, non-governmental, and international sources. Since the end of the conflict Nepal has seen fluctuation in the incidence and severity of violence, with relative calm punctuated by bouts of violence in response to political events. While data shows several improvements in the security landscape, Nepal continues to be plagued by high volatility and uncertainty related to political and ethnic crises. The Special Report finds that: Despite persistent volatility, a majority of survey respondents were confident that security situation had recently improved in their area. Property crime was identified as the most common concern, across surveyed areas. Those with a steady source of income, or those carrying money or valuables were more likely to fall victims. Urban spaces and the Kathmandu Valley display higher concentrations of insecurity. Armed violence in Nepal is generally low-tech, using crude or makeshift weapons, such as bicycle chains or sticks, as well as traditional bladed weapons, improvised explosive devices, and home-made firearms. Based on self-reported and perceived ownership, between 41,000 and 84,000 households in the surveyed districts are estimated to own firearms. Overall police performance, accountability, and responsiveness were rated fairly high, with more than 80 per cent of respondents stating that they would seek help from the police in the event of an attack. However, many interviewees expressed concerns about police efficiency, citing lack of training, political interference, and a lack of standardized service as key issues. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2013. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report May 2013: Accessed May 15, 2013 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR20-In-Search-of-Lasting-Security-NAVA.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/C-Special-reports/SAS-SR20-In-Search-of-Lasting-Security-NAVA.pdf Shelf Number: 128731 Keywords: Armed Violence Gun Violence Guns and Crime Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Planty, Michael Title: Firearm Violence, 1993–2011 Summary: –Firearm-related homicides declined 39 percent and nonfatal firearm crimes declined 69 percent from 1993 to 2011, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today. Firearm-related homicides dropped from 18,253 homicides in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011, and nonfatal firearm crimes dropped from 1.5 million victimizations in 1993 to 467,300 in 2011. For both fatal and nonfatal firearm victimizations, the majority of the decline occurred during the 10-year period from 1993 to 2002. The number of firearm homicides declined from 1993 to 1999, rose through 2006 and then declined through 2011. Nonfatal firearm violence declined from 1993 through 2004 before fluctuating in the mid- to late 2000s. In 2011, about 70 percent of all homicides and eight percent of all nonfatal violent victimizations (rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault) were committed with a firearm, mainly a handgun. A handgun was used in about 7 in 10 firearm homicides and about 9 in 10 nonfatal firearm violent crimes in 2011. In the same year, about 26 percent of robberies and 31 percent of aggravated assaults involved a firearm, such as handguns, shotguns or rifles. In 2007-11, about one percent of victims in all nonfatal violent crimes reported using a firearm to defend themselves during the incident. A small number of property crime victims also used a firearm in self-defense—about 0.1 percent of all property victimizations. The majority of nonfatal firearm violence occurred in or around the victim’s home (42 percent) or in an open area, on the street, or while on public transportation (23 percent). Less than one percent of all nonfatal firearm violence occurred in schools. From 1993 to 2010, males, blacks and persons ages 18 to 24 were most likely to be victims of firearm-related homicide. In 2011, the rate of nonfatal firearm violent for males (1.9 per 1,000) was not significantly different than the rate for females (1.6 per 1,000). Non-Hispanic blacks (2.8 per 1,000) and Hispanics (2.2 per 1,000) had higher rates of nonfatal firearm violence than non-Hispanic whites (1.4 per 1,000). Persons ages 18 to 24 had the highest rates of nonfatal firearm violence (5.2 per 1,000). In 2004 (the most recent year of data available), among state prison inmates who possessed a gun at the time of the offense, fewer than two percent bought their firearm at a flea market or gun show. About 10 percent of state prison inmates said they purchased it from a retail store or pawnshop, 37 percent obtained it from family or friends, and another 40 percent obtained it from an illegal source. Findings in this report on nonfatal firearm violence are based on data from the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey. Findings on firearm homicide are based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report: Accessed May 20, 2013 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fv9311.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fv9311.pdf Shelf Number: 128751 Keywords: Crime Statistics Firearms and Crime (U.S.) Guns and Crime Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Title: Justice at the Barrel of a Gun: Vigilante Militias in Mexico Summary: A rapid expansion in 2013 of vigilante militias – civilian armed groups that claim to fight crime – has created a third force in Mexico’s ongoing cartel-related violence. Some of these militias contain well-meaning citizens and have detained hundreds of suspected criminals. However, they challenge the government’s necessary monopoly on the use of force to impart justice. As the militias spread, there is also concern some are being used by criminal groups to fight their rivals and control territory. The Peña Nieto administration needs to develop a coherent policy for dealing with the vigilantes, so that it can work with authentic community policing projects while stopping the continued expansion of unregulated armed groups; this also requires demonstrating that the state has sufficient capacity to restore law and order on its own. If the government fails to deal with this issue, militias could spread across the country, triggering more violence and further damaging the rule of law. President Peña Nieto had expected to have to cope with the well-armed, ruthless cartels that dominate portions of the country, as well as the problems presented by uncoordinated national, state and municipal law enforcement bodies and a legacy of impunity. The appearance of a growing number of armed groups in at least nine of the 31 states, from close to the U.S. border to the south east, however, has added another dangerous level of complexity to the security challenge. Their epicentre, on which this briefing concentrates, is in the Pacific states of Guerrero and Michoacán, where thousands of armed men participate in a range of vigilante organisations. There have been more than 30 killings there since January 2013, either by or against the vigilantes, and they have become increasingly worrying hotspots of insecurity. While the vigilante killings are still only a fraction of the more than 5,000 cartel-related murders that took place across Mexico in the first five months of Peña Nieto’s administration, the concern is that this new type of violence could expand across the land. The violence has coincided with protests against government reforms in these states, including road blockades and looting of food trucks that are part of a broader challenge to authority. The government launched a major security offensive in Michoacán in May that has weakened the militia presence there, at least in the short term. In Guerrero, the state government has made agreements with some militia leaders in an attempt to lessen their impact. However, various vigilante groups are still active, and some of the core problems of insecurity that led to their presence are unresolved. The vigilantism issue is complicated by the fact that many communities, particularly indigenous, have a centuries-old tradition of community policing. Many groups have shown themselves to be successful and have demonstrated legitimate ways of providing security. However, it is legally ambiguous how far such community groups can go in bearing arms and imparting justice. Furthermore, many of the new militias copy the language and claim the same rights as these community police, even though they do not come from a local tradition or are not even rooted in indigenous communities. The government needs to work with the authentic and unarmed community police and clearly define the parameters of what they can and cannot do. Some rules can be established on the basis of guidelines that are being developed under state and federal laws or by expanding agreements being worked out between state governments and community leaders. In some cases, the government needs to require the disarmament of vigilante groups; in yet others, it needs to more aggressively detain and prosecute militias with criminal links. But the government also needs to significantly improve security in all the communities where militias have been formed. Many residents have taken up arms because the state has systematically failed to protect them. The clamour for security is legitimate; but justice is better served through functional state institutions than the barrels of private guns. Details: Mexico City/Bogota/Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Briefing N°29: Accessed May 30, 2013 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/latin-america-caribbean/mexico/b029-justice-at-the-barrel-of-a-gun-vigilante-militias-in-mexico.aspx Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/latin-america-caribbean/mexico/b029-justice-at-the-barrel-of-a-gun-vigilante-militias-in-mexico.aspx Shelf Number: 128879 Keywords: Criminal Cartels Gun Violence (Mexico) Homicides Organized Crime Vigilantes Violent Crime

Author: Yepes, Rodrigo Uprimny Title: Addicted to Punishment: The disproportionality of drug laws in Latin America Summary: This document analyzes the proportionality of drug related crimes in seven Latin American countries through the study of the evolution of their criminal legislations from 1950 until 2012. The study suggests the existence of a regional tendency to maximize the use of criminal law for combating this type of conducts. This is reflected in: i) the gradual increase in the number of drug-related conducts described as criminal, ii) the exponential growth of the penalties with which those conducts are punished and iii) the incomprehensible tendency of punishing with more severity the drug-related crimes rather than those more evidently severe such as homicide, rape and aggravated robbery. Those upward trends indicate that the Latin American States have become addicted to punishment because of their frequent and empirically groundless increasing of the punitive dose, regardless of its constantly decreasing benefits. Addicted to punishment is part of a series of studies carried out by the Research Consortium on Drugs and the Law (CEDD) that critically analyze the application of the proportionality principle in relation with drug crimes. The studies find that the punishments imposed and the punitive treatment of the offenders are disproportional, often generating more damages than benefits. Details: Bogota, Columbia: Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad, Dejusticia, 2013. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Dejusticia Working Paper 1: Accessed June 1, 2013 at: www.dejusticia.org Year: 2013 Country: Central America URL: Shelf Number: 128904 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime (Latin America) Drug Policy Drug-Related Violence Violent Crime

Author: Edmonds-Poli, Emily Title: The Effects of Drug-War Related Violence on Mexico’s Press and Democracy Summary: This working paper is the product of a joint project on civic engagement and public security in Mexico coordinated by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego. The paper offers an assessment of the impact of criminal violence on journalists and media workers in Mexico, which is now the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere for journalists. Dr. Edmonds-Poli concludes with a set of policy recommendations for the Mexican government, Mexican society, and the international community to address the problem of violence against the Mexican media. The wide-ranging recommendations offer concrete steps that individuals and institutions involved may undertake to alleviate the violence, thereby ensuring freedom of expression and public access to information in Mexico, and, ultimately, strengthening Mexico’s democracy. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; San Diego, CA: Trans-Border Institute, University of San Diego, 2013. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2013 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/edmonds_violence_press_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/edmonds_violence_press_0.pdf Shelf Number: 129002 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Homicides Journalists Media Violent Crime

Author: Berkman, Heather Title: Social exclusion and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: This paper examines how social exclusion contributes to violence in communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Residents in socially excluded communities cannot depend on those institutions designed to protect them, and violence becomes an instrument to achieve certain outcomes, such as justice, security, and economic gain. When conventional methods of obtaining and working for increased social status, higher income, and wider influence are limited, as they often are in marginalized areas, some feel compelled to resort to violent acts. This paper discusses how social exclusion and violence interact in a vicious circle that leaves the socially excluded in a very hostile social environment where the borders between legal and illegal, legitimate and illegitimate are often fuzzy and uncertain. In this environment violence is used by a minority to acquire justice, security, authority and economic gain. The use of violence by this minority, however, affect the lives of the majority of excluded people that do not resort to violence. As youths are particularly vulnerable to this issue, this paper also examines the relationship between violence and the plight of Latin American youth gangs and street children. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2007. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Department Working paper series ; 613): Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubwp-613.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Central America URL: http://www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubwp-613.pdf Shelf Number: 129039 Keywords: Socio-Economic Status Street Children Violence (Latin America and Caribbean) Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youth Violence

Author: Peetz, Peter Title: Discourses on Violence in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua: Youth, Crime, and the Responses of the State Summary: The paper analyzes the social construction of youth violence in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador on the one hand, and the related security policies of the three states, on the other. In each country, there is an idiosyncratic way of constructing youth violence and juvenile delinquency. Also, each country has its own manner of reaction to those problems. In El Salvador youths are socially constructed as a threat to security, and the state implements predominantly repressive policies to protect citizens against that threat. In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where the social discourse on youth violence is less prominent, the state's policies are neither very accentuated nor very coherent, whether in terms of repressive or nonrepressive measures. There are strong relations and mutual influences between the public's fear (or disregard) of youth violence and the state's policies to reduce it. Details: Hamburg, Germany: GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, 2008. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: GIGA Working Papers No. 80: Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/wp80_peetz.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Central America URL: http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/wp80_peetz.pdf Shelf Number: 129041 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquency Violent Crime Youth Violence (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua

Author: Kolbe, Athena R. Title: Revisiting Haiti´s Gangs and Organized Violence Summary: Though a preoccupation with organized violence has dominated much of the discourse on politics and development in Haiti, little research exists on Haiti’s urban gangs and insurgent groups. This paper examines urban gangs through intensive field research conducted over a number of years with both members of armed groups and residents of areas in which they operate. Drawing on a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper sets out to examine whether Haiti ́s gang-related violence constitutes a “war” using criteria embedded in the Geneva Conventions. Advancing the debate, this study finds that there are surprising convergences in the views and experiences of armed group members and Haitian civilians. Details: Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil: HASOW (Humanitarian Action in Situations other than War), 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 4: Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/102/doc/923593528.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Haiti URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/102/doc/923593528.pdf Shelf Number: 129120 Keywords: Gang Violence Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs (Haiti)

Author: Franco, Liliana Bernal Title: Urban Violence and Humanitarian Action in Medellin Summary: Colombia has long experienced acute forms of political violence in and at the periphery of its major cities. Humanitarian agencies have also for decades protected civilians in order to minimize suffering within armed conflicts. Yet in recent years, humanitarian organizations have started to engage in settings that are neither war nor peace. These environments feature complex forms of politically - and economically- motivated violence. The city of Medellin (Colombia), in particular, is the paradigmatic example of such an environment where different types of violence come together in complex ways. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: HASOW (Humanitarian Action in Situations other than War: 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 5: Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/104/doc/496869705.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/104/doc/496869705.pdf Shelf Number: 129121 Keywords: Homicides Urban Areas Violence (Colombia) Violent Crime

Author: Lunde, Henriette Title: The Violent Lifeworlds of Young Haitians: Gangs as livelihood in a Port-au-Prince ghetto Summary: Seven months after the forced departure of elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004, the ghettos in Port-au-Prince erupted in a violent uprising costing thousands of lives. The tension simmered for seven months until the use of force against demonstrators by the interim government caused it to blow up. The sudden outburst of massive organized violence came as a surprise to the interim government, as well as to the UN peacekeepers. Could what happened in 2004 happen again today? By analyzing the social structures facilitating the rapid mobilization of armed resistance in the Port-au-Prince ghettos, together with the incentives for local youth to join armed groups and participate in the fighting, this report points to important parallels between post-Aristide and post-earthquake Haiti. Examining these factors raises questions such as how best to address both the security challenge and the living conditions for marginalized urban youth in present-day Haiti. Details: Oslo, Norway: Fafo, 2012. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: The Haiti Youth Project: Accessed June 21, 2013 at: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/10149/10149.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Haiti URL: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/10149/10149.pdf Shelf Number: 129122 Keywords: Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs (Haiti)

Author: Lakhani, Sadaf Title: Papua New Guinea - Drivers of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea Summary: Reports in both the national and international media and anecdotal evidence indicate that the prevalence of crime and violence is high in PNG, and presents an important obstacle to long-term development. A growing body of literature and data on the issue identify a diverse range of forms of crime and violence; from violence in the household to violent conflict between clans, and various forms of interpersonal violence. This violence has been linked to various factors, ranging from historical and cultural factors, to, more recently, economic drivers. Conflict and violence have historically been an integral part of social life in PNG. Observers of PNG have noted an important distinction between ‘socially generative’ social contest, and forms of conflict that are corrosive and destructive for society (Dinnen, Porter and Sage 2011). Managed conflict has been identified as central to the maintenance of social cohesion and social capital within and between communities in Papua New Guinea. However, while traditional systems of managing disputes have been effective in maintaining social order historically, recent changes in societies in PNG have created disputes that are less amenable to management by traditional means and are linked to at least some of the current violence witnessed. Formal justice systems have to date been ineffective in stepping in to fill this gap. In this context, violence in PNG can be understood, at least partly, as a result of the inability of both traditional and formal institutions to manage the stresses that have come with rapid social and economic changes. It is hoped that a greater understanding of these stresses can inform more effective means of addressing the problem of crime and violence. This briefing note presents an analysis of the drivers of violence and crime in PNG. An extensive data and literature review was undertaken by a World Bank team, following a scoping mission to PNG in December 2011. A follow-up mission to Port Moresby in October 2012 which included individual consultations with stakeholders as well as an experts meeting on Conflict and Fragility helped test and refine the analysis. The brief begins with a description of the role of conflict in PNG society, and of traditional mechanisms for managing conflict. Next, it discusses key stresses that increase the risk of violence in PNG. The fourth section examines how these stresses affect the capacity of institutions in PNG to manage the conflicts that come with rapid social and economic changes. The brief concludes with a summary of gaps in the current understanding of the stresses and drivers of violence in PNG. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Social Cohesion and Violence Prevention Team, Social Development Department, 2012. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Note No. 2: Accessed June 22, 2013 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/02/05/000425962_20130205135627/Rendered/PDF/750580NWP0Driv0Box374299B00PUBLIC00.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Papua New Guinea URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2013/02/05/000425962_20130205135627/Rendered/PDF/750580NWP0Driv0Box374299B00PUBLIC00.pdf Shelf Number: 129137 Keywords: Violence (Papua New Guinea) Violent Crime

Author: Muggah, Robert Title: Assessing and responding to youth violence in Latin America: Surveying the evidence Summary: Violence is one of Latin America´s primary challenge in the twentieth century. A significant number of countries, cities and communities in Central and South American regions suffer rates of violence exceeding war zones. In some cases, violence is collective resulting in spectacular atrocities. In others, violence is interpersonal or domestic, contributing to more subtle, most no less significant, suffering. Many of Latin America´s 33 countries register firearm homicide rates that are amongst the highest on the planet. And while some countries in Latin America such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Peru and Uruguay report homicide rates closer to the global average, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela exhibit particularly high levels of insecurity.1 Youth violence is one of the top priorities facing Latin American policy makers. Young males from 15-29 constitute the large proportion of both the perpetrators and victims of homicidal violence. According to the United Nations World Report on Violence against Children, Latin America suffers from the highest youth homicide rates in the world (Pinheiro 2006). The costs of youth violence are profound – generating significant humanitarian and development costs spanning generations. The causes of such violence are also far-reaching ranging from social and economic inequality, juvenile un- and under-0employment and high school drop-out rates to disintegrated family structures, and absence of care and attention, the availability of drugs, alcohol and arms, and high rates of police impunity and incarceration. This overview paper is intended to set out the scale and distribution of youth violence in Latin America and highlight innovative strategies to prevent and reduce it. Far from exhaustive, the report highlights descriptive statistics on homicidal violence in countries that report such data. Likewise, it draws attention to direct and indirect interventions that are associated with declines in youth violence. Only those initiatives backed with robust data are noted in this paper, which is not to suggest that they are the only ones that yield positive outcomes. According to a recent review by the Igarapé Institute, there are just 21 robust evaluations of youth violence reduction efforts in Latin America (Moestue and Muggah 2013). The paper is intended to stimulate critical reflection and discussion at a forthcoming UN-led conference on the post-2015 development agenda in Panama. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarapé Institute., 2013. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2013. Year: 2013 Country: Central America URL: Shelf Number: 129141 Keywords: Homicides Juvenile Delinquents Violent Crime Youth Violence (Latin America)

Author: Hampton-Gaines, Berthea G. Title: State Capacity and Effectiveness in Combating Crime: A Comparative Study of El Salvador and Guatemala Summary: Less than two decades after the conclusion of brutal civil wars, El Salvador and Guatemala are once again faced with high levels of violence stemming from drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption, and gangs. Overall, El Salvador was more successful in post-war state building. However, despite having stronger institutions and more capabilities, it is not better off when it comes to public security when compared to Guatemala, a state with weaker institutions and fewer resources. In fact, El Salvador’s homicide rates have been consistently higher. According to prevailing conventional wisdom, a country with stronger institutions and more resources should be more capable and effective at maintaining order, but this is not the case. This thesis examines the nature of crime, institutional capacity, and the effectiveness of government responses to reduce violent crime. It argues that decisions made during the transition period set these states on different paths. Furthermore, while strong institutions are important to maintaining order, government policy can strengthen or weaken the effectiveness of the institution. Strong institutions are necessary, but not sufficient. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2012. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed June 22, 2013 at: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=719163 Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=719163 Shelf Number: 129145 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gangs (El Salvador, Guatemala, Central America) Homicides M-18 Mara Salvatrucha MS-13 Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Brands, Hal Title: Criminal Fiefdoms in Latin America: Understanding the Problem of Alternatively Governed Spaces Summary:  The problems of criminal fiefdoms—alternatively governed spaces (AGSs) in which criminal organizations, rather than formal authorities, effectively control the population and act as the arbiter of internal order—have become a serious security issue in Latin America. In several countries, criminal fiefdoms have taken shape against the backdrop of rampant criminality that has afflicted much of the region over the past two decades, with this phenomenon intensified by competition between rival transnational drug trafficking organizations (DTOs).  In nations as varied as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Brazil, criminal organizations ranging from youth gangs to sophisticated DTOs control large portions of the national territory. They serve as de facto governments as they collect “taxes” through dues and extortion, demand the loyalty, or at least the acquiescence, of the people under their control, and punish those who interfere with their illicit activities. Such groups wage irregular warfare—defined as “a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations”—against their competitors and governments.1  While criminal organizations like MS-13 and the First Capital Command (PCC) of São Paulo sometimes provide order and limited social services, they also exploit and terrorize the populace. Criminal fiefdoms have thus exposed the weakness of governance, showing that states cannot control their territory or protect their citizens. This is having a corrosive impact on the public psyche, material conditions and is undermining democracy.  Addressing this problem will be a difficult and complex task. The issue of criminal fiefdoms is rooted in structural problems—inequality, lack of opportunity, corruption, and above all, weak state capacity. Efforts must concentrate on building broad political compacts in support of holistic anti-crime programs and efforts to strengthening the state. • Within this context, there are several initiatives to consider, including:  Smarter targeting and efforts to develop tools necessary to sustain long-term investigations and successful prosecutions;  Creative policing strategies that focus on policecivilian interaction and protection of the population;  Short and long-term efforts to strengthen honest law enforcement and judicial officials to reduce corruption;  Building the institutional capacity of the agencies and offices charged with combating and prosecuting organized crime;  Macro and micro-economic initiatives to broaden opportunity and stem the stream of recruits for organized crime;  Intensified U.S. efforts to deal with the demand side of the DTO problem and a capacity and willingness for innovation and experimentation. During the Cold War, Latin America was roiled by Marxist insurgencies that, in the process of seeking to overthrow governments, carved out “liberated zones” in which insurgents could operate freely and extract resources from the population. Today, ideological violence has faded, but the problem of alternatively governed spaces (AGSs)—areas in which some groups other than the government are the de facto arbiter of internal order—continues to plague the region. A variety of criminal organizations, ranging from youth gangs to transnational drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs), have established “criminal fiefdoms” in which they operate with little or no interference from the authorities and have established a form of dominance—complete with “taxation,” limited social services, and often-brutal punishment—over the population. This phenomenon is most pronounced in Central American countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, but it is also evident in Brazil. Where fiefdoms exist, states are essentially experiencing irregular warfare, as criminal groups compete with established governments for control and influence over the civilian population. This phenomenon has highlighted the weakness of many states, and is having a severely corrosive impact on democratic governance and the rule of law. This paper thus analyzes the origins, manifestations, and ramifications of the problem of criminal fiefdoms. The first section offers an analytical framework for understanding the issue. The second and third sections present case studies, focusing on the current situation in Guatemala and São Paulo, Brazil. The fourth section discusses policy implications. Details: Miami: Florida International University, Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center, 2010. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 25, 2013 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=whemsac Year: 2010 Country: Asia URL: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=whemsac Shelf Number: 129154 Keywords: Drug Trafficking First Capital Command (PCC) Gangs MS-13 Organized Crime (Latin America) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Blessing, Jasmin Title: 'Como te haces entender?': Gender and Gun Cultures in the Caribbean Context Summary: Although Latin America and the Caribbean have not seen interstate conflict for decades, the countries in the region cannot be said to be at peace given the high levels of gun violence. In spite of the magnitude of the problem, there is relatively little research available on the social constructions of gun ownership and the use and abuse of guns, particularly in the Caribbean region. This paper examines some of the gendered impacts and readings of guns in the Caribbean region, looking at the extent at which gun violence has affected Caribbean societies, at cultural and gender norms as well as socioeconomic conditions which determine gun ownership and use and policy responses to the issue, including gender mainstreaming in security sector reform processes and civil society initiatives. The focus is on more urbanised societies in the Caribbean region, with a special focus on gun violence and responses in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Details: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: United Nations International Research and Training, Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), 2010. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: UN‑INSTRAW Working Paper Series: Accessed June 25, 2013 at: http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/UN/un-instraw_gendergunculturescarribbean_2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Central America URL: http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/UN/un-instraw_gendergunculturescarribbean_2010.pdf Shelf Number: 129161 Keywords: Gender Gun Violence (Caribbean) Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions Violent Crime

Author: Sookram, Sandra Title: Serious Crime in Trinidad and Tobago: An Empirical Analysis Using Time-Series Data Between 1970-2007 Summary: This paper uses time-series data from Trinidad and Tobago and tests for the existence of a long-run cointegration relationship among serious crime, clearance rate and various socio-economic indicators. The cointegration analysis provides strong evidence of the existence of a long-run model, with the normalised coefficients showing a negative effect of the clearance rate, the percentage of females in the labour force and the percentage of the labour force with tertiary education on serious crime, with the sole exception being the unemployment rate which is found to exert a positive effect. Details: St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago: Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, The University of the West Indies, 2009. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: SALISES Publications • Working Papers: Accessed June 28, 2013 at: https://sta.uwi.edu/salises/pubs/workingpapers/DPCrimeTTFeb2010.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Trinidad and Tobago URL: https://sta.uwi.edu/salises/pubs/workingpapers/DPCrimeTTFeb2010.pdf Shelf Number: 129198 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Trinidad and Tobago) Socio-Economic Variables Violence Violent Crime

Author: Negroponte, Diana Villiers Title: The Merida Initiative and Central America: The Challenges of Containing Public Insecurity and Criminal Violence Summary: The rising level of violence in Central America, as well as Mexico, has created sensational headlines in the daily press and Hollywood style footage on the nightly news. The focus of this violence has been on the drug cartels and the fights among them for routes to market both in the United States and within the region. However, parallel to the drug related violence caused by the cartels are two distinct, but related issues: a pervasive sense of public insecurity and rising levels of criminal violence. Both are related, but not directly attributable, to the possession and trade in illegal drugs. Intentional homicide, assault, robbery, extortion and fraud have all risen in the last seven years leading us to ask how serious is the problem, what should national governments do to contain, if not prevent their occurrence, and what is the appropriate U.S. contribution. This monograph will examine the reasons for the growth in public insecurity within El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle, and seek to determine the effectiveness of government policies to restore public trust and security. In the pursuit of greater security, these governments, as well as Mexico, have called upon Washington to assist them.1 The affected governments emphasize a “shared responsibility” to engage in reducing levels of violence, reduce consumption of illegal drugs, regulate the sale of firearms to the cartels and organized crime, as well as to confront corruption and impunity that pervade state institutions.2 The problems are regional, if not global, and to be effective, the response should include both U.S. federal and state authorities. Details: Washington, DC: Foreign Policy at Brookings, 2009. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Number 3: Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2009/5/merida%20initiative%20negroponte/05_merida_initiative_negroponte.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2009/5/merida%20initiative%20negroponte/05_merida_initiative_negroponte.pdf Shelf Number: 129221 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Homicides Merida Initiative Organized Crime Violence (Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Bernard van leer Foundation Title: Community Violence and Young Children: Making Space for Hope Summary: Since 2007, one of my responsibilities at the Bernard van Leer Foundation has been supporting advocacy for young kids in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. During this period we have had some success – new policy, a growing coalition of advocates, and a fourfold increase in public childcare provision. But also during this period, Ciudad Juárez recorded a homicide rate about three times that of 13th-century Holland, and well above many current war zones. So, while we are pleased to see progress, it is hard to fully celebrate. Kids are safer in childcare and parents are less stressed, but they are both still scared. The last issue of Early Childhood Matters was devoted to the topic of domestic violence. This time we turn to the effects of community violence on young children. As the authors in this journal confirm, we know that just growing up around this kind of persistent violence changes the architecture of children’s brains, obstructs their ability to learn and literally makes them sick. For example: • Shonkoff and Fox explain how prolonged exposure to fear in early childhood can impair the development of the pre-frontal cortex and future executive function (page 7). • Guerra et al. describe how exposure can be linked to both mental health problems in young children and physical health such as asthma (pages 8–9). • Sharkey finds significant effects on Chicago preschoolers’ cognition when a homicide had occurred in the last week within 1500 feet of a child’s home (pages 10–12). Complementing these scientific accounts, Nashieli Ramirez’s description from Ciudad Juárez (page 13) looks at the problem through the eyes of young children themselves. She puts a human face on how little people experience these big problems, in the same way that the interview with Beth by Hermílio Santos gives a moving account from a mother’s point of view (page 17). These are important reminders of how young children’s lives are affected by violence on a day-to-day basis even though they themselves are not directly involved. In this vein, Robert Muggah and Helen Mostue explore the development of an index that can give voices like these a more systematic treatment, arguing that such an index would be a better barometer for success than simply counting shootings and killings (page 26). One idea that all of the authors in this issue of Early Childhood Matters seem to share is that violence is contagious – something exemplified by the mapping exercise shared in Elizabeth Ward’s article about Jamaica (page 33). The more we see it in the community, the more we see it at home, and vice versa. But, as Susan Lee points out in an article on her experience with the Advancement Project in Los Angeles, in places with exceptionally high levels of community violence we need to stabilise the situation in order to make families’ lives easier. In her words, ‘before we can expect improved educational and health outcomes, the goal must be to achieve a basic level of safety so that children can learn and thrive.’ What I find most compelling in this series of articles, however, is the sense of hope. Hidden between layers of text describing the gravity of the problem, authors in this journal have shown that there are things that we can do to reduce community violence and to mitigate the effects of this violence on young children. We can get away from what Susan Lee denominates ‘a lethal absence of hope’ and we have results to prove it. • Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan explains how the Scottish police took the lead on a violence prevention strategy that has led to a 50% reduction in gang violence in Strathclyde (page 36). • Yvonne Bezerra de Mello describes a harm reduction strategy for children who have been witness to violence, implemented through 150 schools in Rio de Janeiro, going into detail about the successful recuperation of three young children who experienced extreme levels of post-traumatic stress (page 40). • Susan Lee writes about a programme run by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that has helped reduce homicides by 33% in some of the most violent neighbourhoods of Los Angeles (page 44). • Alicia Lieberman shows evidence from randomised controlled trials of how parent–child psychotherapy has improved child and maternal mental health after exposure to violence, evidence which has informed a Child Development – Community Policing Programme implemented in 16 us sites (page 48). • Charles Ransford recounts the experience of Cure Violence, which has achieved reductions of between 16% and 56% in shootings and killings in Chicago and Baltimore and is now being replicated in South Africa and Iraq (page 54). • Mayor Rodrigo Guerrero of Cali discusses VallenPaz, a strategy that returned 400 families who had been violently displaced to their homes and prevented any further displacement despite the ongoing conflict in the area (page 59). These stories and others like them are the ones that I think we need to help people remember. Explaining the extraordinary impacts on a young child’s brain of just growing up around this kind of violence may get us an extra five minutes of a policymaker’s time, but unless we can offer some semblance of tangible hope then the hard facts will eventually fall on deaf ears. Details: The Hague: Bernard van leer Foundation, 2012. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Early Childhood Matters: Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://bernardvanleer.org/Community-violence-and-young-children-making-space-for-hope Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://bernardvanleer.org/Community-violence-and-young-children-making-space-for-hope Shelf Number: 129222 Keywords: Children and Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Farah, Douglas Title: Mapping Transnational Crime in El Salvador: New Trends and Lessons from Colombia Summary: Since El Salvador‟s civil war formally ended in 1992 the small Central American nation has undergone profound social changes and significant reforms. However, few changes have been as important or as devastating as the nation's emergence as a central hub in the transnational criminal “pipeline” or series of recombinant, overlapping chains of routes and actors that illicit organizations use to traffic in drugs, money, weapons, human being, endangered animals and other products. The erasing of the once-clear ideological lines that drove the civil war and the ability of erstwhile enemies to join forces in criminal enterprises in the post-war period is an enduring and dangerous characteristic of El Salvador's transnational criminal evolution. Trained, elite cadres from both sides, with few legitimate job opportunities, found their skills were marketable in the growing criminal structures. The groups moved from kidnapping and extortion to providing protection services to transnational criminal organizations to becoming integral parts of the organizations themselves. The demand for specialized military and transportation services in El Salvador have exploded as the Mexican DTOs consolidate their hold on the cocaine market and their relationships with the transportista networks, which is still in flux. The value of their services has risen dramatically also because of the fact that multiple Mexican DTOs, at war with each other in Mexico and seeking to physically control the geographic space of the lucrative pipeline routes in from Guatemala to Panama, are eager to increase their military capabilities and intelligence gathering capacities. The emergence of multiple non-state armed groups, often with significant ties to the formal political structure (state) through webs of judicial, legislative and administrative corruption, has some striking parallels to Colombia in the 1980s, where multiple types of violence ultimately challenged the sovereignty of state and left a lasting legacy of embedded corruption within the nation's political structure. Organized crime in El Salvador is now transnational in nature and more integrated into stronger, more versatile global networks such as the Mexican DTOs. It is a hybrid of both local crime ―with gangs vying for control of specific geographic space so they can extract payment for the safe passage of illicit products― and transnational groups that need to use that space to successfully move their products. These symbiotic relationships are both complex and generally transient in nature but growing more consolidated and dangerous. Details: Miami: Florida International University, Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center, 2011. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center. Paper 29; Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=whemsac Year: 2011 Country: El Salvador URL: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=whemsac Shelf Number: 129224 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Human Trafficking Organized Crime (El Salvador) Violent Crime

Author: Zinecker, Heidrun Title: Violence in a Homeostatic System – the Case of Honduras Summary: In Central America there are currently three countries with high levels of violence and two with low levels. Honduras, along with El Salvador and Guatemala, belongs to the countries with high levels of violence, while Nicaragua and Costa Rica have relatively low levels of violence in the context of Central America. After El Salvador, Honduras is the country with the highest incidence of violence not only in Central America, but in Latin America as a whole. Honduras has a homicide rate which is five times higher than the world average. This high rate refers to a violence which is virtually exclusively violent crime, and which has nothing whatsoever to do with civil wars, revolutions or other armed political conflicts. The report begins by discussing empirical findings on violence, before going on to look for the causes of the present violence. It takes as its hypothesis, the fact that a particularly significant cause of the high levels of violence is a state security sector which is failing to function as it should, but which nonetheless does not reflect any fundamental failure of the state as a whole. A homeostatic system which was traditionally characteristic of Honduras operated in the past in such as way as essentially to exclude violence. Nowadays, however, the system integrates violence as one of its sub-systems. The report adopts the aetiological approach as used in criminology, and differentiates between enabling and (absent) preventive structures within the societal structures which cause violence. In its analysis of the enabling structures in Honduras the report initially follows the exclusion principle, by stripping frequently mentioned, anticipated in the long term, but ultimately only putative, enabling structures of any linear-causal sense pertaining to present violence. This involves theories which imply that the present high level of violent crime is a continuation of earlier wartime violence, or that turbulent transitions into democracy simply provide a window of opportunity for high intensity violence in the post-transition phase, or that it is historically handed down economic backwardness, poverty and general inequality of income distribution which cause high levels of violence, or that traditional capacity for reform and political stability are a guarantee of low levels of violence. The fact that Honduras calls these theories into question, and in so doing occupies a key position in a comparison of violence within Central America, is due to the country’s specific historical structural characteristics. These are at the basis of a homeostatic system which for a long time excluded violence over a wide area, because it made reforms, inclusion and conflict mediation possible. These country-specific characteristics are: 1) the absence of an oligarchy as a “national class” and any corresponding mechanisms for rule, 2) relatively widespread democratic traditions and a stable political system, based on two traditional parties, 3) political autonomy for the Army and a “soft”, partially reformist military dictatorship, 4) “well distributed” poverty, 5) a weak left wing, and 6) a democratic transition “from above” with the (armed) support of the USA. Since these long-term anticipations do allow an answer to the question of what is specific to Honduras in the form of a homeostatic system, but not to that of the causes of present violence, the report focuses on new configurations in its quest for enabling structures. These new structures arose from the processes of economic and political transformation at the end of the 1970s and in the 1980s, such as 1) from low to high poverty rates and from a relatively fair to a less fair distribution of income, 2) from old (agrarian) rents to new rents (maquila or sweatshop industry, remittances and financial rent), 3) from agrarian rents to financial rents and from a traditionally non-oligarchic elite to a new (financial) oligarchy, and 4) from an inclusive military dictatorship to a more democratic although still politically exclusive regime, as well as from a politicized, politically active to a de-politicized, politically inactive population. In analyzing the (absent) preventive structures the report concentrates on the state security sector. First of all the point is made that in Honduras there has never been a coherent security policy, let alone any security strategy, to contain the new violence. The Honduran security policy followed the Central American cycle customary in intensely violent countries in the region, namely „creation of a new security sector/making the existing one more democratic – ignorance of the security problem – repressive measures – partial withdrawal of repressive measures”. Instead of bad reality being aligned with good laws, the relatively good laws following transition were aligned with the bad reality. This is illustrated especially by the reform of Article 332 of the Honduran penal code, under which the regulations covering illegal gatherings were extended to include the maras. The report goes on to illustrate the poor performance of the police force (poor investigative action, repressive exercise of violence, loss of independence through involvement of the army in domestic security), judiciary (politicization of the judiciary, exemption from punishment, corruption) and penal system (over-crowding, loss of control, massacres). It will be shown that the police, public prosecutor’s office and judges are linked in their lack of performance capacity not in an anarchic way, but in a clear regulatory logic, with the result that non-regulability arises in the security sector system as a whole. Nonetheless the failure of the security sector in Honduras does not equate to state failure, because the failing security sector is compensated by other, particularly well functioning state (party system, presidency and parliament) and informal structures (clientelism, nepotism, personalism or corruption). Not only the weak security sector, but also nonstate violence itself is closely integrated into the system. Political stability exists not in spite of but because of high rates of violence, at least under the precondition that the violence remains criminal and not political in nature. In this way the homeostatic system, from now on with the inclusion of violence, has a new configuration. As a result, violence simultaneously takes the place of capacity for reform, conflict mediation and inclusion, that is, those earlier props of the system, which collapsed in the late 1970s and 1980s. At the same time this ensured the continuation of regime hybridity. Instead of putting the (democratic) performance capacity of the security sector at risk, it is in the rational interests of the Honduran oligarchy to incorporate the present violence as a new stabilizing sub-system into the homeostatic system which has been knocked offbalance by processes of economic and political transformation. Oligarchies as a minority rule by definition desire no (inclusive) democracy, because they are not interested in abolishing themselves. For this reason, they can also have no interest in making the security sector completely democratic and subject to the rule of law or making it capable of performing better, because this would in the end rebound on them like a boomerang, against their own involvement in corruption, clientelism and organized crime. In the conclusions drawn by the report, the case is put forward for an integrated strategy for containing violence, aimed not only at all the components of the security sector, but also conceived in both the long and medium term, and at both the economic and political level. At the level of economic enabling structures the report recommends strengthening the middle class and the production of capital goods, so that labour is encouraged instead of criminality, and in the medium term a new kind of conditionality which incites the oligarchy to redirect its rents from the speculative finance sector to that of the production of capital goods. At the level of political enabling structures, inclusion by means of elections should be called for. At the level of preventive structures, focus should be directed at developing an integral security concept and supporting the criminal investigation department and the public prosecutor’s office. At the same time, support must be given to those calling for and those practising the rule of law. The report ends with the hypothesis, explosive in terms of development and peace policy, that it is a mistake to believe that poverty must first of all be tackled so as automatically to bring about the containment of violence as a by-product. Not only war and terrorism, but also violent crime generate extremely high levels of violence and can become a security risk well beyond continental boundaries. Details: Frankfurt, Germany: Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, 2008 46p. Source: Internet Resource: PRIF Reports No. 83: Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://www.hsfk.de/downloads/prif83.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.hsfk.de/downloads/prif83.pdf Shelf Number: 129231 Keywords: Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence (Honduras) Violent Crime

Author: Omenya, Alfred Title: Understanding the Tipping Point of Urban Conflict: The Case of Nairobi, Kenya Summary: This research studies the tipping point of urban conflict in Nairobi, Kenya. It employs the concepts of tipping points and violence chains. The research studies various types of conflict and violence at city level through literature and in three of Nairobi’s hotspots: Kawangware, Kibera, and Mukuru settlements, through participatory violence appraisal (PVA). The research shows that the most significant type of violence is political violence. However, cumulatively, other types of violence, namely landlord-tenant, domestic and economic violence, are more significant. Focusing on political violence alone makes other types of violence invisible. The study shows that political violence in Kenya is rooted in colonial times in historical inequity in access to resources, and perpetuated in post-colonial times through the mediation of ethnicity. The study unpacks roles of institutions in tipping conflicts into and out of violence; it shows that an institutional analysis of actors involved in tipping conflict into violence and vice versa is important in preventing violence. It identifies the tipping points at sub-city level and shows the complex ways in which these types of conflict and violence are interlinked through chains. Breaking these violence chains is critical to preventing conflicts tipping into violence. A key way of breaking the chains is improving the overall governance framework. Further the study shows that violence in Nairobi’s sub-city is spatially linked. Thus identification of violence hotspots is critical in dealing with violence; and spatial improvements such as slum upgrading initiatives, taking into consideration hotspots, can go a long way in preventing conflict tipping into violence. Details: Manchester, UK: Urban Tipping Point, University of Manchester, 2012. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper #6: Accessed July 10, 2013 at: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP6_Nairobi.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Kenya URL: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP6_Nairobi.pdf Shelf Number: 129351 Keywords: Crime Hotspots Urban Crime Violence (Kenya) Violent Crime

Author: Moser, Caroline Title: Understanding the Tipping Point of Urban Conflict: Global Policy Report Summary: The purpose of this Global Policy Report is to provide general policy recommendations from the four city studies undertaken for the research project Understanding the Tipping Point of Urban Conflict: Violence, Cities, and Poverty Reduction in the Development World (UTP), carried out by the University of Manchester in collaboration with partner institutions in Kenya, India, Chile and Switzerland. The project, which runs from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012, is funded by an award from the ESRC/DFID Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation). This report starts by briefly summarising the background to the project, its objectives, conceptual framework, rationale for case study selection, and methodology. It then discusses the key findings by city, before turning to comparative policy recommendations. The report draws on documents produced during the course of the research project, including city profiles, sub-city findings, and city-level policy briefs. Details: Manchester, UK: Urban Tipping Point, University of Manchester, 2012. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper #7: Accessed July 10, 2013 at: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP7_GlobalPolicyReport.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP7_GlobalPolicyReport.pdf Shelf Number: 129352 Keywords: Poverty Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Imbusch, Peter Title: Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean – a Bibliography Summary: The following bibliography on violence in Latin America and the Caribbean presents an overview about the recently published literature in this academic field. Violence research in Latin America has made great progress since the extent of violence is enormous. No other region of the world knows for example higher homicide rates nor has it such a variety of violence as the Latin American countries. Political violence, guerilla movements and civil wars, bloody revolutions, brutal dictatorships, domestic violence, criminal violence, and youth violence are all well known throughout history. Therefore, efforts to cope with the intellectual output and to overlook the differentiated discussions become ever more difficult. The bibliography wants to alleviate the access to central topics and questions related to the problem of violence in Latin America. In the bibliography, mainly books and articles in journals are cited; articles in books are listed only if the book is not entirely dedicated to the topic of violence. The bibliography starts with general literature on violence in Latin America. It goes on in a regional perspective dealing with Mexico and the Caribbean Basin, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela, the Andean countries (Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru), Brazil, and the Cono Sur States (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) respectively. Details: Bielefeld, Germany: International Center for Violence Research – ICVR: 2011. 111p. Source: Internet Resource: ICVR Document No. 1/2011: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://internationalviolenceresearch.org/icvr/documents/1_2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://internationalviolenceresearch.org/icvr/documents/1_2011.pdf Shelf Number: 129362 Keywords: Homicides Political Violence Violence (Latin America) Violent Crime

Author: Moser, Caroline Title: Understanding the Tipping Point of Urban Conflict: Participatory methodology for gender-based and political violence Summary: The objective of this working paper is to outline the participatory violence appraisal (PVA) methodology implemented for the sub-city level studies in the ‘Understanding the Tipping Points of Urban Conflict’ (UTP) research project. It is intended to assist researchers when designing sub-city or local level research. As such it does not provide a definitive ‘blueprint’ but rather elaborates a generic methodology that may be easily adapted to the needs of different research objectives. This working paper complements the UTP Concept Paper (Moser and Horn 2011) that sets out the UTP research project’s objectives, and its associated conceptual framework. Underlying the UTP project is the assumption that two concepts – tipping points and value chains – provide added value and introduce new perspectives on an already much debated and contested issue, namely violence in cities of the South. As elaborated in detail in the concept paper the research focuses less on documenting a static phenomenon, be it conflict or violence, and more on examining the shift from one state to another, in this case from conflict to violence – the so-called tipping point – and from one type of violence to another, identified as a violence chain. A focus on processes rather than a phenomenon requires a research methodology that moves from statistical measurement to a narrative understanding of social, economic and political processes – but also one that is sufficiently robust and cannot be dismissed as anecdotal information. Considerations such as these have important implications for the design of the research methodology. Details: Manchester, UK: Global Urban Research Centre, University of Manchester, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper #2: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP2_March2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.urbantippingpoint.org/documents/Working%20Papers/WP2_March2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129371 Keywords: Gender-Based Violence Political Violence Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Rae, Sarah-Joy Title: Juvenile Homicide : A criminological study on the possible causes of juvenile homicidal delinquency in Jamaica Summary: Jamaica, the so-called land of wood and water, normally is the embodiment of a dream holiday destination with white sandy beaches, tropical palm trees, dazzling sunshine and the typical Caribbean flair. Generally, murder and manslaughter are not associated with Jamaica. However, international comparisons of crime rates reveal that Jamaica has persistently had one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Jamaica has been described as the murder capital of the world in 2006 by the BBC news after more than 1’600 people were killed in the year 2005; a tally of at least five people murdered a day. The majority of the homicides are caused by young men. Despite the dimension and severity of the homicidal problem in Jamaica, it is astonishing that literature on this phenomenon in Jamaica is very sparse and the literature that is available either doesn’t conform to the current homicide situation in Jamaica anymore or is inconsistent with other studies. The aim of the present research study was thus to close this gap and to help the process of comprehending the problem of fatal juvenile delinquency by engaging empirical research in serious efforts to describe and explain the epidemic. According to the author, understanding juvenile homicidal delinquents and their actions and thus ascertaining a plausible explanation for their high homicide rate can only be achieved by going back to those whose acts are to be explained: The juvenile homicidal delinquents themselves. The findings of the present study are therefore based upon the data gathered by means of 20 face-to-face, semi-standardised interviews with young men who have committed at least one homicide during the last five years prior to the interview and were aged between 12 and 25 years at the time of the respective homicide(s). The author acts on the assumption that homicides by juveniles can be understood as a reaction that emerges situationally and is based on a complex bundle of causes which leads to an increased susceptibility to homicides. The aim of the present study was to generate a plausible and scientifically substantiated hypothesis to explain the high proportion of male juveniles responsible for the homicide rate in Jamaica. Three groupings were examined: The individual personality characteristics of the homicide delinquents, the social context influencing the individual’s thoughts and actions and the triggering factors in the homicide context. The study comes to the conclusion that the homicides of the respondents of the present study – additionally to the basic prerequisites of the occurrence of homicides in general such as a life in deprivation and the failure of the institutions of socialisation to sufficiently socialise their members – can be explained in high gear by the widely dispread culture of violence. Within this culture, violence constitutes a part of every-day behaviour and killing is perceived as a legitimate form of dispute resolution to which one has adapted because it utterly works. This is an instrumental understanding of violent behaviour. This apparent culture of violence of the underclass society with the deeply embedded willingness to apply violence to solve even seemingly minor disputes is intensified by a high gun prevalence and easy firearm accessibility as well as the wide distribution of and attachment to gangs. Firearms as well as delinquent gangs are two powerful factors that accord power, a feeling of strength and superiority to the individual. Status, power and respect rank high within the impecunious underclass society in Jamaica. Violence is perceived as a necessary instrument to sustain the own identity, status and respect. Thus, the fight for respect in the street culture of Jamaica’s urban inner-city youth depicts an act in self-defence for the parties involved. And such an act in self-defence legitimises to kill. Details: Basel, Germany: University of Basel, Faculty of Law, 2009. 298p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.dart-europe.eu/full.php?id=747104 Year: 2009 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.dart-europe.eu/full.php?id=747104 Shelf Number: 129372 Keywords: Juvenile Homicide (Jamaica) Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Whitfield, Teresa Title: Mediating Criminal Violence – Lessons from the gang truce in El Salvador Summary: During the 1980s El Salvador suffered a bitterly contested civil war. Negotiations mediated by the United Nations concluded in a peace agreement in 1992 and set the course for the, largely smooth, assimilation of former guerrillas in the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) into Salvadoran political life. Post-war, violence perpetrated by illegal armed groups escalated as a result of the involvement of gangs and a range of other criminal actors, in parallel to similar crises of security in Guatemala and Honduras. Honduras and El Salvador were subsequently placed first and second in the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime’s global index of homicide with 92 and 69 homicides per 100,000 respectively in 2011. In a shift from previous policies which had emphasized the robust suppression of violent crime, in March 2012 facilitators answerable to the Salvadoran government mediated a controversial truce between the country’s two main gangs. The truce brought about a dramatic reduction in the country’s homicide rate whilst raising multiple questions about the risks and benefits of direct engagement with criminal actors. This paper has been written while the outcomes of the gang truce in El Salvador are still unfolding. It suggests that the truce has been imperfectly managed and remains fragile, but is also a considerable achievement. Lessons that may be derived from it are limited by the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Salvadoran gangs. Yet, they merit consideration for several reasons. The Salvadoran truce, and the arrival in Mexico of a government determined to address the country’s spiralling violence, much of which is exacerbated by competition for the gains of the illicit economy and drug trade, have placed new emphasis on alternative paths to pacification. More broadly, counternarcotics policies that for decades have been framed as a “war on drugs” are being challenged, most recently in a groundbreaking report by the Organization of American States (OAS) that specifically addresses – among other issues – “the violence and suffering associated with the drug problem” in the Americas. Elsewhere, national and international actors are struggling to craft and implement responses to organised violence and crime in situations in which criminal activities have developed as a result of unresolved conflict grievances (in South Africa, Northern Ireland and Kosovo, for example), or where they seek to shape electoral politics (in Kenya, Jamaica and the Solomon Islands), or where they hide behind grievances which are fuelling armed conflict (in Colombia, Mali and Myanmar to name but three examples). They, too, can benefit from the lessons and questions that emerge from the Salvadoran experience. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2013. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Oslo Forum Papers No. 001: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.hdcentre.org/uploads/tx_news/Mediating-Criminal-Violence.pdf Year: 2013 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.hdcentre.org/uploads/tx_news/Mediating-Criminal-Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 129373 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence Gangs Violence (El Salvador) Violent Crime

Author: Dudley, Steven Title: The El Salvador Gang Truce and the Church - What was the role of the Catholic Church? Summary: El Salvador and its Central American neighbors are experiencing a terrible tide of criminal violence. Homicide rates are some of the highest in the world. This scourge of violent crime is a major concern of policymakers both in the region and in Washington, DC. Indeed, through regional security initiatives the U.S. government has invested more than $500 million in violence reduction programs during the last five years. European development agencies and international NGOs, similarly, have privileged violence reduction in their programs of financial and technical assistance to El Salvador and neighboring countries. Until recently, however, no policy initiatives seem to have made a significant dent in the problem. This paper addresses one development that has been portrayed in some circles as game-changing, and that now constitutes a critical point of reference for violence reduction programs going forward. The truce among rival gangs in El Salvador worked out in March 2012, which has held since that time, has reduced homicides to half their previous levels. The paper examines in particular the widely held belief that the Catholic Church “brokered” that truce in light of the wider set of actors actually responsible and considers the various ways that religion may have an impact on contemporary violence in the region. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Latin American & Latino Studies, American University, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: CLALS White Paper Series, No. 1: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.american.edu/clals/upload/CLALS_White_Paper_Series_No-_1_The_El_Salvador_Gang_Truce_and_the_Church.pdf Year: 2013 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.american.edu/clals/upload/CLALS_White_Paper_Series_No-_1_The_El_Salvador_Gang_Truce_and_the_Church.pdf Shelf Number: 129375 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs (El Salvador) Homicides Religion Violent Crime

Author: Ayuso, Tomas Title: Central America : The Downward Spiral of the Northern Triangle Summary: Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have entered a perilously new era in their history. Caught between the rise in criminal violence domestically and the presence of the international drug trade, the so-called Northern Triangle of Central America is fighting for its survival. A bleak economic landscape has fostered youth gangs known as maras and domestic smugglers to build a relationship with the great drug syndicates of Mexico and South America with impunity permitted by a corrupt police and government. How have the cartels exerted such dominance over Central America with most of the US bound cocaine now going through these countries? And what can be done to regain control of an isthmus in free fall? Details: NORIA: Network of Researchers in International Affairs (www.noria-research.com), 2012. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.noria-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Tomas-pour-PDF.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.noria-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Tomas-pour-PDF.pdf Shelf Number: 129376 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador Drug-Related Violence Gangs Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Carroll, Theodore Title: Where Do We Go From Here?: Assessing the USAID Crime and Violence Prevention Project in El Salvador and Understanding its Effects on Participating Communities Summary: El Salvador, the smallest nation in Latin America, has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most violent in the world. In 2010, with a population of 7 million people and an area just smaller than the U.S. state of Massachusetts, this tiny country had a rate of 65 homicides per 100,000 residents; this is one of the highest murder rates in the world. This level of murder is several times higher than the rate of 10 per 100,000 – the rate that the United Nations considers a sign of an epidemic. According to the National Civil Police (PNC for its acronym in Spanish), more than half of the murders are related to gang activity. The Salvadoran Armed Forces state that it is more likely that the figure is closer to 90%. Youth gang violence in Central America is a serious problem. The most well known gangs that operate in this region are the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street. These two gangs often engage in violent competition with each other and are involved in various criminal activities including local drug dealing, extortion, assault, rape, and robbery. The violence they perpetrate makes daily headlines in newspapers across from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to Los Angeles and Washington, DC. While government in Central America have tried to address the problem with mano dura, iron-fisted policies, many researchers believe that the most effective response to gang violence is a comprehensive, community-based approach that includes prevention, intervention, rehabilitation, in addition to law enforcement. This study will focus on one specific program being implemented at the primary level of prevention in El Salvador by Research Triangle Institute International. Details: Washington, DC: George Washington University, 2012. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin American & Hemispheric Studies Capstone: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://elliott.gwu.edu/assets/docs/acad/lahs/el-salvador-usaid-2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: El Salvador URL: http://elliott.gwu.edu/assets/docs/acad/lahs/el-salvador-usaid-2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129377 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs (El Salvador) Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Meyer, Rachel Title: Peacetime Violence in El Salvador and Honduras: A tale of two countries Summary: The end of the Cold War did not bring about an end to violence in Central America. Today, so-called non-political violence continues to worsen. Academics and public policymakers are frequently influenced by the assumption that there is a causal relationship between the political violence of the 1980s and the non-political violence of today. By looking at the cases of El Salvador and Honduras, this working paper seeks to systematize existing claims about the causal relationship between past and present violence into two approaches. Our research shows that high levels of prolonged political violence, along with an abundance of firearms, can lead to high levels of prolonged non-political violence but not in the ways most often cited in existing literature. We propose a new model to better understand the connection between past and present violence and recommend indicators that can be used to measure variations in violence over time in contexts of protracted non-political violence. Details: Barcelona: Institut Català Internacional per la Pau, 2012. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: ICIP Working Papers: 2012/6L Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.recercat.net/bitstream/handle/2072/205488/wp_2012_06_eng.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.recercat.net/bitstream/handle/2072/205488/wp_2012_06_eng.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 129378 Keywords: Political Violence Violence (El Salvador, Honduras) Violent Crime

Author: Foundation for the Development of Guatemala Title: Drugs, Guns and Cash: Analysis and Proposals on How To Manage the Crisis in Central America Summary: The most important message extracted from this study is that without intergovernmental and international cooperation and support, primarily between the countries most involved, Guatemala and Central America will soon collapse into failed states dominated by shadow economies and run by Criminal Organizations that buy political power. Without decisive action, these countries will be ―handed to these criminal organizations and groups of people that wish to form their own type of government system and inadvertently create greater regional instability. This scenario must not be permitted. These same groups of people will eventually take control of the agricultural and industrial markets in the region, to which the United States and many other countries depend and, will determine where and at what price they would want to sell their products. Simultaneously, the United States would lose its position and influence in Central America. As a result, the region would begin to foster a unique environment where Narco-Terrorism and quasi-states can flourish. Efforts to stem the momentum of these events from evolving must be instantaneous and holistic to produce the desired effect. The carnage and destruction experienced in Colombia and Mexico is on the doorstep of Central American countries and the criminals have resources that are far greater today. Therefore, this report was developed with the hope of achieving three purposes. First, it is a learning process and a means to bring better understanding about the deteriorating situation in Central America. Secondly, it is to engender a general awareness on the various issues that impact the national security, wellbeing and safety of the citizens of countries in Central America. Thirdly, it is to initiate a deeper and more thoughtful discussion about these topics, recognizing that old debates, paradigms, and historical assumptions must be revisited to better analyze the gravity of the situation as critically and objectively as possible. The forces of organized crime are clashing against the forces of development. This clash impedes the regions ability to develop concrete solutions. Traditional strategies have led to limited results. The type of alternative solutions that should be favored are not based on conventional wisdom but instead of a result-oriented approach. The supporting structural ideas applied throughout this report will attempt to stimulate strategic thinking, debunk myths, understand displacement and its consequences, suggest concrete and cost-effective solutions, and develop an analytical framework, which allows a balanced fact-based approach. The most significant ideas that relate to strategic thinking are cohesive intelligence sharing, combined tactics, operational strategies and a collective initiative without regional borders and barriers. In the case of debunking myths, it is necessary to end the denial phase of the current crisis in the region by confronting the reality that this is a regional problem that requires an Integrated Regional Security Strategy and, unmask numerous erroneous conceptions and assumptions within Guatemala - and other regional countries - in their political, social, and economic arenas. Lastly, to understand the seriousness of displacement and its consequences, especially around the Latin American and Caribbean region. Prioritized allocation of counter-initiative resources must be addressed in a comprehensive and coherent manner or the problem will remain being shuffled around the geographic chessboard that haunts the region. Much time and effort has been devoted to the escalating problems of the region with few concrete and cost-effective solutions implemented in a timely manner. In contrast, an integrated analytical framework will guide the type of actionable strategies that are necessary to better approach these critical issues in Central America. In brief, the goal of this study is to promote a new and informed dialogue on these complex and vastly misunderstood matters. The proposed suggestions and recommendations are not meant to be final or conclusive, but rather, they are meant to spark a debate around sustainable solutions and ideas, and their potential results and benefits to the region. Hopefully, with this Central Americans can find common ground within which these findings and recommendations can be formulated and executed. Nonetheless, this report was developed with the intention of finding immediate and strategic regional solutions, underscoring a sense of urgency more so for Guatemala. Details: Ala Sur: Foundation for the Development of Guatemala, 2012. 113p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2013 at: http://www.fundesa.org.gt/cms/content/files/DRUGS,%20GUNS%20AND%20CASH.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.fundesa.org.gt/cms/content/files/DRUGS,%20GUNS%20AND%20CASH.pdf Shelf Number: 129379 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Lopez, Julie Title: Organized Crime and Insecurity in Belize Summary: In this working paper, López offers an in-depth look at the security landscape in Belize, a country too often ignored in regional policy discussions, but one which faces criminal challenges similar to those of its larger Central American neighbors. Combining policy analysis and journalistic accounts based on her recent stint in Belize, López examines the political, social, geographical, and institutional factors that have contributed to Belize’s role as a transit point in the international drug trade. She also discusses the rise of other illicit enterprises, including arms trafficking and human smuggling and looks at the impact of growing gang activity. Finally, López analyzes national policy alternatives being explored in Belize, such as marijuana decriminalization and a state-sponsored gang truce, and the particular challenges the country faces in integrating into the Central American regional security framework. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Dialogue, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed July 13, 2013 at: http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD9014_Belize_Lopez_Paper_FINAL.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Belize URL: http://www.thedialogue.org/PublicationFiles/IAD9014_Belize_Lopez_Paper_FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 129393 Keywords: Corruption Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime (Belize) Violent Crime

Author: Centro Internacional para los Derechos Humanos de los Migrantes (International Centre for the Human Rights of Migrants)– CIDEHUM Title: Forced Displacement and Protection Needs Produced by New Forms of Violence and Criminality in Central America Summary: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua have been characterized over the last three years as countries of origin, transit and destination of regular and irregular migrant workers1. The causes of the exit of migrants from their communities of origin are multiple, such as extreme poverty, social exclusion, lack of work, scarce possibilities for settling, intra-family violence, abuse of power and gender violence, etc. The situation of these people with regular or irregular status in the destination countries depends on the new legislation that these countries have about migration. Unlike the situation in decades past, today it can be said that no receiving country for Central American migrants is accepting workers who are not highly qualified. In the last three years the level of violence produced by OC in the countries of Central America‟s Northern Triangle and Mexico has increased. The patterns of exit or displacement of people have changed; now not only the previously mentioned traditional expulsion factors are present, but also forced displacement2 within national territory for causes linked to violence and organized criminality has increased. Although the original socio-economic causes of exit towards the north in search of work or a better life persist, the current scenario in these countries is very different due to the high levels of violence produced by organized crime. However, the variables of internal and regional security do not take into account the human dimension of internal and external forced displacement. The change corresponds to the strengthening of a very significant organized, functional structure at the territorial and social level, which has cut across these countries from another perspective (movement of drugs, arms, migrant smugglers and people traffickers) and affects the dynamics of human mobility, directly linked to violence and lack of security and protection3. Organized crime is concentrated in strategic areas, mainly in border areas and the urban centres of the main cities of the Central American region. In this new scenario, OC weakens the structures of the States whose institutions have been disrupted and experience difficulties in offering effective protection to their own citizens. In this situation it is worth noting that none of the countries of Central America‟s Northern Triangle have accepted or publicly defined the existence of a population forcibly displaced internally or externally by organized crime activity. It is around the existence of the forcibly displaced population on one had and the population at risk from OC activity on the other that this study develops its principal analysis with the aim of highlighting the protection needs of both groups. In the regional Central American framework, the States have incorporated the subject of security as one of their priorities, for example, in SICA Regional Security Strategy and recently in the Presidential Summit held in Guatemala. In turn the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights drew up a regional document on citizen security. Details: Geneva, SWIT: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2012. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Violence%20in%20CA%20Final20%20July2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.rcusa.org/uploads/pdfs/Violence%20in%20CA%20Final20%20July2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129411 Keywords: Homicides Organized Crime Refugees Violence (Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Barranco, Raymond E. Title: Latinos, Immigration Policy, and Geographic Diversification: Examining the Effects of Concentrated Poverty, Segregation, and Low-skill Employment on Homicide Summary: This study consists of three separate, yet interrelated analyses - all three examine the effects of Latino immigration. Since the mid-1980s, the pattern of settlement by Latino migrants has changed dramatically. These migrants are now settling in parts of the United States that have never before had significant Latino populations. This has led many to fear an increase in crime. Unfortunately, early explanations of immigration and crime focused on the experience of Eastern European immigrants. Therefore, it has not been clear whether the experience of Latino immigrants could be explained in the same way – especially with some researchers finding that immigrants now lower crime rates. However, most recent research on immigration has failed to analyze any of the new areas of settlement. The first study examines immigration‟s effect on Latino homicide victimization by grouping migrants according to their period of entry into the United States. Results show that immigration has no effect in traditional areas, while only recent immigrant arrivals have an effect in new destinations. Preliminary results from an additional analysis suggest this could be due to changing emigration patterns in Mexico. Since 1990, more Mexican migrants have been coming from states with high levels of violence. The second study attempts to explain the effects of immigration on Latino homicide with various measures of segregation. Given the beneficial nature of ethnic enclaves, it is assumed that contact between Latinos will lower homicide victimization. Results support this hypothesis, showing that Latino-Latino contact has a greater effect on homicide than Latino-White contact. However, the effect of recent immigrants in new destinations cannot be explained away by any of the segregation measures. As noted in the first analysis, a possible explanation is the changing emigration patterns of Mexico. The third and final analysis examines how Latino immigration affects black homicide rates through competition for low-skill employment. Results show that when Latinos gain ground in low-skill employment relative to blacks, black homicide victimization increases. However, the findings apply only to metropolitan and new destination areas. Further analysis reveals that among the low-skill industries, the strongest effects are for Manufacturing/Construction and Services. Details: Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2011. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-03112011-110131/unrestricted/RBarranco_Dissertation.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-03112011-110131/unrestricted/RBarranco_Dissertation.pdf Shelf Number: 129430 Keywords: Employment and Crime Homicides Immigration Latino Migrants Latinos and Crime Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Gray, Sherrian Title: Trends in Urban Crime and Violence in Kingston, Jamaica Summary: This case focuses on examining criminal activity in Jamaica, specifically on the country’s capital city, Kingston. Over the past thirty years, there has been a general increase in rates of serious violent crime in Jamaica, particularly within but not exclusively the Kingston Metropolitan Area (which includes Kingston, St. Andrew and urban St. Catherine), as well as, the country’s second city Montego Bay has experienced increases in crime. This case however will examine specific conditions in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) relative to types of crime and the possible explanatory factors such as unemployment, socio-economic conditions and migration that may contribute to crime. It will also highlight examples of the Jamaican Government’s efforts to tackle crime and violence in the country. Details: Case study prepared for Enhancing Urban Safety and Security: Global Report on Human Settlements, 2007. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/GRHS.2007.CaseStudy.Crime.Kingston.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/GRHS.2007.CaseStudy.Crime.Kingston.pdf Shelf Number: 129432 Keywords: Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence (Jamaica) Violent Crime

Author: Gratius, Susanne Title: Urban Violence in caracas and Rio de Janeiro: Local and European Responses Summary: Caracas and Rio de Janeiro are prominent examples of urban violence. Although local responses vary, police reform is a common strategy applied by the authorities in both cities. While the new peace police (UPP - Unidades de Policia Pacificadora [Peace Police Units]) represent a shift towards early warning and conflict prevention in Rio de Janeiro, the Policía Nacional Bolivariana [National Bolivarian Police] (PNB) operates in one district of Caracas and is still at an initial stage. Decreasing homicide rates and positive public opinion polls in Rio de Janeiro illustrate that UPPs are considered the most successful security initiative in recent decades to prevent and combat urban violence. Alarming homicide rates in Caracas, however, prove that governmental responses have not yet been successful. This report compares both experiences of communitarian policing and identifies possibilities for bilateral cooperation on public security. The publication concludes with a series of recommendations for the European Union and some proposals for the strengthening of tripartite cooperation to tackle urban violence through early warning and conflict-prevention policies. Details: Brussels: Initiative for Peacebuilding - Early Warning, 2011. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 18, 2013 at: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201112IfPEWUrbanViolenceCaracasRioLocalEuropeanResponses.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Venezuela URL: http://www.ifp-ew.eu/pdf/201112IfPEWUrbanViolenceCaracasRioLocalEuropeanResponses.pdf Shelf Number: 129451 Keywords: Homicides Policing Urban Areas Violence (Venezuela) Violent Crime

Author: Ratcliffe, J.H. Title: The Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment: A randomized controlled trial of police patrol effectiveness in violent crime hotspots Summary: Originating with the Newark foot patrol experiment, research has found police foot patrols improve community perception of the police and reduce fear of crime, but are generally unable to reduce the incidence of crime. Previous tests of foot patrol have, however, suffered from statistical and measurement issues and have not fully explored potential dynamics of deterrence within micro‐spatial settings. In this paper we report on the efforts of over 200 foot patrol officers during the summer of 2009 in Philadelphia. GIS analysis was the basis for a randomized controlled trial of police effectiveness across 60 violent crime hotspots. Results identified a significant reduction in the level of treatment area violent crime after 12 weeks. A linear regression model with separate slopes fitted for treatment and control groups clarified the relationship further. Even after accounting for natural regression to the mean, target areas in the top 40% on pre‐treatment violent crime counts had significantly less violent crime during the operational period. Target areas outperformed the control sites by 23 percent, resulting in a total net effect (once displacement was considered) of 53 violent crimes prevented. The results suggest that targeted foot patrols in violent crime hotspots can significantly reduce violent crime levels as long as a threshold level of violence exists initially. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the contribution of hotspots and place‐based policing to the reduction of crime, and especially violent crime, a significant public health threat in the United States. We suggest that intensive foot patrol efforts in violent hotspots may achieve deterrence at a micro‐spatial level, primarily by increasing the certainty of disruption, apprehension and arrest. The theoretical and practical implications for violence reduction are discussed. Details: Philadelphia: Temple University, 2013. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Final Draft: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://www.temple.edu/cj/footpatrolproject/documents/PFPE_full_paper.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.temple.edu/cj/footpatrolproject/documents/PFPE_full_paper.pdf Shelf Number: 129509 Keywords: Crime Hotspots (Philadelphia, U.S.) Crime Mapping Foot Patrol Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Police Patrol Violent Crime

Author: Harvard University. Institute of Politics Title: The War on Mexican Cartels: Options for U.S. and Mexican Policy-Makers Summary: The situation in Mexico has become increasingly volatile since 2006. After a semester of research, the National Security Policy Group has come up with a list of recommendations that can help reduce the violence in Mexico and further weaken the cartels. Recommendations to Move Forward: · The Mexican government can better use its military and law enforcement personnel by: o Specializing portions of its military forces to deal with specific facets of the war on drugs by significantly reforming military training procedures, departmentalizing the military and integrating these departments into a larger bureaucratic system, and o Launching a more aggressive public relations campaign specifically targeting the major leaders of the cartels in order to reduce the culture of fear and helplessness created by the cartels. · The Mexican government must fight corruption at all governmental levels. It should: o Revise its federal reelection process to create greater accountability mechanisms for politicians in office, o Implement a more transparent fund flow between federal and state governments, o Allow for greater public participation in the selection of judges, and o Reform the wage system, and improve training, resource allocation and accountability mechanisms for law enforcement officers. · The Mexican government should take action to strengthen its community-level efforts by: o Building strong communities in which people have a wide set of options for legitimate careers by greater subsidizing education and focusing on community initiatives o Maintaining the status quo with regards to community-level self-governance and vigilante efforts. · The United States government should reinforce its counter-financing of narcotics efforts by: o Strengthening its intelligence collection and analysis capabilities, and o Drafting the necessary legislation to compel banks to freeze the assets of individuals associated with narcotics activities. · The United States government should strengthen its efforts to prevent U.S.-made weapons from falling into cartel hands by: o Making identification requirements for firearms and ammunition more stringent, and o Creating a task force to help Central American countries locate, document and secure old stockpiles of U.S. weapons that were abandoned in these countries. · The United States should increase the size and scope of the Mérida Initiative by: o Labeling the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, o Focusing on training and equipping Mexican military personnel, and o Tying Mérida Initiative funds to initiatives by local and state Mexican governments. · Lastly, the United States government should continue to place significant emphasis on treatment, prevention and enforcement measures for domestic drug consumers. Details: Cambridge, MA: Institute of Politics, Harvard University, 2012. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/research-policy-papers/TheWarOnMexicanCartels.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/research-policy-papers/TheWarOnMexicanCartels.pdf Shelf Number: 129510 Keywords: Criminal Cartels (Mexico) Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: David-Ferdon, Corinne Title: Homicide Rates Among Persons Aged 10–24 Years — United States, 1981–2010 Summary: Homicide disproportionately affects persons aged 10–24 years in the United States and consistently ranks in the top three leading causes of death in this age group, resulting in approximately 4,800 deaths and an estimated $9 billion in lost productivity and medical costs in 2010 (1). To investigate trends in homicide among persons aged 10–24 years for the period 1981–2010, CDC analyzed National Vital Statistics System data on deaths caused by homicide of persons in this age group and examined trends by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and mechanism of injury. This report describes the results of that analysis, which indicated that homicide rates varied substantially during the study period, with a sharp rise from 1985 to 1993 followed by a decline that has slowed since 1999. During the period 2000–2010, rates declined for all groups, although the decline was significantly slower for males compared with females and for blacks compared with Hispanics and persons of other racial/ethnic groups. By mechanism of injury, the decline for firearm homicides from 2000 to 2010 was significantly slower than for nonfirearm homicides. The homicide rate among persons aged 10–24 years in 2010 was 7.5 per 100,000, the lowest in the 30-year study period. Primary prevention strategies remain critical, particularly among groups at increased risk for homicide. National homicide counts and population estimates for U.S. residents were obtained from the National Vital Statistics System using CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) for persons aged 10–24 years for the period 1981–2010 (1,2). Data were stratified by year, sex, 5-year age group (i.e., 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and mechanism of injury (i.e., firearm or nonfirearm). Homicide counts and population estimates were further stratified by race/ethnicity for 1990–2010 (i.e., non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic other, and Hispanic).* Annual homicide rates (per 100,000 population) were determined overall and for the indicated strata. The most recent period (2000–2010) is of particular interest because it best reflects the populations currently at highest risk for whom the continued implementation of prevention strategies remains crucial. Trends for this later period were analyzed using a negative binomial rate regression modeling approach, allowing formal statistical evaluation of trends and comparisons across strata. Details: Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6227.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6227.pdf Shelf Number: 129518 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun-Related Violence Homicides (U.S.) Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Nunn, Samuel Title: Indiana Project Safe Neighborhoods Reports on Firearms and Firearm Homicides in Indianapolis, 2004-2011 Summary: This report provides an overview of selected violent crime and firearm crime metrics drawn generally from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) service district. It revises and updates portions of a previous report (CCJR 09-C03) released in 2009. Based on statistical data obtained primarily from the IMPD, this report updates information about firearm recoveries, shots-fired, radio runs, and criminal homicides investigated by IMPD. The primary dates covered are from January 2004 through December 2010. Details: Indianapolis: Center for Criminal Justice Research, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, 2011. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 5, 2013 at: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5519 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5519 Shelf Number: 129542 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence (Indianapolis, U.S.) Guns and Crime Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Stucky, Thomas Title: The Marion County Prosecutor's Office Educating Kids About Gun Violence (EKG) Program Evaluation Summary: In response to high levels of gun violence among youth in Marion County, the Marion County Prosecutor's office developed the Educating Kids about Gun Violence (EKG) program. This program incorporates short video clips and interactive presentations which address legal, physical, and medical consequences of guns and gun violence. This report documents the findings of a program evaluation conducted by the Center for Criminal Justice Research, including analysis of 221 completed pre-program surveys and 176 post-program surveys, focusing on 130 surveys for which pre- and post-surveys could be matched. Included in the analyses are several different types of youth audiences, varying in both age and degree of prior contact with the criminal justice system. Details: Indianapolis: Center for Criminal Justice Research, Indiana University, 2009. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2013 at: https://archives.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/2450/3511/EKG%20final%202009.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: https://archives.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/2450/3511/EKG%20final%202009.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 129549 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention Gun Violence (U.S.) Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Berg, Mark Title: Murders and Aggravated Assaults in Indianapolis, 2004 to 2009 Summary: This research brief employs information from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) homicide data base (called Homistat) and uniform crime reports assault data spanning 2004 to 2009, disaggregated to Indianapolis census tracts. Assaultive violence and homicide share several empirical regularities. Both are more common in densely populated urban areas characterized by socioeconomic deprivation. In this brief, we ask (a) whether these two forms of violent crime are spatially located in similar types of areas in Marion County, and (b) if they vary systematically with one another over time. The analyses reported here help identify the areas within Marion County that constantly exhibit higher levels of the most lethal forms of interpersonal violence and, in so doing, can delineate the neighborhoods and locales that require focused applications of preventive public safety resources. Details: Indianapolis: Center for Criminal Justice Research, Indiana University, 2011. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2013 at: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5122?show=full Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5122?show=full Shelf Number: 129564 Keywords: Aggravated Assaults Homicides (Indianapolis, U.S.) Socioeconomic Variables Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Kegler, Scott R. Title: Firearm Homicides and Suicides in Major Metropolitan Areas — United States, 2006–2007 and 2009–2010 Summary: Firearm homicides and suicides are a continuing public health concern in the United States. During 2009–2010, a total of 22,571 firearm homicides and 38,126 firearm suicides occurred among U.S. residents. This includes 3,397 firearm homicides and 1,548 firearm suicides among persons aged 10–19 years; the firearm homicide rate for this age group was slightly above the all-ages rate. This report updates an earlier report that provided statistics on firearm homicides and suicides in major metropolitan areas for 2006–2007, with special emphasis on persons aged 10–19 years in recognition of the importance of early prevention efforts. Firearm homicide and suicide rates were calculated for the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for 2009–2010 using mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Comparison statistics were recalculated for 2006–2007 to reflect revisions to MSA delineations and population estimates subsequent to the earlier report. Although the firearm homicide rate for large MSAs collectively remained above the national rate during 2009–2010, more than 75% of these MSAs showed a decreased rate from 2006–2007, largely accounting for a national decrease. The firearm homicide rate for persons aged 10–19 years exceeded the all-ages rate in many of these MSAs during 2009–2010, similar to the earlier reporting period. Conversely, although the firearm suicide rate for large MSAs collectively remained below the national rate during 2009–2010, nearly 75% of these MSAs showed an increased rate from 2006–2007, paralleling the national trend. Firearm suicide rates among persons aged 10–19 years were low compared with all-ages rates during both periods. These patterns can inform the development and monitoring of strategies directed at reducing firearm-related violence. Details: Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, August 2, 2013: Accessed August 8, 2013 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6230.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm6230.pdf Shelf Number: 129586 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun-Related Violence (U.S.) Homicides Suicides Violent Crime

Author: Kirk, David S. Title: A Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Exposure to Neighborhood Violence Summary: Research Goals and Objectives -- The bulk of “neighborhood effects” research examines the impact of neighborhood conditions cross-sectionally. However, it is critical to understand whether the effects of neighborhood context are situational and whether they endure over time. In this study, we take seriously the notion that there are enduring consequences of exposure to deleterious neighborhood conditions, and estimate both the acute and enduring consequences of exposure to neighborhood violence. Methods and Data -- Using a rich set of longitudinal data on adolescents from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), including the PHDCN Longitudinal Cohort Study (LCS) and the 1994-1995 PHDCN Community Survey (CS), we estimate the effect of exposure to violence on both internalizing (depression and anxiety) and externalizing problems (aggression). We use propensity score matching for this purpose, drawing upon 68 different individual, peer, family, and neighborhood covariates measured at the first wave of the PHDCN-LCS to predict the propensity of exposure to violence. Following estimation of the propensity score, we match each treated subject (i.e., exposed to violence) with a control subject (i.e., non-exposed) with a similar propensity score. Our objective is to produce treatment and control groups that are indistinguishable once we have conditioned on propensity scores. Results -- We find that exposure to violence has both an acute and an enduring effect on aggression, yet no effect on anxiety-depression, net of individual, family, peer, and neighborhood influences. Part of the enduring effect of violence exposure is explained by changes in social cognitions brought on by the exposure, yet much of the relationship remains to be explained by other causal mechanisms. Details: Unpublished Report to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2013. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 22, 2013 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/243039.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/243039.pdf Shelf Number: 129644 Keywords: Neighborhoods and Crime (U.S.) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Gorr, Wilpen L. Title: Longitudinal Study of Crime Hot Spots: Dynamics and Impact on Part 1 Violent Crime Summary: Objectives: Design and estimate the impacts of a prevention program for part 1 violent crimes in micro-place crime hot spots. Methods: A longitudinal study of crime hot spots using 21 years of crime offense report data on part 1 violent crimes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Based on kernel density smoothing for a definition of micro-place crime hot spots, we replicate past work on the existence of "chronic" hot spots, but then with such hot spots accounted for introduce "temporary" hot spots. Results: Chronic hot spots are good targets for prevention. They are easily identified and they tend to persist. Temporary hot spots, however, predominantly last only one month. Thus the common practice of identifying hot spots using a short time window of crime data and assuming that the resulting hot spots will persist is ineffective for temporary hot spots. Instead it is necessary to forecast the emergence of temporary hot spots to prevent their crimes. Over time chronic hot spots, while still important, have accounted for less crime while temporary hot spots have grown, accounting for a larger share. Chronic hot spots are relatively easy targets for police whereas temporary hot spots require forecasting methods not commonly in use by police. Conclusions: The paper estimates approximately a 10 to 20 percent reduction in part 1 violent crimes in Pittsburgh if the hot spot enforcement program proposed in this paper were implemented. Details: Pittsburgh, PA: H. John III Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University,, 2012. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed October 28, 2013 at: Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.heinz.cmu.edu/research/447full.pdf Shelf Number: 131486 Keywords: Crime Analysis Crime Hotspots Crime Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Vilalta, Carlos Title: Determinant Factors in the Perception of Crime-Related Insecurity in Mexico Summary: What determines the feeling of insecurity with respect to crime and what can be done about it? This study proposes and tests a correlational model that combines different theoretical determinants of insecurity and the fear of crime. The test was carried out both in the country as a whole and in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. The sources of information are the National Victimization Survey and Perception on Public Security (ENVIPE) of 2011 and the Victimization Survey and Institutional Effectiveness (ENVEI) of August 2010 and January 2011. The findings suggest that actions to promote civility in neighborhoods and towns and efforts to develop a relationship of trust with the local police should be implemented in order to significantly reduce the feeling of insecurity. Details: New York: Inter-American development Bank, Institutional Capacity of State Division, 2013. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-381: Accessed November 1, 2013 at: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=37663745 Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=37663745 Shelf Number: 131580 Keywords: Fear of Crime (Mexico) Public Safety Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Sethi, Dinesh Title: Preventing Injuries in Europe: From international collaboration to local implementation Summary: Injuries and violence are the third leading cause of death in the WHO European Region and pose a threat to economic and social development. This publication presents the results of a three-year collaborative project between WHO and the European Commission, funded by SANCO in the framework of the Public Health Programme (2003-2008), on progress achieved by European countries in implementing resolution EUR/RC 55/R9 and the European Council Recommendation on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety. A web-based database of country profiles was developed using a questionnaire survey completed by health ministry focal people for preventing injury and violence. Information was provided on progress in delivering on key items of resolution EUR/RC 55/R9, on the implementation of 99 selected evidence-based programmes to prevent unintentional injuries and violence and on the cross-cutting risk factors of alcohol and socioeconomic inequality. There were responses from 47 of the 51 WHO European Member States that have focal people. Good progress is taking place, and resolution EUR/RC 55/R9 has catalysed change in 75% of the countries responding. The development of national policies for individual types of injury and violence varied from 95% for road safety to 40% for preventing drowning. Implementation of evidence-based programmes for preventing all types of injury and violence varied in countries, and the median score was 73% for all these together. This progress report documents that the health sector needs to commit more to the widespread implementation of effective programmes both in number and coverage and to engage with other stakeholders in a multisectoral response to prevent injuries and violence. Details: Copenhagen, Denmark: World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 2010. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 27, 2013 at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/96455/E93567.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/96455/E93567.pdf Shelf Number: 131723 Keywords: Crime Prevention Evidence-Based Programs International Cooperation Violence (Europe) Violent Crime Wounds and Injuries

Author: Bricknell, Samantha Title: Male victims of non-sexual and non-domestic violence: Service needs and experiences in court Summary: While a great deal of research has been undertaken into female victims of violence, male-focused victimology research undertaken in Australia and internationally is scant. This means it is currently unclear what the support needs of male victims are and if these support needs are being met by the currently available services and programs. The findings of this report derive from a study commissioned by the NSW Department of Attorney General and Justice Victims Services that sought to address this knowledge gap by exploring the experiences and support needs of male victims of violence (excluding sexual assault and domestic violence) living in New South Wales. The study involved a comprehensive review of the currently available literature and interviews and focus groups with criminal justice and support service representatives who have contact with male victims of violence as part of their everyday work. Details: Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2013. 83p. Source: AIC Reports, Research and Public Policy Series 126: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2014 at Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rpp/126/rpp126.pdf Shelf Number: 131761 Keywords: Male Victims (Australia) Victims Services Violent Crime

Author: Title: Policing Urban Violence in Pakistan Summary: Endemic violence in Pakistan's urban centres signifies the challenges confronting the federal and provincial governments in restoring law and order and consolidating the state's writ. The starkest example is Karachi, which experienced its deadliest year on record in 2013, with 2,700 casualties, mostly in targeted attacks, and possibly 40 per cent of businesses fleeing the city to avoid growing extortion rackets. However, all provincial capitals as well as the national capital suffer from similar problems and threats. A national rethink of overly militarised policy against crime and militancy is required. Islamabad and the four provincial governments need to develop a coherent policy framework, rooted in providing good governance and strengthening civilian law enforcement, to tackle criminality and the jihadi threat. Until then, criminal gangs and jihadi networks will continue to wreak havoc in the country's big cities and put its stability and still fragile democratic transition at risk. Some of the worst assaults on religious and sectarian minorities in 2013 occurred in Quetta and Peshawar, including the 10 January suicide and car bomb attack that killed over 100, mostly Shias, in Quetta; the 16 February terror attack that killed more than 80, again mostly Shias, in Quetta's Hazara town; and the 22 September bombing of a Peshawar church that killed more than 80 people, mostly Christians. The provincial capitals of Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi and Lahore are bases of operations and financing for a range of extremist groups and criminal gangs that exploit poor governance and failing public infrastructure to establish recruitment and patronage networks. As urban populations grow, the competition over resources, including land and water, has become increasingly violent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)'s capital, Peshawar, and Balochistan's capital, Quetta, are hostage to broader regional security trends. The conflict in Afghanistan and cross-border ties between Pakistan and Afghan militants have undermined stability in KPK and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Military-dictated counter-insurgency policies, swinging between indiscriminate force and appeasement deals with tribal militants have failed to restore the peace, and instead further empowered violent extremists. Police in Peshawar, which has borne the brunt of militant violence and where violence is at an all-time high, lack political support and resources and appear increasingly incapable of meeting the challenge. Indeed, while militants and criminals frequently target that city, the force is powerless to act when they then seek haven in bordering FATA agencies, because its jurisdiction, according to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) 1901, does not extend to these areas. Balochistan's location, bordering on southern Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban's homeland, and longstanding Pakistani policies of backing Afghan Islamist proxies are partly responsible for the growth of militancy and extremism that now threatens Quetta. Aided by a countrywide network, Sunni extremists have killed hundreds of Shias there, while their criminal allies have helped to fill jihadi coffers, and their own, through kidnappings for ransom. Civilian law enforcement agencies cannot counter this rising tide of sectarian violence and criminality, since they are marginalised by the military and its paramilitary arms. Continuing to dictate and implement security policy, the military remains focused on brutally suppressing a province-wide Baloch insurgency, fuelled by the denial of political and economic autonomy. The end result is more Baloch alienation and more jihadi attacks undermining peace in the provincial capital. In Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, which generates around 70 per cent of national GDP, much of the violence is driven by the state's failure to meet the demands of a fast growing population and to enforce the law. Over the past decade, the competition over resources and turf has become increasingly violent. Criminals and militant groups attempt to lure youth by providing scarce services, work and a purpose in life. Demographic changes fuel ethno-political tensions and rivalries, accentuated by the main political parties: the mostly Sindhi Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) representing mohajirs and the predominately Pashtun Awami National Party (ANP) forging links with criminal gangs. Details: Brussels, Belgium: International Crisis Group, 2014. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Asia Report N�255: Accessed January 27, 2014 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/pakistan/255-policing-urban-violence-in-pakistan Year: 2014 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/pakistan/255-policing-urban-violence-in-pakistan Shelf Number: 131805 Keywords: Extremist Groups Gangs Hate Crimes Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Morgan, David Title: Promising Practices to Help Children and Youth who have been Exposed to Violence Summary: Children and youth in challenging contexts, both in Canada and overseas, face common threats to their mental health that can be better addressed when researchers, service providers, practitioners, and communities pool their knowledge, resources, and lessons learned of what works best for improving young peoples' mental health. If these groups continue to work within their occupational and disciplinary boundaries, they will fail to mobilize the full potential of the evidence documented by researchers, the practice-related knowledge of service providers and practitioners, and the local knowledge of communities. The CYCC Network was developed in response to this need and in the summer of 2013, released three thematic knowledge synthesis reports: violence, technology, and youth engagement. Violence against children and youth, in particular, is a complex public health problem that affects communities worldwide, and can lead to potentially devastating consequences for young people and their families if left unaddressed. To tackle this problem, a coordinated effort to share and document best practices for addressing young peoples' mental health needs is urgently needed. Without opportunities to share this knowledge, there is a risk of delivering potentially ineffective interventions that are difficult for young people and their families to access or relate to. Additionally, poorly-researched or evaluated interventions often ignore the structural barriers (e.g. limited access to mental health practitioners, stigma, and a lack of resources to evaluate programs) that shape young peoples' mental health and wellbeing. In light of these challenges, the knowledge synthesis report on violence explores the effective strategies used among children and youth in challenging contexts who have been exposed to violence, in order to help them overcome trauma and feel safe in their families, schools, and communities. Recent years have seen an explosion of new, innovative programs that focus on improving the lives of vulnerable young people through the use of technology. The internet has opened doors of opportunity to reach these children and youth in more effective ways with the information and support they need to lead healthy lives. Today, mobile phones are one of the most prolific mediums through which interventions can be delivered. While the rapid developments made in technology present many opportunities, the expansion of this field has not been accompanied by a comparable level of research and evaluation. There is a need for more evidence to support the use of technology as a means of intervention with children and youth in challenging contexts. In response to this gap, the knowledge synthesis report on technology reviews innovations in technology that are known to be effective in helping children and youth in the most challenging of contexts, to nurture resilience, prevent mental health problems, and build a special place for themselves in the collective life of their communities. Finally, there has been an increasing recognition that youth engagement is central to any best practice or intervention that involves young people. Valuing youth engagement puts the focus on the positive contributions that youth make to programs and their effectiveness. Programs and services that acknowledge the independence and agency of at-risk youth provide opportunity for young people to give feedback on the relevance and appropriateness of the programs that serve them. Additionally, youth engagement can promote a sense of empowerment on an individual level, and facilitate healthy connections between young people and their community. Despite these benefits, however, there remains a gap in our understanding of the implications of engaging vulnerable youth. In order to better understand and optimize youth engagement, different strategies need to be explored that identify their appropriateness for youth living in different challenging contexts, representing all genders and age categories. With these gaps in mind, the knowledge synthesis report on youth engagement explores strategies that have been shown to work in engaging children and youth in challenging contexts as full members of their communities and in ending feelings of disempowerment and abandonment. Ultimately, the three knowledge synthesis reports are interconnected in ways that can help to form a comprehensive strategy for researchers, practitioners, service providers, and communities to address the needs of vulnerable children and youth in Canada and overseas. For example, lessons learned from the violence report can inform programs and interventions that use technology to address the mental health needs of young people in challenging contexts. Similarly, the many innovative examples and lessons learned highlighted in the technology report may be used to inform professionals working with children and youth exposed to violence, through the design and delivery of technology-based programming that is safe, accessible and effective for youth in different contexts. In turn, the youth engagement report showcases important work that can be used to inform both the violence and technology reports with best practices for engaging youth in the design and implementation of programs so that interventions are relevant, meaningful and effective to children and youth in challenging contexts. Details: Halifax, NS: CYCC Network, 2013. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2014 at: http://www.cyccnetwork.org/files/Violence%20Report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Canada URL: http://www.cyccnetwork.org/files/Violence%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 131835 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Children and Violence Domestic Violence Family Violence Violence against Children Violent Crime Vulnerable Children

Author: Goldberg, Michael Title: How Firms Cope with Crime and Violence: Experiences from around the World Summary: Crime and violence inflict high costs on the private sector-costs that are rising globally, according to the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys, discussions with chambers and associations, and the Bank's Country Partnership Strategies, which reference the losses in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). In Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, losses due to crime and violence have been estimated at 9 percent of GDP in Honduras, 7.7 percent in El Salvador, and 3.6 percent in Costa Rica. In sectors such as clothing assembly, international purchasers can shift know-how and capital quickly to less violent destinations, while other sectors such as extractive industries are more likely to stay despite rising violence. Behind the statistics are human costs: lost jobs; shifting of businesses' working capital from productive uses to security firms; and an increase in contraband, fraud and corruption, and "rule of law" issues. In this book, original case studies from Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Nepal, and Rwanda illustrate the specific challenges to businesses and the coping mechanisms that firms and groups of firms have used successfully against crime and violence. The book's findings have implications for the private sector, governments, and the World Bank's efforts to support both under difficult circumstances. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2014. 109p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 11, 2014 at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16539 Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16539 Shelf Number: 131854 Keywords: Costs of Crime Crime Against Businesses Violent Crime

Author: Reisman, Lainie Title: Assessment of Crime and Violence in Mozambique and Recommendations for Violence Prevention and Reduction Summary: This report is an assessment of crime and violence in Mozambique undertaken between August 2011 and March 2012. The objective of the assessment was to provide a broad overview of the crime and violence situation in Mozambique and help inform future programming decisions there for OSISA and the OSF CVPI. It was written on the basis of key stakeholder interviews and analysis of existing data. Given the complexity of issues surrounding crime and violence, the report attempts to highlight major initiatives in a variety of sectors and is meant to inform debate and programme design. Section 1 of the assessment introduces the report and presents the methodology. Section 2 focuses on the Background and Context of crime and violence in Mozambique. After a brief history, the emphasis is on crime and violence data and analysis. As the report argues, reliable data is hard to obtain, but recent victimization surveys indicate that Mozambique is significant in that rates of victimization are particularly high, while rates of reporting crime to the police are particularly low. This phenomena is likely linked to issues around a lack of trust in the police services and perceived corruption. Armed robberies are the major reported crime concern for most Mozambicans, although levels of domestic violence and child abuse are also estimated to be extremely high. Maputo City, Maputo Province, and Sofala are the provinces with the highest levels of reported crime. Following the analysis on crime and violence data, the section ends with a summary of the Mozambican legal and policy framework, which is considered to be well developed � although clearly lacking in full implementation. Section 3 analyses the major drivers of crime and violence in Mozambique and includes a detailed analysis on inequality, urbanization, corruption, organized crime, centralization, lack of opportunities for youth, victimization of women and children, high numbers of street dwellers, culture of violence, weak criminal justice system, prevalence of HIV/AIDS, rise in vigilantism, damaging customary practices and local beliefs, and trafficking along the coastlines and land corridors. While none of these factors in isolation cause crime and violence, all contribute to the challenges faced by Mozambique. Section 4 of the assessment report highlights the key actors in crime and violence prevention. Government agencies (including MDI, MDN, PRM, MINJUS, MINED, MISAU, MMAS), key donors, non-governmental organizations, and research and academia organizations are included and their relevant initiatives and interventions presented. For ease of analysis, the NGO sector is broken down into four areas, namely 1) women victimization organizations, 2) children victimization organizations, 3) governance, human rights, and community development organizations, and 4) peace, security, and conflict prevention organizations. The assessment notes the particular emphasis placed on women and children victimization by almost all of the key actors, although also notes an absence of support for unemployed and out-of-school youth. Section 5 of the assessment highlights promising prevention initiatives in Mozambique undertaken by key stakeholders. Innovative programs range from local level interventions to national government programmes. Section 6 analyses some of the key challenges to crime and violence prevention in Mozambique including: 1) Lack of opportunities for youth, 2) Marginalized role of local government, 3) Lack of engagement of the private sector, 4) Limited research and knowledge sharing on crime and violence prevention, 5) Absence of debate on security sector reform, 6) Parenting and early childhood development not prioritized, 7) Religious sector not fully engaged, 8) Poor support for displaced people, and 9) Disconnect between national policies and programs and local realities. The final Section 7 of the report makes a series of recommendations for Open Society, largely directed towards a community based focus, the importance of knowledge generation, building off of Brazilian expertise, providing opportunities for marginalized youth, and engaging new sectors in the crime and violence prevention debate. The assessment report is also accompanied by a community case study, which analyses crime and violence issues in two communities, Magoanine �C� and Feroviario das Mahotas. The case study, which was conducted by FOMICRES, provides an important point of reflection and highlights the juxtaposition between the national level policy and programs and the realities on the ground in marginalized communities. Details: Washington, DC: Open Society Foundations Crime and Violence Prevention Initiative; Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, 2012. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 13, 2014 at: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/cvpi_mozambique_report_-_final_english.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mozambique URL: http://www.osisa.org/sites/default/files/cvpi_mozambique_report_-_final_english.pdf Shelf Number: 131892 Keywords: Corruption Crime Prevention Crime Statistics Organized Crime Robbery Victimization Violence Violent Crime

Author: Papachristos, Andrew Title: 48 Years of Crime in Chicago: A Descriptive Analysis of Serious Crime Trends from 1965 to 2013 Summary: Over the past two decades, the United States has experienced an unpredicted drop in crime. Chicago, while often portrayed as a violent city, has seen sustained drops in violent crime and homicide rates during this time, but particularly recently. Using annual crime data, this report briefly describes temporal and spatial trends of major index crime in Chicago from 1965 to 2013. Overall, Chicago - like other U.S. cities - experienced a significant decline in overall crime and violent crime. Present day levels of violent crime are, in fact, at their lowest rates in four decades. Furthermore, nearly all communities experienced declines in crime, although the rates of decline were greater in some communities than others. Over the past three years, for example, all but five communities (out of 77) experienced declines in violent crime. Those areas that experienced increases were and continue to be some of Chicago's safest areas. While the drop in violent crime is shared between low and high crime areas alike, there remain areas of the city where violent crime rates are unacceptably high. Rates of homicide have also decreased over this period following the overall city-wide pattern, with some unique patterns emerging surrounding the contexts of gang homicide. The objective of this report is to simply document these historical trends and not to assign any casual interpretations of the vanguards of crime rates of this period. Directions for future investigation are also discussed. Details: New Haven, CT: Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: ISPS Working Paper, ISPS 13-023: Accessed March 13, 2014 at: http://isps.yale.edu/sites/default/files/publication/2013/12/48yearsofcrime_final_ispsworkingpaper023.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://isps.yale.edu/sites/default/files/publication/2013/12/48yearsofcrime_final_ispsworkingpaper023.pdf Shelf Number: 131901 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics Crime Trends Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Kreuzer, Peter Title: Violence as a Means of Control and Domination in the Southern Philippines: How Violence is Used to Consolitate Power in the Southern Philippines Summary: The level of violence exerted in order to safeguard control and domination is alarmingly high in the Muslim regions of the Southern Philippines. Numerous studies and reports of local politics and society hold the civil war, American colonialism and Philippine internal imperialism responsible for this phenomenon. Despite fundamental changes of the political and economic framework during previous centuries, these ancient patterns of violence have remained a crucial cornerstone of the power of the ruling elite up to today. Thus, reducing violence will only be possible if reformist Muslims and Muslim researchers face up to their own violent roots. This investigation shows that current practices can be traced back to former centuries and identified as an essential part of social order and practices of control and domination rooted in pre-Islamic times. Details: Frankfurt am Main: Peace Research Institute, 2011. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: PRIF Reports 105: Accessed March 14, 2014 at: http://hsfk.de/fileadmin/downloads/prif105.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Philippines URL: http://hsfk.de/fileadmin/downloads/prif105.pdf Shelf Number: 131920 Keywords: Violence Violent Crime

Author: Coy, Maddy Title: Violent Disorder in Ciudad Juarez: A Spatial Analysis of Homicide Summary: This HASOW Discussion Paper considers how demographic and socioeconomic factors correlate with homicidal violence in the context of Mexico's "war on drugs". We draw on Ciudad Juarez as a case study and social disorganization theory as an organizing framework. Social disorganization is expected to produce higher levels of homicidal violence. And while evidence detects several social disorganization factors associated with homicidal violence in Ciudad Juarez not all relationships appear as predicted by the theory. Drawing on public census and crime data, our statistical assessment detects 6 significant variables (or risks) positively associated with homicidal violence in Ciudad Juarez between 2009 and 2010. Likewise, the assessment finds 6 specific variables (or protective factors) that are negatively associated with above average homicide in the city between 2009 and 2010. The data and level of analysis do not conclusively present causation, nor was this the intent. Rather, we propose a baseline model for testing spatial-temporal dynamics of organized violence. Details: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Humanitarian Action in Situations other than War (HASOW), 2012. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: HASOW Discussion Paper 1: Accessed March 20, 2014 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/68/doc/1934668792.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/68/doc/1934668792.pdf Shelf Number: 131979 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence Homicide Murders Violence Violent Crime War on Drugs

Author: Llorente, Maria Victoria Title: One Goal, Two Struggles: Confronting Crime and Violence in Mexico and Colombia Summary: Since the mid-2000s, violence related to drug trafficking and other transnational crime has increased exponentially in Mexico. By the end of the decade the public began to seriously doubt the government's strategy and its ability to guarantee public safety. The nature and intensity of violence in Mexico brought forth memories of the 1980s and '90s in Colombia, when the country was besieged by the Medellin and Cali drug cartels. Over the course of more than a decade, Colombia's security situation has improved dramatically; it has become an "exporter" of security expertise and has trained thousands of military and police personnel in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean as well as around the world. What aspects of Colombia's strategy and tactics for fighting organized crime in its own territory offer useful lessons for Mexico? What might Colombia's steps and missteps offer by way of example or counter-example? What is unique about each case such that comparisons are misleading? What do current security challenges in Colombia suggest about the threat posed by organized crime more generally? In One Goal, Two Struggles: Confronting Crime and Violence in Mexico and Colombia, international experts address the utility of comparing Colombia and Mexico's experiences and strategy for combatting organized crime and violence more generally. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, 2014. 126p. Source: Internet Resource: Woodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas - #32: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Colombia_Mexico_Final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Colombia_Mexico_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 132052 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Gang Violence Organized Crime Transnational Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: SMART Approaches to Reducing Gun Violence Summary: Despite significant decreases in crime nationwide, America continues to experience criminal gun violence at extraordinarily high levels - more than 11,000 individuals are murdered by firearms and 75,000 are treated for nonfatal gunshot wounds at hospitals annually, and these incidents are certainly undercounted in our statistics. Beyond the devastating toll measured in injuries and loss of life, gun violence also imposes a heavy burden on our standard of living, from increased fear and reduced quality of life to depressed property values. While the public tends to focus its attention on mass shootings, the most common forms of gun violence occur on a daily basis involving gang members, violent youth, and others involved in crime. As a result, local police departments are in a strategic position on the front lines poised to curb or even prevent gun crime, injuries, and deaths. In response, a number of departments are experimenting with new, evidence-based strategies and tactics aimed at addressing the chronic and pervasive gun violence problem. Yet, the question remains: Can the police effectively reduce and prevent gun crimes and associated violence? The Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) emerged on the law enforcement landscape in 2009. With SPI, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) sought to identify effective and efficient solutions to chronic local crime problems, including gun violence. This program provides a valuable opportunity for local police agencies to partner with academic researchers and rigorously assess whether gun violence reduction strategies have the intended effects on crime, violence, and communities. Indeed, nine of thirty-five SPI-funded police agencies nationwide have targeted gun violence as part of their Smart Policing Initiatives (Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Baltimore, MD; Joliet, IL; Las Vegas, NV; Cambridge/Somerville/Everett, MA; Kansas City, MO; Rochester, NY; and East Palo Alto, CA). This Spotlight report reviews the common strategies that police have employed across those nine sites. These evidence-based strategies, which reflect core tenets of the SPI, are grounded in a risk-focused framework that recognizes the importance of targeting efforts on the places, people, and times at greatest threat of violence. The common strategies identified for implementation in the nine SPI sites include: - Targeting persistent gun violence hot spots - Targeting prolific offenders in persistent hot spots - Employing new technologies and advanced crime analysis - Engaging a wide range of collaborative partners - Conducting advanced problem analysis We prepared the Gun Violence Spotlight to further the national conversation on the gun violence problem and to provide a resource for local officials seeking to make informed, evidence-based decisions regarding their prevention, intervention, and suppression efforts. Though many of the SPI projects are ongoing, several sites have produced important findings, derived through rigorous research methodologies, which indicate that their interventions have effectively reduced gun violence: - Boston's problem-oriented strategy focusing on micro-level hot spots reduced aggravated assaults by more than 15 percent, violent crime by more than 17 percent, and robberies by more than 19 percent. - Baltimore's strategy of targeted enforcement within selected crime hot spots reduced homicides by 27 percent; and a related focused deterrence intervention reduced non-fatal shootings in one neighborhood by 40 percent. - Baltimore's Gun Offender Registry reduced gun-related re-offending risks among participants by 92 percent. - Los Angeles' LASER initiative, which combined place and offender strategies with the use of criminal intelligence data, reduced homicides by more than 22 percent per month in the target division (Newton), and gun crimes by 5 percent in each reporting district of the target division. The Boston, Baltimore, and Los Angeles findings are certainly encouraging, and they strongly suggest that the SPI has generated significant declines in gun crime and related violence. Results for other SPI sites will be forthcoming in the near future. This Spotlight identifies a number of next steps for addressing gun violence, most notably the development of supply-side approaches that disrupt illicit gun supply lines and combat illegal gun sales. Details: Washington, DC: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2014. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Smart Policing Initiative Spotlight Report: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/SPIGunViolenceSpotlight.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/SPIGunViolenceSpotlight.pdf Shelf Number: 132098 Keywords: Collaboration Crime Prevention Programs Gun Control Gun Violence Hot Spots Illegal Markets Partnerships Violent Crime

Author: Durante, Ruben Title: Fighting crime with a little help from my friends. party affiliation, inter-jurisdictional cooperation and crime in Mexico Summary: We investigate the relationship between inter-jurisdictional cooperation and the effectiveness of law enforcement in Mexico. Exploiting a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) in close municipal elections, we study how improved opportunities for cooperation in crime-prevention among neighboring municipalities - proxied by their degree of political alignment - may result in lower rates of violent crime. We find that municipalities in which the party in power in the majority of neighboring jurisdictions barely won experience significantly lower homicide rates during the mayor's mandate than those in which it barely lost. This effect is sizeable - a decrease of 52 to 65% - and is independent of which party is in power in the neighboring municipalities. Political alignment with neighbors is not correlated with a variety of other outcomes including homicide rates during the previous mandate. The observed reduction in crime does not appear to be driven by improved cooperation with state and federal authorities. Details: Paris: Sciences Po - LIEPP, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2014 at: http://vox.lacea.org/pdf/lacea2013_fighting_crime.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://vox.lacea.org/pdf/lacea2013_fighting_crime.pdf Shelf Number: 132137 Keywords: Cooperation Crime (Mexico) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Ingram, Matthew C. Title: The Local Educational and Regional Economic Foundations of Violence: A Subnational, Spatial Analysis of Homicide Rates across Mexico's Municipalities Summary: Violence diminishes well-being, and public insecurity erodes the rule of law, undermining the quality of democracy and constraining business and commercial interactions. A better understanding of the origins of violence is therefore crucial. Examining 2010 homicide rates across Mexico's 2455 municipalities, this paper offers a sub-national and spatial study of the patterns and sources of violence. Offering the first spatial Durbin model of homicide in Mexico, the analysis generates novel and rich findings. Core findings include (1) homicide is not randomly distributed across municipalities, (2) homicide rates follow a spatial lag effect, suggesting violence in one community spills over into neighboring communities, (3) education has a meaningful protective effect against violence, but this is only a local, direct effect; and (4) economic inactivity exerts an unexpectedly negative direct effect, but a strong positive indirect effect from neighboring communities; that is, when economic conditions deteriorate in nearby communities, local violence increases, suggesting homicide is committed locally but by individuals in economically depressed, outlying areas. Violence-reduction policies, then, require coordination across nearby communities and should proceed on two fronts: (a) localized improvements in education attainment, which can be addressed within individual jurisdictions, and (b) economic development policies targeted at intermediate regions below the state level but above the municipal level, which require cross-jurisdictional collaboration, even by municipalities across state boundaries - what I refer to as a "local-schools/regional-economy" approach to violence prevention. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2014 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/mex_hom_analysis_ingram_0.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/mex_hom_analysis_ingram_0.pdf Shelf Number: 132173 Keywords: Homicides Violence (Mexico) Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Shirk, David A. Title: Building Resilient Communities in Mexico: Civic Responses to Crime and Violence Summary: This study is part of a multiyear effort by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego to analyze the obstacles to and opportunities for improving citizen security in Mexico. Each of the authors featured in this edited volume makes a significant contribution to this endeavor through original research - including exhaustive data analysis, in-depth qualitative interviews, and direct field observations - intended to inform policy discussions on how to foster robust civic responses to the problems of crime and violence. This research was developed with an intended audience of policymakers, journalists, leaders of nongovernmental organizations, and other current and future leaders working to address these problems in Mexico. However, there are also important lessons from Mexico's experience that may have resonance in elsewhere in Latin America and other societies grappling with similar challenges. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, 2014. 294p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2014 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Resilient_Communities_Mexico.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Resilient_Communities_Mexico.pdf Shelf Number: 132178 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gangs Partnerships Police-Citizen Interactions Public Security Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: Parks, Sharyn E. Title: Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2010 Summary: Problem/Condition: An estimated 55,000 persons die annually in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 16 U.S. states for 2010. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. Reporting Period Covered: 2010. Description of System: NVDRS collects data regarding violent deaths obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplementary homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). NVDRS data collection began in 2003 with seven states (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia) participating; six states (Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) joined in 2004, four (California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Utah) in 2005, and two in 2010 (Ohio and Michigan), for a total of 19 states. This report includes data from 16 states that collected statewide data in 2010; data from California are not included in this report because data were not collected after 2009. Ohio and Michigan were excluded because data collection, which began in 2010, did not occur statewide until 2011. Results: For 2010, a total of 15,781 fatal incidents involving 16,186 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 16 states included in this report. The majority (62.8%) of deaths were suicides, followed by homicides and deaths involving legal intervention (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions) (24.4%), deaths of undetermined intent (12.2%), and unintentional firearm deaths (0.7%). Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic whites, American Indians/Alaska Natives, and persons aged 45-54 years. Suicides most often occurred in a house or apartment and involved the use of firearms. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health or intimate partner problem, a crisis during the previous 2 weeks, or a physical health problem. Homicides occurred at higher rates among males and persons aged 20-24 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males. The majority of homicides involved the use of a firearm and occurred in a house or apartment or on a street/highway. Homicides were precipitated primarily by arguments and interpersonal conflicts or in conjunction with another crime. Interpretation: This report provides a detailed summary of data from NVDRS for 2010. The results indicate that violent deaths resulting from self-inflicted or interpersonal violence disproportionately affected persons aged <55 years, males, and certain minority populations. For homicides and suicides, relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises were among the primary precipitating factors. Because additional information might be reported subsequently as participating states update their findings, the data provided in this report are preliminary. Public Health Action: For the occurrence of violent deaths in the United States to be better understood and ultimately prevented, accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data are necessary. NVDRS data can be used to monitor the occurrence of violence-related fatal injuries and assist public health authorities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs and policies to reduce and prevent violent deaths at the national, state, and local levels. NVDRS data have been used to enhance prevention programs. Examples include use of linked NVDRS data and adult protective service data to better target elder maltreatment prevention programs and improve staff training to identify violent death risks for older adults in North Carolina, use of Oklahoma VDRS homicide data to help evaluate the effectiveness of a new police and advocate intervention at domestic violence incident scenes, and data-informed changes in primary care practice in Oregon to more effectively address older adult suicide prevention. The continued development and expansion of NVDRS is essential to CDC's efforts to reduce the personal, familial, and societal impacts of violence. Further efforts are needed to increase the number of states participating in NVDRS, with an ultimate goal of full national representation. Details: Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Morbidity and Mortality Weekley Report, January 17, 2014: Surveillance Summaries, vol. 63, no. 1: Accessed May 5, 2014 at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6301.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6301.pdf Shelf Number: 132233 Keywords: Domestic Violence Family Violence Homicide Suicides Violence-Related Injuries Violent Crime

Author: Bynum, Timothy Title: Evaluation of a Comprehensive Approach to Reducing Gun Violence in Detroit Summary: Increasingly criminal justice agencies are integrating "data based" approaches into their operational strategies. This "new" model of criminal justice suggests that analysis of data on recent crime and violence incidents can lead to a more focused and targeted effort than previous enforcement efforts. Through such efforts, individuals, groups, and locations that exhibit a high level of gun violence within a limited geographic area are identified and a variety of intervention are then implemented. These interventions typically include both enforcement as well as offender focused interventions. These efforts differ from prior enforcement strategies in that they emphasize the integration of a problem analysis component in which data analysis is used to identify the patterns of gun violence in a small target area and enforcement resources are concentrated in this area. However, this approach also differs from previous "crackdown" enforcement strategies in that there are also community and offender intervention components that are integral to this model. The community component seeks to identify ways in which the community can be involved in working with law enforcement to reduce gun violence in this area. This is often through increased community meetings, and establishing more frequent and effective means of communication between the community and local law enforcement. In addition, the enforcement strategies used in this model are data and intelligence driven. As such they are focused on identifying the most problematic locations, groups and individuals that are most responsible for gun violence in this community. This report documents the implementation and outcomes of the implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods in one of the jurisdictions in which this model was first implemented. Details: Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. National Institute of Justice, 2014. 69p. Source: Accessed May 5, 2014 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/244866.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/244866.pdf Shelf Number: 132234 Keywords: Collaboration Community Crime Prevention Gun-Related Violence Homicide Hot-Spots Intelligence Gathering Intelligence-Led Policing Project Safe Neighborhoods Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Global Study on Homicide 2013: Trends, Contexts, Data Summary: The Global Study on Homicide 2013 seeks to shed light on the worst of crimes - the intentional killing of one human being by another. Beyond resulting in the deaths of nearly half a million people in 2012, this form of violent crime has a broad impact on security - and the perception of security - across all societies. This study, which builds on the ground-breaking work of UNODC's first Global Study on Homicide in 2011, is particularly timely as the international community is engaged in defining the post-2015 development agenda. As United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has made clear, development progress cannot be achieved or sustained amid violence, insecurity and injustice. By improving understanding of the underlying patterns and trends related to different forms, settings and risk factors of homicide at the global, regional, national and sub-national levels, this study can be a strategic tool in supporting governments' efforts to address root causes and enhance criminal justice responses. Alongside intentional homicide related to other criminal activities and socio-political agendas, the study examines homicide related to interpersonal conflict, which includes homicides perpetrated by intimate partners or family members. Unlike other forms of homicide, which vary significantly across regions and from year to year, intimate partner and family-related homicide remains persistent and prevalent. While the vast majority of global homicide victims are men, it is overwhelmingly women who die at the hands of their intimate partners or family members. Normative standards for improving criminal justice responses to eliminate violence against women have been agreed by all United Nations Member States; clearly more must be done to improve States' capacities to effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all forms of violence against women. With regard to different settings in which lethal violence occurs, the study indicates that homicide and violence in countries emerging from conflict can become concurrent contributors to instability and insecurity. If we want to build peace, interventions must address not only the conflict itself but also surges in homicide resulting from organized crime and interpersonal violence, which can flourish in settings with weak rule of law. Specific risk factors such as alcohol and drug use and the availability of weapons are also examined in the study in order to improve understanding of how they shape patterns and prevalence of lethal violence. Deeper understanding of these enablers can inform and enhance policies aimed at preventing intentional homicides from happening in the first place. Ultimately, efforts to prevent unlawful homicide will not be effective unless governments and the international community address those who are most at risk, of both offending or becoming a victim of homicide. More than half of all global homicide victims are under 30 years of age. Much of this violence takes place in urban areas. Effective policies and strategies must not only target at-risk young people but involve them and local communities to work together to break the cycle of violence. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2014. 155p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2014 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf Shelf Number: 132257 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Crime Statistics Drug Abuse and Crime Homicides Interpersonal Violence Murders Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Lundholm, Lena Title: Substance Use and Violence: Influence of Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Anabolic Steroids on Violent Crime and Self-directed Summary: Interpersonal violence and suicide are major health concerns, leading to premature death, extensive human suffering and staggering monetary costs. Although violent behaviour has multiple causes, it is well known that acute substance intake and abuse increase the risks of both interpersonal and self-directed violence. This association is quite well established for alcohol, while a more ambiguous literature exists for other common drugs of abuse. For example, anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), synthetic analogues to the "male" sex hormone testosterone are suggested to elicit violent and aggressive behaviour. Two studies (I and III) in the present thesis addressed the association between AAS use and being suspected or convicted of a violent crime among remand prisoners and in a general population sample, respectively. Further, using the case-crossover design to control for confounders stable within individuals, I also investigated the triggering (short-term risk) effect of alcohol and drugs such as benzodiazepines and AAS, on violent crime (Study II). Finally, a fourth study (IV) based on a large national forensic sample of suicide completers (n=18,894) examined the risk of using a violent, more lethal, suicide method, when under acute influence of alcohol, central stimulants or cannabis. The results of this thesis suggested that AAS use in itself is not a proximal risk factor for violent crime; the observed risk is probably due to the co-occurrence of abuse of other substances. Alcohol is a strong triggering risk factor for violent crime, constant across males and females as well as individuals with or without behavioral and psychiatric vulnerability. Intake of high doses of benzodiazepines is associated with an increased risk for violent crime. Cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of using the lethal suicide method of jumping from a height. I conclude that mapping substance abuse patterns may inform violence risk assessment and treatment planning. Details: Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2013. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 8, 2014 at: http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:601819/FULLTEXT01.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Sweden URL: http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:601819/FULLTEXT01.pdf Shelf Number: 132287 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Drug Abuse and Crime Substance Abuse Suicide Violence Violent Crime

Author: Eventon, Ross Title: Eyes Wide Shut: Corruption and Drug-Related Violence in Rosario Summary: Drug trafficking is not a new phenomenon in the Argentinian city of Rosario. Since the 1990s, and largely under the public radar, the distribution of illicit drugs in the poor, peripheral neighbourhoods of the city has been managed by family-run gangs and small-time dealers; poverty and social marginalisation have facilitated the trade; young gang members, known as soldados, have fought over territory; local demand for illegal drugs has provided the engine; illicit profits have been laundered in collaboration with local lawyers and financial advisors; and corruption among the police and local officials has ensured that the main traffickers, while their identities are widely known, can operate with few concerns other than threats from rivals. This last element appears to explain why, until the issue was forced into the public domain, there had been a conspicuous lack of political concern with drug trafficking in the city. The change came on New Year's Day 2012. That day, three community activists were shot and killed in the Villa Moreno neighbourhood by gang members who mistook them for rivals. The killings were not unique, but the victims were: unlike the usual casualties, the activists had a movement behind them. Their deaths led to local demonstrations and calls for action. The press and local officials were suddenly impelled to pay attention to drug trafficking and related violence. Since then, a spate of official investigations has deepened public understanding of the nature of the drug trade in the city. They have also provided further evidence of the complicity of the security forces and the negligence of the state that have long been known to facilitate trafficking. Recommendations - Maintain the focus on the leadership of the most powerful and violent gangs, including following the money trail, and reverse the trend where simply increasing the number of security forces in violent areas is considered a sufficient policy response. - Re-focus the judiciary away from a two-tiered approach: recognize underage gang members as a vulnerable population, and that confronting the culture of violence will require special initiatives. - Root out corruption in the local and provincial security forces, recognise the way the state's approach facilitates this complicity, and produce more reliable statistics to better inform policymakers. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2013. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Series on Drug Markets and Violence, Nr 1: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Argentina URL: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/dmv1.pdf Shelf Number: 132314 Keywords: Corruption Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Illegal Drugs Poverty Violent Crime

Author: Heinle, Kimberly Title: Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2013 Summary: Violence is lower in Mexico than elsewhere in the Americas, but average for the region. Levels of violence are relatively lower in Mexico than in several other countries in the Americas, but are about average for the Western Hemisphere. Mexico's 2011 homicide rate of 23.7 was slightly below the region's average of approximately 24.5 homicides per 100,000 people. However, this was up nearly threefold from Mexico's rate of 8.1 per 100,000 in 2007. No other country in the hemisphere has seen such a large increase in the number or rate of homicides over the last decade. Homicides had been declining through the mid-2000s, reaching a record low in 2007. Continuing a long-term trend, the number of intentional homicides documented by Mexico's National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information (INEGI) declined significantly under both presidents Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) and Vicente Fox (2000-2006). Under Zedillo, the number of intentional homicides declined fairly steadily from 15,839 in 1994 to 10,737 in 2000, totaling 80,311 homicides. The annual number of homicides fluctuated somewhat under Fox, but continued to decline generally, with a total of 60,162 homicides. Moreover, the number of homicides actually reached a record low of 8,867 intentional homicides in 2007, the first full year in office for Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). Violence grew dramatically after 2008, with the number of homicides peaking in 2011. After Calderon's first year, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI climbed sharply, with year-over-year increases of more than 58% in 2008, 41% in 2009, 30% in 2010, and 5% in 2011. As predicted by last year's Justice in Mexico drug violence report, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI declined somewhat in 2012, Calderon's final year in office. Specifically, our March 2013 report predicted that INEGI would register a modest decline for 2012 (no greater than 8.5%). According to figures released in late-2013, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI for 2012 declined about 4% to 26,037. All told, throughout the Calderon administration, INEGI reported 121,669 homicides, an average of over 20,000 people per year, more than 55 people per day, or just over two people every hour. The total number of homicides appears to have declined by approximately 15% in 2013. While INEGI's figures are not available for 2013, preliminary data from Mexico's National Security System (SNSP) suggests that the total number of intentional homicides in 2013 declined again this year, and more than in 2012. However, some analysts are skeptical about SNSP's possible manipulation or withholding of data, so these findings should be viewed with caution. This said, at the time of this report, SNSP's tally of all intentional homicides in 2013 was 18,146, down 16.4% from about 21,700 in 2012. If the rate of decline is comparable for INEGI's tally, the total number of intentional homicides in 2012 INEGI will report for 2013 later this year will fall somewhere around 22,000 to 24,000 homicides. Mexico's recent violence is largely attributable to drug trafficking and organized crime. A large part of the sudden increase in violence in Mexico is attributable to drug trafficking and organized crime groups. Tallies compiled independently by media organizations in Mexico suggest that at least a third and as many as two-thirds of all intentional homicides in 2013 bore characteristics typical of organized-crime related killings, including the use of high-caliber automatic weapons, torture, dismemberment, and explicit messages involving organized crime groups. The Mexican newspaper Reforma put the figure at 7,163 organized-crime-style homicides in 2013 (though its coverage appeared to be less complete and less consistent with other sources than previous years), while Milenio reported 10,095 for the same year. Less violence in northern states has increased the spotlight on Pacific coastal states. In 2013, Mexico's violence - especially drug trafficking and organized-crime-style homicides - remained highly concentrated in specific regions, states, and municipalities. The elevated amounts and rates of violence were particularly concentrated in Mexico's Pacific coastal states, as violence in Northern states has diminished significantly. One exception in the north is Baja California, which saw a 31% increase in homicides, particularly as the city of Tijuana saw an increase in violence that ran counter to the significant declines elsewhere in the country. Community self-defense groups grew stronger in Guerrero, Michoacan, and other states. In 2012 and early 2013, public frustration with violence manifested itself in the form of armed community self-defense groups (autodefensas) in states like Guerrero and Michoacan. Particularly in Michoacan, where their presence has expanded into at least 29 of the state's 113 municipalities, such groups grabbed national and international headlines in early 2013 because of their direct clashes with the Knights Templar Organization (Caballeros Templarios, or KTO), a splinter organization that broke from the La Familia Michoacan (LFM) organization in 2010. There are concerns that self defense groups may have ties to organized crime groups and/or engage in acts of vigilante violence, and the Mexican government has tried to set parameters and restrictions on the use of firearms by such groups, so far with mixed results. President Pena Nieto continued to arrest major drug traffickers in 2013 and early 2014. On the campaign trail during 2012, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018) had pledged to reduce the government's reliance on the counter-drug strategies employed by the Calderon administration. However, with just over one year in office, President Pena Nieto has continued the previous administration's policies, including a heavy reliance on the military and the targeted arrest of major organized crime figures. This paid off in a number of important successes, including the arrest of Miguel Angel "Z-40" Trevino (head of Los Zetas) and Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman (head of the Sinaloa Cartel). In March 2014, the Pena Nieto administration also announced that Mexican authorities had killed two top KTO leaders: Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, a.k.a. "El Chayo," who had been previously presumed dead, and Enrique "El Kike" Plancarte Solis. Recent organized crime arrests have not appeared to produce large spikes in violence. Some experts say that destroying leadership structures leads to greater violence because it contributes to infighting, splintering, and/or encroachment by rival criminal organizations. However, compared to previous years, the Mexican government's arrests of high-level members of organized crime groups have not resulted in such dramatic surges in violence due to infighting, splintering, or encroachment by rival criminal organizations. This may be attributable to a number of factors, including the dwindling size and capacity of criminal organizations in Mexico, the reduction in competition over drug production and trafficking routes, and/or the possible collusion of government officials to broker a peace. U.S.-Mexico security cooperation continues under the framework of the Merida Initiative. At the outset of the Pena Nieto administration, U.S. officials reportedly expressed concerns about the more centralized, "single window" (ventanilla unica) approach of Pena Nieto's administration to bi-national cooperation. However, while the protocols for such cooperation have changed, U.S.-Mexico cooperation has continued across all four "pillars" of the framework established under the Merida Initiative: 1) dismantling organized crime groups, 2) strengthening judicial sector institutions, 3) building a 21st century border, and 4) fostering resilient communities. Mexican security efforts appear more focused on prevention and criminal justice reform. While President Pena Nieto continued the same strategies of the previous administration during his first year in office, he also began to emphasize crime prevention and judicial system reform more strongly than in the past. Important initiatives in this regard include the creation of a new agency for crime prevention headed by Roberto Campa, as well as the introduction of a new, unified federal code of criminal procedure. The creation and training of a much-touted National Gendarmerie and a more unified police command system moved to the back burner but are still ongoing. Concerted implementation and evaluation efforts will be critical to the success of these initiatives. The drug war's future appears somewhat uncertain given changes in U.S. drug policy. Measures to legalize marijuana in 2013 in Uruguay and in two U.S. states - Colorado and Washington - have raised new questions about the future of the drug war. While public support for legalization of other drugs is very low, over half of the U.S. public now supports marijuana legalization. Legalization of marijuana will likely increase its availability and reduce its price, thereby reducing its profitability for the organized crime groups that currently produce, transport, and purvey it on the black market. While this will seriously diminish the capacity of organized crime groups in Mexico, it could also lead to innovation in their criminal activities to make up for lost revenue and other problems. Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico Project, University of San Diego, 2014. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://justiceinmexico.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/140415-dvm-2014-releasered1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://justiceinmexico.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/140415-dvm-2014-releasered1.pdf Shelf Number: 147748 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Drugs and Crime Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Beirich, Heidi Title: White Homicide Worldwide Summary: A typical murderer drawn to the racist forum Stormfront.org is a frustrated, unemployed, white adult male living with his mother or an estranged spouse or girlfriend. She is the sole provider in the household. Forensic psychologists call him a "wound collector." Instead of building his resume, seeking employment or further education, he projects his grievances on society and searches the Internet for an excuse or an explanation unrelated to his behavior or the choices he has made in life. His escalation follows a predictable trajectory. From right-wing antigovernment websites and conspiracy hatcheries, he migrates to militant hate sites that blame society's ills on ethnicity and shifting demographics. He soon learns his race is endangered - a target of "white genocide." After reading and lurking for a while, he needs to talk to someone about it, signing up as a registered user on a racist forum where he commiserates in an echo chamber of angry fellow failures where Jews, gays, minorities and multiculturalism are blamed for everything. Assured of the supremacy of his race and frustrated by the inferiority of his achievements, he binges online for hours every day, self-medicating, slowly sipping a cocktail of rage. He gradually gains acceptance in this online birthing den of self-described "lone wolves," but he gets no relief, no practical remedies, no suggestions to improve his circumstances. He just gets angrier. And then he gets a gun. The hatemaker: Don Black, the former Alabama Klan leader who founded and still runs Stormfront, provides an electronic home and breeding ground for racists who have murdered almost 100 people in the last five years. To this day, he remains fiercely unapologetic, even as he rakes in donations from his forum members. It is a myth that racist killers hide in the shadows. Investigators find that most offenders openly advocated their ideology online, often obsessively posting on racist forums and blogs for hours every day. Over the past two decades, the largest hate site in the world, Stormfront.org, has been a magnet and breeding ground for the deadly and the deranged. There is safety in the anonymity of the Web, and comfort in the endorsement others offer for extreme racist ideas, argues former FBI agent Joe Navarro, who coined the term "wound collector." "Isolation permits the free expression of ideas, especially those which are extreme and which foster passionate hatred," Navarro, who helped found the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Division, wrote in 2011 in Psychology Today. "In this cocoon of isolation the terrorist can indulge his ideology" without the restrictions of the routines of daily life. Then there is a trajectory from idea to action. Though on any given day, fewer than 1,800 registered members log on to Stormfront, and less than half of the site's visitors even reside in the United States, a two-year study by the Intelligence Report shows that registered Stormfront users have been disproportionately responsible for some of the most lethal hate crimes and mass killings since the site was put up in 1995. In the past five years alone, Stormfront members have murdered close to 100 people. The Report's research shows that Stormfront's bias-related murder rate began to accelerate rapidly in early 2009, after Barack Obama became the nation's first black president. For domestic Islamic terrorists, the breeding ground for violence is often the Al Qaeda magazine Inspire and its affiliated websites. For the racist, it is Stormfront. Details: Atlanta, GA: Southern Poverty Law Center, 2014. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/intelligence_report_154_homicide_world_wide.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/intelligence_report_154_homicide_world_wide.pdf Shelf Number: 132327 Keywords: Extremists Hate Crimes Homicide Racism Violent Crime

Author: Sanchez, Arabeska Title: Firearms and Violence in Honduras Summary: More than 42,000 people have been violently killed in Honduras over the past nine years. In 80 per cent of cases the weapon used was a firearm. To explain this, analysts and the media point randomly to the political instability and polarization of the country, the level of corruption in the police and state institutions, and the climate of terror created by gangs and organized crime. Comprehensive solutions based on solid empirical evidence, however, are not yet available. This Research Note is based on a scoping assessment of armed violence in Honduras. It summarizes and briefly unpacks specific characteristics of armed violence in the country and explores some of the key questions that need to be asked. As such, it provides a basis on which work and research can draw to design responses to Honduras's challenges by answering the following questions: What kind of knowledge is needed to tackle the spiralling violence in Honduras? How can actors be mobilized more effectively to influence policy responses to violence? Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2014. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Notes No. 39: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-39.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-39.pdf Shelf Number: 132338 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun Policy Gun-Related Violence Homicides (Honduras) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Baradaran, Shima Title: Drugs and Violence Summary: The war on drugs has increased the United States prison population by tenfold. The foundation for the war on drugs and unparalleled increase in prisoners rely on the premise that drugs and violence are linked. Politicians, media, and scholars continue to advocate this view either explicitly or implicitly. This Article identifies the pervasiveness of this premise, and debunks the link between drugs and violence. It demonstrates that a connection between drugs and violence is not supported by historical arrest data, current research, or independent empirical evidence. That there is little evidence to support the assumption that drugs cause violence is an important insight, because the assumed causal link between drugs and violence forms the foundation of a significant amount of case law, statutes, and commentary. In particular, the presumed connection between drugs and violence has reduced constitutional protections, misled government resources, and resulted in the unnecessary incarceration of a large proportion of non-violent Americans. In short, if drugs do not cause violence - and the empirical evidence discussed in this Article suggests they do not - then America needs to rethink its entire approach to drug policy. Details: Salt Lake City, UT: S.J. Quinney College of Law, 2014. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 75: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2414202 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2414202 Shelf Number: 132339 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Policy Drug-Related Violence Violent Crime

Author: Goh, Derek Title: An update of long-term trends in property and violent crime in New South Wales: 1990-2013 Summary: Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyse the trends in the rates of annual recorded incidents of 10 categories of property and violent crime for the period 1990 to 2013 in New South Wales (NSW). Method: Offence rates were calculated using criminal incident data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) for the period 1995 to 2013, and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research's recorded crime statistics report series for the period 1990 to 1994. Kendall's trend test was run on the 24 annual rates for each of the 10 offence categories. Results: Some categories of crime in NSW are now at the lowest recorded levels they have been for over 20 years. Comparing per capita rates of crime in 2013 with per capita rates in 1990, lower rates were found for: motor vehicle theft (77% lower), robbery with a firearm (73% lower), break and enter non-dwelling (68% lower), break and enter dwelling (52% lower), murder (43% lower), robbery without a weapon (35% lower), and robbery with a weapon not a firearm (29% lower). Three of the ten offence types analysed in this report were found to have recorded rates higher in 2013 than in 1990: sexual assault (125% higher), other sexual offences (95% higher) and assault (74% higher). Conclusion: In the period since 1990, assault and sexual assault rates recorded significant long term upward trends whilst the other eight offences analysed in this report were trending down or stable. The 2013 recorded sexual assault rate was marginally below the highest in that series (occurring in 2012) and the rate since 2000 has recorded a significant uptrend. Apart from sexual assault and 'other' sexual offences, the remaining eight offence types recorded significant downtrends in recorded rates since 2000. The three robbery and three property crime series all recorded falls of more than 60 percent since 2000. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2014. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue paper No. 93: Accessed May 14, 2014 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l4/bb93.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l4/bb93.pdf Shelf Number: 132348 Keywords: Crime Statistics Crime Trends Property Crimes (Australia) Violent Crime

Author: Ruteere, Mutuma Title: Missing the Point: Violence Reduction and Policy Misadventures in Nairobi's Poor Neighbourhoods Summary: Violence and crime are part of everyday life in many of Nairobi's poor urban neighbourhoods. While wealthier enclaves of the city are heavily guarded by private security firms, violence and protection provided through criminal organisations and vigilante groups has become commonplace in the poor neighbourhoods. The governments of both President Daniel arap Moi and his successor, Mwai Kibaki, over the years failed to measurably improve security for the urban poor. Rather, they reflected a narrow understanding of the problem as one of ordinary crime that can be stamped out with more robust policing measures. Given the complex drivers of violence in Nairobi, and the close associations between politics and violence in Kenya, a different approach is needed that addresses the underlying factors making the poor more vulnerable to violence, including their lack of access to basic services and economic opportunities. This report is organised as follows. The first section reviews existing data on welfare and violence in Nairobi's poor neighbourhoods and identifies key gaps in understanding. The second section unpacks official understandings of violence and crime, while the third examines various policy interventions to address violence in poor urban neighbourhoods and the limitations of these. The report concludes with practical proposals for a different approach to address and mitigate violence in Nairobi's poor neighbourhoods. Details: London: Institute of Development Studies, 2013. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Evidence Report No. 39: Accessed May 15, 2014 at: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3192/ER39%20Final%20Online.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2013 Country: Kenya URL: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/3192/ER39%20Final%20Online.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 132357 Keywords: Neighborhoods and Crime Poverty Violence (Kenya) Violent Crime

Author: Foster, Rebecca Title: Knife Crime Interventions: What Works? Summary: - This review of the literature sought to identify what is known about 'what works' in reducing knife carrying and knife crime. Specifically, it sought to identify the features of successful interventions for young people; summarise evidence of good practice; and examine the outcomes of successful intervention programmes. - There are a wide range of interventions seeking to tackle knife related crime available throughout the world. Scholars have repeatedly called for comprehensive evaluation to be undertaken with regard to these. This review has highlighted once more the need to remedy this. - The two chief motivators for carrying a knife are: acquisition of status and fear of crime. Fear of crime is coupled with the belief that carrying a knife is protection against victimisation. Given that these are the main causes, interventions which are the most effective in addressing knife crime are ones which so address these causes. - Diversionary activities have some potential to address knife crime. These activities, which include engagement in sport and mentoring programmes, may help prevent a young person from choosing to carry a knife. - Current research suggests that education based interventions hold the most promise for effectively addressing knife crime. Education based interventions can be supported by criminal justice responses, which also have an important role to play in addressing knife crime. - Educational interventions should aim to raise awareness about the dangers and consequences of choosing to carry a knife and engage in knife crime. Acknowledgement should be made of the very real fear many young people have of victimisation, the origins of which may be complex. This acknowledgement should involve taking young people's fears seriously. Once the fear is acknowledged, young people should be reassured that police and other agencies are working hard to ensure their safety, so rendering carrying a knife unnecessary. It should also be emphasised to young people that carrying a knife increases rather than decreases their risk of victimisation. - Educational interventions should be delivered both in schools and within the communities, in order to reach all young people, recognising that different young people have different experiences of education. Details: Edinburgh: Scottish Centre for Crime & Justice Research, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Report No. 04/2013: Accessed May 17, 2014 at: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SCCJR_Report_No_04.2013_Knife_Crime_Interventions.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SCCJR_Report_No_04.2013_Knife_Crime_Interventions.pdf Shelf Number: 132389 Keywords: Crime Prevention Interventions Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime

Author: Peters, Brittany Title: Violent Crime in Massachusetts: A 25-Year Retrospective. Annual Policy Brief (1988-2012) Summary: The volume of violent crime (26,819 offenses) within the Commonwealth in 2012 represents an 18% decrease since 1988. This is the lowest point since the early 1980's. During the 25-year period from 1988 to 2012, the rate of violent crime per 100,000 persons in Massachusetts dropped 29% from 570 offenses to 404 offenses. The statewide volume of violent crime decreased 3% from calendar years 2011 to 2012, with a decline in murder (-33%) and aggravated assault (-4%); the volume of both forcible rapes and robberies remained consistent from one year to the next with a drop of less than 1%. The rate of violent crime per 100,000 persons in Massachusetts decreased 4% between calendar years 2011 and 2012, with a decline in three of the four major offense categories: murder (-33%), robbery (-1%), and aggravated assault (-5%). The rate of forcible rape remained stable at 24 rapes per 100,000 persons from 2011 to 2012. Details: Boston: Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, 2014. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 17, 2014 at: http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/ogr/violentcrimeannualpolicybrief-1988to2012.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/ogr/violentcrimeannualpolicybrief-1988to2012.pdf Shelf Number: 132391 Keywords: Aggravated Assault Crime Statistics Forcible Rape Homicides Robbery Violent Crime

Author: Whittington, R. Title: A Systematic Review of Risk Assessment Strategies for Populations at High Risk of Engaging in Violent Behaviour: Update 2002-8 Summary: This review systematically examines the research literature published in the period 2002-8 on structured violence risk assessment instruments designed for use in mental health services or the criminal justice system. Violence is a major social problem and improved assessment of those who present an above-average risk is an important goal in the overall strategy for addressing the issue. Techniques for formally assessing individual and social risk factors have developed rapidly over the past two decades from a process of unstructured clinical judgement to one of structured assessment based on empirically tested instruments. A vast number of structured risk assessment instruments relating to violence in different populations have been developed over this period and attempts have been made elsewhere to summarise aspects of the literature relating to various instruments. This review adopted much broader inclusion criteria than previously used in order to capture and summarise data on the widest possible range of available instruments. Objectives The objectives of the review were to address two questions: (1) what features (i.e. population, instrument, outcome measure and design aspects) are associated with a risk assessment instrument score being significantly associated with a violent outcome? and (2) which risk assessment instruments have the highest level of predictive validity for a violent outcome? Details: London: National Institute for Health Research, 2013. 146p. Source: Internet Resource: Health Technology Assessment, Vol. 17, Issue 50: Accessed June 14, 2014 at: http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/87108/FullReport-hta17500.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/87108/FullReport-hta17500.pdf Shelf Number: 132459 Keywords: Crime Prevention Risk Assessment Violence Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Corridor of Violence: the Guatemala-Honduras Border Summary: Competition between criminal groups over drug routes has made the frontier between Guatemala and Honduras one of the most violent areas in Central America, with murder rates among the highest in the world. In the absence of effective law enforcement, traffickers have become de facto authorities in some sectors. Crisis Group's latest report, Corridor of Violence: The Guatemala-Honduras Border, examines the regional dynamics that have allowed criminal gangs to thrive and outlines the main steps necessary to prevent further violence as well as to advance peaceful economic and social development. The report's major findings and recommendations are: - The border corridor includes hotly contested routes for transporting drugs to the U.S. Traffickers, with their wealth and firepower, dominate some portions. On both sides of the border, violence, lawlessness and corruption are rampant, poverty rates and unemployment are high, and citizens lack access to state services. - The arrest of local drug lords has been a mixed blessing to local populations, as the fracturing of existing groups has allowed a new generation of sometimes more violent criminals to emerge. - To prevent further violence, an urgent shift in national policies is needed. The governments should send not just troops and police to border regions, but also educators, community organisers and social and health workers. If criminal structures are to be disrupted and trust in the state restored, these regions need credible, legitimate actors - public and private - capable of providing security, accountability, jobs and hope for the future. - Guatemala and Honduras should learn from other countries facing similar security threats. The Borders for Prosperity Plan in Colombia and the Binational Border Plan in Ecuador and Peru can serve as examples for economic and social development in insecure areas. The U.S., Latin American countries and multilateral organisations should provide funds, training and technical support to embattled border communities to help them prevent violence and strengthen local institutions via education and job opportunities. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2014. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 52: Accessed June 16, 2014 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/Guatemala/052-corridor-of-violence-the-guatemala-honduras-border.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/Guatemala/052-corridor-of-violence-the-guatemala-honduras-border.pdf Shelf Number: 132467 Keywords: Border Security Criminal Networks Drug Control Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Gangs Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Freeman, Karen Title: Understanding the relationship between crime victimisation and mental health: a longitudinal analysis of population data Summary: Aim: To determine whether a change in crime victimisation status (from non-victim to victim) affects mental health. Method: Fixed effects models were used to examine the effect of physical violence and property crime victimisation in the past year on future mental health. The sample pooled 110,671 records from 16,187 persons aged 15 years or older who participated in at least two waves of the Australian Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey between 2002 and 2011. The analysis controlled for all time-stable factors as well as a wide range of dynamic variables known to be associated with mental health (i.e., partner status, area of residence, labour force status, financial prosperity, ability to raise funds in an emergency, alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, general health, social networks and number of life events). Results: The analysis revealed that becoming a victim of violent crime results in a decrease in mental health. Females had a more pronounced decline in mental health after becoming a victim of violence compared with males. By contrast, there was no evidence that becoming a victim of property crime has a detectable impact on mental health for either females or males. Conclusion: Being a victim of violent crime has an adverse effect on mental health. This effect is apparent for both male and female victims, however there is a greater effect of violent crime on women's mental health. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, no. 177: Accessed June 18, 2014 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l2/cjb177.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l2/cjb177.pdf Shelf Number: 132498 Keywords: Gender Longitudinal Study Mental Health Property Crime Victimization Victims of Crimes Violent Crime

Author: Caruso, Raul Title: What is the Relationship Between Unemployment and Rape? Evidence from a Panel of European Regions Summary: This paper analyzes the relationship between unemployment and rape in a panel of European regions. In particular, this paper is intended to test whether an 'opportunity perspective' holds for rape. The 'opportunity perspective' interprets the level of unemployment as an indicator of 'social inactivity', so that a negative relationship between violent crime and unemployment is predicted. Results show that rape and unemployment are positively associated so not confirming the opportunity perspective. Results are robust using alternative dependent variables, namely (i) the count of rape; (ii) the rape rate per 100,000 people. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA), 2014. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 54725: Accessed June 19, 2014 at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/59041/9/MPRA_paper_59041.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: Shelf Number: 132525 Keywords: Rape Sexual Assault Unemployment and Crime Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Berg, Louis-Alexandre Title: Crime, Violence and Community-Based Prevention in Honduras Summary: Violent crime has emerged as a growing development challenge, affecting large segments of societies and taking a severe toll on economic development. In Honduras, the most violent country in the world as measured by its homicide rate of 90.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, variations in the level of violence across time and space suggest that some communities have successfully prevented crime. This note summarizes the findings of a study of crime dynamics and prevention practices in Honduras. The research revealed that while the transnational drug trade, economic downturn and political crisis have deepened the effects of organized crime, some communities have prevented these forces from taking root in their neighborhoods. The study identified practices that communities have pursued to prevent violence, and examined the capabilities of communities, municipal governments and national institutions that enable or constrain these responses. In the context of the World Bank�s Safer Municipalities Project in Honduras, this research points to evidence-based approaches for preventing violence at the community level. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Just Development, Issue 4: Accessed July 1, 2014 at: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTINST/0,,contentMDK:23587510~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:1974062~isCURL:Y,00.html Year: 2014 Country: Honduras URL: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTLAWJUSTINST/0,,contentMDK:23587510~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:1974062~isCURL:Y,00.html Shelf Number: 132574 Keywords: Crime Prevention Neighborhoods and Crime Organized Crime Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: McMurtry, Roy Title: The Review of the Roots of Youth Violence. Volume 4, Research papers Summary: The Review has commissioned a number of literature reviews and research papers to help fulfill its mandate. Some of the leading Canadian experts in the fields of criminology, sociology and race relations have authored these materials. This volume contains the following papers: A Province at the Crossroads: Statistics on Youth Violence in Ontario, by Scot Wortley; Youth Crime: The Impact of Law Enforcement Approaches on the Incidence of Violent Crime Involving Youth and Matters Related to Understanding the Implications of These Findings, by Anthony N. Doob, Jane B. Sprott and Cheryl Marie Webster; A Comparative Analysis of Youth Justice Approaches, by Tullio Caputo and Michel Vallee; Racial Minority Perspectives on Violence, by Rinaldo Walcott, Cecil Foster, Mark Campbell, and David Sealy; A Methodology to Identify Communities in Ontario Where High or Increasing Relative Disadvantage May Lead to Youth Violence, By Desmond Ellis; and Governance Models for the Roots of Youth Violence, by the Institute on Governance. Details: Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2008. 492p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2014 at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/english/documents/topics/youthandthelaw/rootsofyouthviolence-vol4.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Canada URL: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/english/documents/topics/youthandthelaw/rootsofyouthviolence-vol4.pdf Shelf Number: 132625 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquents Juvenile Offenders Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Cannon, Ashley Title: Mayhem Multiplied: Mass Shooters & Large-Capacity Magazines Summary: Mass shootings have taken place consistently throughout American history, in every region of the country. Over the last 30 years, however, large-capacity ammunition magazines-which hold more than 10 rounds-have proliferated, allowing assailants to become much more destructive. As the following analysis shows, the results have been deadly for Americans. As part of our non-partisan mission to prevent violence at the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, we track mass shootings. Our Mass Shooting Incidents in America database catalogs shootings in which four or more victims were killed in a public place unrelated to another crime since 1984. Between 1984 and 2012, there were 64 such incidents-33 of which involved a perpetrator armed with a large-capacity magazine. Large-capacity ammunition magazines were outlawed for 10 years between 1994 and 2004 as part of the federal Assault Weapons Ban, providing us with periods for comparison in order to determine the ban's impact on mass shooting casualties. The results are startling. Details: New York: Citizens Crime Commission on New York City, 2014. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 9, 2014 at: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-MayhemMultiplied.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-MayhemMultiplied.pdf Shelf Number: 132636 Keywords: Assault Weapons Gun Violence Homicides Mass Murder Violence Violent Crime

Author: Gupte, Jaideep Title: The Agency and Governance of Urban Battlefields: How Riots Alter Our Understanding of Adequate Urban Summary: For the first time in close to 100 years, India reports higher population growth in its urbanised areas than across its vast rural landscape. However, a confluence of vast urbanisation and scarcity of resources has implied heightened levels of localised violence, centred in and around already impoverished neighbourhoods. This therefore has a disproportionate impact in further marginalising poor communities, and is at odds with the notion that cities are incontestably and inevitably the context of sustained poverty eradication. And yet, we know relatively little about the mechanics of security provisioning in Indian cities at large. The central argument in this paper is that violent urban spaces have a profound impact on how safety and security are understood by the state as well as the urban poor, thereby redefining the parameters of adequate urban living. I look in detail at how the 1992-1993 riots in Mumbai unfolded in a group of inner-city neighbourhoods, and find that specific acts of brutality and violence during the riots continue to shape current understandings of the "safe city‟. In doing so, I also find that the nature and form of informal urban space affects the mechanics by which the state endeavours to control violence, while individual acts of public violence function as markers that legitimate the use of, and reliance on, extralegal forms of security provision. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 2012. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Households in Conflict Network Working Paper 122: Accessed July 11, 2014 at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/TheagencyandgovernanceofurbanbattlefieldsHowriotsalterourunderstandingofadequateurbanliving.pdf Year: 2012 Country: India URL: https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/TheagencyandgovernanceofurbanbattlefieldsHowriotsalterourunderstandingofadequateurbanliving.pdf Shelf Number: 132643 Keywords: Neighborhoods and Crime (India) Riots Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Everytown for Gun Safety Title: Analysis of Recent Mass Shootings Summary: Using FBI data and media reports, Everytown for Gun Safety developed an analysis of mass shootings that took place between January 2009 and July 2014. The analysis found that there have been at least 110 mass shootings in this five and a half-year period. The FBI defines a "mass shooting" as any incident where at least four people were murdered with a gun. Below are some of the report's more surprising findings: - Mass shootings represent a small share of total US firearm homicides. - There is a strong connection between mass shooting incidents and domestic or family violence: at least 57% of mass shootings surveyed were related to domestic or family violence. - Perpetrators of mass shootings are generally older than perpetrators of gun violence in the US as a whole. While the median age of known overall gun murderers in the U.S. is 26, the median age of perpetrators of mass shootings was 34. Details: Everytown for Gun Safety, 2014. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 21, 2014 at: http://3gbwir1ummda16xrhf4do9d21bsx.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/analysis-of-recent-mass-shootings.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://3gbwir1ummda16xrhf4do9d21bsx.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/analysis-of-recent-mass-shootings.pdf Shelf Number: 132722 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun Violence Homicides Mass Shootings (U.S.) Violent Crime

Author: Bhairam, Robin Title: "Clark Kent drives my bus" - a study of safety and risk in public spaces through the narratives of young people Summary: This research explores the complexities of young peoples' personal understanding and experiences of violence and safety in public spaces. The research itself is constructed through establishing the interrelationships between the theories, practices and policies of safety and young people. Working through these links has facilitated an original framework for understanding by accessing data using young people's own experiences and views. There is a significant body of published research exploring young people as offenders but a real absence, especially in the UK literature, of young people as potential victims of violent crime. In particular children's own conceptualisations of risk, safety and victimisation are little understood. This research explores young people's thoughts on exactly this. The empirical research draws upon qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews with 21 young people aged from 10 to 18 years old taken from a socioeconomically mixed area of London. The findings show that irrespective of age, the young people have constructed a very real understanding of safety and risk. Children, even at a young age have developed a myriad of personal safety strategies that involve awareness of teenagers, locations and individuals who they perceive as guardians. However, these strategies emerge without meaningful reference to police or government policy and are largely embedded in a world far away from those in reach of official community safety agents. This research suggests that there needs to be a move away from portraying young people as 'folk devils' who sit at the heart of many 'moral panics' towards involving them as significant actors and contributors to social policy making by giving them a voice on the political stage. Details: Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth, 2012. 204p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 22, 2014 at: http://eprints.port.ac.uk/11967/1/Robin_Bhairam_Thesis.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eprints.port.ac.uk/11967/1/Robin_Bhairam_Thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 132732 Keywords: Children and Violence Children, Crime Against Moral Panics Personal Safety Public Space (U.K.) Victims of Crime Violent Crime Young Adults

Author: Rios Contreras, Viridiana Title: How Government Structure Encourages Criminal Violence: The causes of Mexico's Drug War Summary: This work advances a theory about corruption, criminal organizations, and violence to show how political institutions set incentives and constraints that lead criminal organizations behave, organize, compromise or fight one another. It is my argument that the propensity of criminal groups to deploy violence increases when formal or informal political institutions are decentralized because violent criminal organizations are less likely to be punished. Under decentralized institutional environments, understood here as those in which different levels of government fail to act cohesively as a single decision-making body, corruption agreements with one government inhibit law enforcement operations conducted by another. As a result, belligerent criminal organizations that would otherwise be punished remain untouched. My argument sheds light on why many criminal organizations are able to operate profitably without major episodes of violence, and illuminates the causes of Mexico's large increases in drug{related violence. A formal model (Chapter 2), an analytical narrative (Chapter 3), and an empirical test (Chapter 4 and 5) show that Mexican drug trafficking organizations increased their propensity to engage in injurious behavior only recently, responding to incentives set by political decentralization that inhibited Mexico's federal government from controlling the actions of its local governments, and thus from limiting trafficker's propensity to battle for turf. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2012. 233p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 25, 2014 at: http://www.gov.harvard.edu/files/Rios_PhDDissertation.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.gov.harvard.edu/files/Rios_PhDDissertation.pdf Shelf Number: 132772 Keywords: Drug Control Policy Drug Trafficking Drug Wars (Mexico) Drug-Related Violence Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Salt, Jim Title: Crime in Delaware 2008 - 2012. An Analysis of Serious Crime in Delaware Summary: Crime in Delaware is the official report of serious crime known to Delaware law enforcement agencies. This report provides information about 22 Violent, Serious Property, Drug/Narcotic and Other Property and Social offenses reported in Delaware's implementation of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) operated by the State Bureau of Investigation of the Delaware State Police. Final data for the years 2008 through 2011 and preliminary data for 2012 are included in this report. The report includes a summary of data on serious offenses, clearances, adult and juvenile arrests, and crimes against law enforcement officers at the state and county levels, followed by a detailed data section organized by state and county. Overall, the occurrence of serious crime has decreased notably since 2008. The number of serious criminal offenses known to police in 2008 was 103,274 compared with 95,872 in 2011, a decrease of 7.2%. Preliminary data for 2012 suggest that pattern is continuing, with the number of offenses at just over 93,000, a decline of about 8% compared to 2008. Violent crime in the State decreased more than 8% from 2008 to 2012. This decrease reflects a steady decline in reported Violent Offenses over the past five years. The number of Homicides in 2012 (59) was comparable to 2008 (58), but markedly higher than 2009, 2010, and 2011 (43, 49, and 51 respectively). Serious Property crime changed little between 2008 and 2012, although motor vehicle-related theft offenses decreased around 40% while Burglary and Shoplifting offenses increased by about 9% and more than 30% respectively. Drug/Narcotic Offenses decreased about 7% between 2008 and 2012. Other Property and Social Offenses decrease around 15% between 2008 and 2012. There has been a steady decline in this offense category over the past five years. Three of the most frequently reported crimes - Assault offenses; Destruction, Damage, and Vandalism of Property; and Drug/Narcotic offenses - showed distinct downward trends from 2008 to 2012. Based on 2012 preliminary data, offenses in all crime categories were cleared by law enforcement officers at rates comparable to or better than the rates from 2008 through 2011. Overall, 51.3% of offenses in 2012 were cleared by the end of the calendar year. Violent crime against law enforcement officers decreased by about one-third between 2008 and 2012. No officers were killed in 2012, but 15% of the 435 assault-related offenses committed against officers resulted in injuries. Details: Dover, DE: Delaware Statistical Analysis Center, 2013. 200p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 28, 2014 at: http://cjc.delaware.gov/sac/pdf/Crime/Crime_DE_2008-12_November%202013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://cjc.delaware.gov/sac/pdf/Crime/Crime_DE_2008-12_November%202013.pdf Shelf Number: 132789 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Delaware) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Hiskey, Jonathan Title: Violence and Migration in Central America Summary: Over the past decade, much of Central America has been devastated by alarming increases in crime and violence. For most of this timeframe, migration from many of these same countries to the United States increased as well, at least until the 2008 financial crisis deflated migration numbers. In the following Insights report, we examine the possible relationship between high levels of violence and Central Americans' migration intentions. Though conventional views of the motivations behind migration tend to highlight economic and familial factors as the principal causes of migration, we find that crime victimization and perceptions of insecurity among Central Americans also play a significant role in determining the extent to which an individual considers migration as a viable strategy. Nonetheless, in the face of consistently high levels of crime and violence, perceptions of insecurity among Central Americans over the past ten years have been declining, suggesting perhaps a populace that has become accustomed to a high crime context and thus one less inclined to let crime influence future migration patterns. Details: Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2014. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Americas Barometer Insights, No. 101: Accessed August 4, 2014 at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/IO901en.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/insights/IO901en.pdf Shelf Number: 132875 Keywords: Immigration Migration Violence (Central America) Violent Crime

Author: Noriega, Roger F. Title: Honduras Under Siege Summary: As stepped-up counternarcotics policies in Colombia and Mexico have increased pressure on regional drug trafficking networks, organized crime syndicates have relocated operations to Central America, where law enforcement agencies and institutions are ill-equipped to withstand the onslaught. These multibillion-dollar gangs are making common cause with some local politicians who are following a playbook honed by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The result in Venezuela was the birth of a narco-state, and similar dramas are playing out in Central America. Like Chavez, caudillos are using the democratic process to seek power, weaken institutions, and undermine the rule of law - generating turmoil that accommodates narco-trafficking. Making matters worse for Honduras is that left-wing activists abroad, in support of ousted president and Chavez acolyte Manuel Zelaya, are waging a very public campaign of outlandish claims seeking to block any US assistance to help the Honduran government resist the drug cartels. It is imperative that US policymakers vigorously support democracy, the rule of law, and antidrug programs in Honduras. Details: Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 2013. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin American Outlook No. 3: Accessed August 4, 2014 at: http://www.aei.org/files/2013/09/30/-honduras-under-siege_090033609069.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.aei.org/files/2013/09/30/-honduras-under-siege_090033609069.pdf Shelf Number: 132883 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Gangs Organized Crime (Honduras) Violent Crime

Author: Paul, Christopher Title: Mexico Is Not Colombia: Alternative Historical Analogies for Responding to the Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations Summary: Drug-related violence has become a very serious problem in Mexico. Of particular concern to U.S. policymakers, violent drug-trafficking organizations produce, transship, and deliver tens of billions of dollars' worth of narcotics into the United States annually. The activities of these organizations are not confined to drug trafficking; they extend to such criminal enterprises as human trafficking, weapon trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and racketeering. Then, there is the violence: Recent incidents have included assassinations of politicians and judges; attacks against rival organizations, associated civilians, and the police and other security forces; and seemingly random violence against innocent bystanders. Despite the scope of the threat to Mexico's security, these groups are not well understood, and optimal strategies to combat them have not been identified. Comparison between Mexico and Colombia is a tempting and frequently made analogy and source for policy recommendations. A review of these approaches, combined with a series of historical case studies, offers a more thorough comparative assessment. Regions around the world have faced similar challenges and may hold lessons for Mexico. One point is clear, however: Mexico is not Colombia. In fact, Mexico is not particularly like any other historical case characterized by "warlordism," resource insurgency, ungoverned spaces, and organized crime. Despite the lack of a perfectly analogous case, Mexico stands to benefit from historical lessons and efforts that were correlated with the greatest improvements in countries facing similar challenges. A companion volume presents in-depth profiles of each of these conflicts. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2014. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2014 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR548z1/RAND_RR548z1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR548z1/RAND_RR548z1.pdf Shelf Number: 132898 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Drug-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Paul, Christopher Title: Mexico Is Not Colombia: Alternative Historical Analogies for Responding to the Challenge of Violent Drug-Trafficking Organizations. Supporting Case Studies Summary: Drug-related violence has become a very serious problem in Mexico. Of particular concern to U.S. policymakers, violent drug-trafficking organizations produce, transship, and deliver tens of billions of dollars' worth of narcotics into the United States annually. The activities of these organizations are not confined to drug trafficking; they extend to such criminal enterprises as human trafficking, weapon trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering, extortion, bribery, and racketeering. Then, there is the violence: Recent incidents have included assassinations of politicians and judges; attacks against rival organizations, associated civilians, and the police and other security forces; and seemingly random violence against innocent bystanders. Despite the scope of the threat to Mexico's security, these groups are not well understood, and optimal strategies to combat them have not been identified. Comparison between Mexico and Colombia is a tempting and frequently made analogy and source for policy recommendations. A series of historical case studies offers a foundation for a more thorough comparative assessment. Regions around the world have faced similar challenges and may hold lessons for Mexico. One point is clear, however: Mexico is not Colombia. As the historical record shows, Mexico is not particularly like any other case characterized by "warlordism," resource insurgency, ungoverned spaces, and organized crime. Despite the lack of a perfectly analogous case, Mexico stands to benefit from historical lessons and efforts that were correlated with the greatest improvements in countries facing similar challenges. A companion volume describes the study's approach to assessing each historical case and presents findings from the overall analyses. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2014. 285p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2014 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR548z2/RAND_RR548z2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR548z2/RAND_RR548z2.pdf Shelf Number: 132899 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking (Mexico) Drug-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Development Programme Title: Community Security and Social Cohesion: Towards a UNDP Approach Summary: The dynamics of violent conflict are changing across the globe. The number of violent conflicts is decreasing, yet the level of social violence is greater than ever. Levels of violence are now higher in a number of non-conflict countries than in countries at war, and communities are facing increasing threats to their security and social cohesion. These changing trends reflect the complex and volatile nature of the root causes of violence, and highlight the importance of adopting a dynamic and multi-faceted approach to addressing these issues. Such complex challenges can no longer be met with separate, sectoral interventions. In light of these changing trends and given the need to balance institutional support with strengthening communities and their ability to resist armed violence, UNDP has prioritized community security and social cohesion as a key goal of its Strategic Plan (2008-2013). To help guide UNDP's evolving work in this area, the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) has produced this paper to provide a conceptual framework and common understanding of community security and social cohesion and to support the design and implementation of effective programmes in this area. The paper recognizes the imperative to strengthen community security and social cohesion in a multi-sectoral and cross-cutting manner, informed by a clear understanding of the drivers and causes of violence. It also highlights the importance of collaboration across the UN system so that comprehensive assessments and planning processes can lead to effective programming. The paper is the result of a substantive review of UNDP's practice in this field from 14 countries in crisis or emerging from crisis. The paper reflects extensive consultations with UNDP Country Offices, field practitioners, civil society partners, researchers and governments. Most importantly, it has been informed by lessons learnt from communities that are in crisis and those that have averted crisis. Details: Geneva, SWIT: UNDP, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, 2009. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2014 at: http://www.th.undp.org/content/dam/thailand/docs/CommSecandSocialCohesion.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://www.th.undp.org/content/dam/thailand/docs/CommSecandSocialCohesion.pdf Shelf Number: 132902 Keywords: Communities and Crime Community Crime Prevention Community Safety Violence Violent Crime

Author: Barrick, Kelle Title: Assessing Crime, Resident Trust, and Police Effectiveness in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Summary: According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Central American countries are faced with some of the highest homicide rates in the world (UNODC, 2007). With more than 87 homicides per 100,000 residents, Honduras is one of the region's most violent countries (Arce, 2012). Honduras's proximity to Mexico makes it highly susceptible to the influences of transnational drug trafficking organizations. Recent enforcement efforts in Mexico have disrupted and displaced drug trafficking patterns and Honduras is increasingly being utilized as a transshipment point for Andean cocaine. According to recent estimates, 42% of all cocaine entering the United States first passes through Central America (INL, 2012). Youth street gangs and concentrated levels of poverty are also assumed to be at the center of the country's ongoing struggle with crime (UNODC, 2007; Seelke, 2011). Moreover, there is evidence that the problems associated with violent crime are increasing in Honduras. Whereas violent crime has decreased in Colombia, a country notorious for its violence, in recent years Honduras has experienced a significant increase in homicides and now has the highest per capita homicide rate in the world (U.S. Department of State, 2012). To assist Honduras in addressing these public safety and security issues, the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), has provided funding to establish a Model Precinct in Tegucigalpa's San Miguel Police District. A review of documents provided by INL indicates that as part of the Model Precinct initiative, INL is working with the Polic�a Nacional de Honduras (PNH) to create a higher level of integrity in the national police force by vetting police officers using background checks and polygraph testing. Police officers will also be trained in management practices, community policing, public relations, report taking, and tactical operations. In addition, police departments will be provided with a variety of equipment, including vehicles, office equipment, tactical and technological equipment, database systems, and street surveillance cameras. INL initiatives are also attempting to prevent and reduce participation in local gangs by providing school-aged children and youth with training in the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programs. Collectively, these Model Precinct activities are intended to result in a number of benefits for the San Miguel target area in Tegucigalpa. These include reductions in crime and gang activity, enhanced crime fighting and crime prevention capabilities for the police, and improved community perceptions and trust of the police. Details: Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International, 2013. 168p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2014 at: http://rti.org/pubs/hte024_baseline_english_final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Honduras URL: http://rti.org/pubs/hte024_baseline_english_final.pdf Shelf Number: 132905 Keywords: Crime (Honduras) Drug Trafficking Homicides Police Effectiveness Police-Community Relations Policing Street Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Bumpus, John Title: Best Practices in Reducing Violent Homicide Rates: Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico Summary: The 2011 World Development Report aptly points out that the nature of violent conflict has changed, warning that the 20th century tools developed to prevent, mitigate, and manage traditional forms of violence may no longer be up to the task. The report's evidence shows that while interstate and civil wars are on the decline, 1.5 billion people worldwide continue to live in areas severely affected-and even debilitated- by persistent gang violence and organized crime. In Central America alone, homicides related to organized crime have increased every year since 1999. This worrying trend is evident even in states that have simultaneously made progress addressing traditional forms of political violence. This disconnect raises the question: what new policy tools are needed to prevent, mitigate, and manage contemporary forms of violence? One way that victims and states are grappling with this dilemma is by leveraging the power of local actors to forge local solutions. Some subnational authorities have taken on the responsibility of reducing gang violence in their own communities. Experiments led by innovative coalitions of mayors, private sector leaders and associations, churches, and other community groups seem to have had some positive effects in Latin American countries. Also of note, some of the best police practices and judicial approaches have occurred at the municipal level. This study identifies and assesses some of these local and innovative efforts in El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. Despite differences in the composition of violent actors and the nature of violence across these three countries, researchers set out to identify how local communities and nontraditional actors are addressing gang violence in their particular contexts. Findings indicate that non-traditional approaches must carefully consider the specific realities of their contexts, thus having implications for external donors and influential state actors like the United States. Summaries of country assessments, findings, and recommendations follow. Full treatment of these topics is available in each country report. Details: Princeton, NJ: Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, 2014(?). 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2014 at: https://wws.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/content/591g%20Homicide%20Reduction%20in%20Honduras_1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: https://wws.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/content/591g%20Homicide%20Reduction%20in%20Honduras_1.pdf Shelf Number: 132911 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Ratcliffe, Jerry H. Title: Smart Policing Initiative: Final Report Summary: This report documents the experimental results from the Temple University sub-contractual part of the Smart Policing Initiative funding awarded the City of Philadelphia. This project was supported by Grant No. 2009-DG-BX-K021 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The project centered on a randomized field experiment. The study was designed and conducted as part of a continuing research-practitioner partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department. The Police Commissioner and management team were actively involved in the planning of the experiment so that the experimental design would more closely approximate how hot spots policing would occur naturally in a large urban police department. As the Commissioner wrote in the city's crime fighting strategy; In today's economy, we must be smart and judicious about allocating police resources. Saturation patrol is not an informed solution to preventing or reducing a rising crime problem. We must understand what works, how it works, when it works, and where it works. The answers to these questions provide the foundation for "evidence-based" policing strategies. First, violent crime hotspots were delineated using spatial statistics. Violent crime point data were accessed from the city's 2009 incident database. Violent crime was defined as homicide, robbery, aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault. Two different local measures for detecting spatial association and concentration were applied: Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA) and Hierarchical Nearest Neighbor Clustering (HNN). Full details of the analysis strategy are found in the chapters that follow. A total of 81 mutually-exclusive target areas were identified, allowing 21 of these to be used as controls. Senior police commanders (District Captains) were asked to use their operational knowledge to delineate the final boundaries of deployment areas and to identify which type of intervention should be applied in each. They were asked to identify 27 areas suitable for foot patrol, 27 areas that would benefit from problem-solving and 27 areas where police would focus enforcement on violent repeat offenders. Police commanders drew deployment areas around the hot spots identified by the LISA and HNN analyses taking into consideration the street network and environmental features. The 81 deployment areas were then displayed on a new map. In subsequent meetings with the Regional Operations Commanders, the deployment areas' boundaries were revised to balance police operations with research priorities (e.g., achieving geographic separation of the target areas to allow for examination of displacement/diffusion effects). The final 81 hot spots were small, containing an average of 3 miles of streets and 23.5 intersections. The 81 hot spot deployment areas were stratified into three groups prior to randomization based on their pretest score on treatment suitability as qualitatively evaluated by police department commanders. Random assignment using a random number generator was performed separately for each stratum of 27 areas resulting in 20 areas being assigned to treatment and 7 to control. The three experimental areas were targeted for at least three months with, problem-oriented policing, offender-focused activity, or foot patrol. The report that follows documents the experimental results of the study, a pre-post survey of officers involved in the experiment, and a pre-post survey of residents in the experimental areas. Details: Philadelphia: Temple University, Center for Security and Crime Science, 2013. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 11, 2014 at: http://webcastium.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Smart-1-final-report-Temple-University.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://webcastium.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Smart-1-final-report-Temple-University.pdf Shelf Number: 132973 Keywords: Crime Analysis Crime Hotspots Foot Patrol Police Patrol Policing Innovations Problem-Oriented Policing Violent Crime

Author: de Rozas, Diego M. Fleitas Ortiz Title: Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: Regional Country Profiles Summary: Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions most affected by violence and crime, but at the same time, has little available information about this problem. When data exist, it is not always presented in a comprehensive way, and usually suffers from reliability problems. Consequently, this publication intends to provide detailed and comprehensive information about the problem of insecurity in the region, using three different data sources. This will help to ensure not only a broad perspective but also to compare and validate the scope and quality of the different sources. One reason for that approach is that another of the publication's goals is precisely to contribute to a better understanding of the characteristics and limitations of security data. This document is a translation of the publication written in Spanish "Delito y Violencia en America Latina y el Caribe", where the reader can find a complete analysis, methodological notes, and a statistic Annex. Whereas this English version contains only the introduction, with a description of the main findings, and the "Country Profiles", which provide detailed information about each country. One of the information sources in this work is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which primarily receives crime statistics from National Polices or Justice Ministries. Another source is the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which collects mortality data from each country, including violent deaths, provided by national health systems, with a detail of event characteristics, as well as the victims' age and sex. The last source was the Americas Barometer survey - Lapop, coordinated by Vanderbilt University in 2012, which contains questions on personal victimization and citizens' opinions on security, justice and the police in 24 countries from the region. The survey contains a sample of 38.631 cases. Regarding the three sources, we not only verified the internal consistency of their data, but we also compared them in order to identify problems or understand their differences. In the Lapop and PAHO cases, we also worked directly with their databases. In addition, this paper conducts statistical analyses to look for tentative explanations of, among other things, victimization levels, fear of crime, trust in the community and the police. We control these variables among themselves as well as with socio-demographic factors at the individual and aggregate (country) levels of analysis, conducting a cross-sectional comparison of countries, which can be found in the full Spanish version. When presenting this complex amount of information, we intended that the content be interesting to both academics and policy makers, as well as for a lay audience. Therefore, in order to facilitate its comprehension, the literature and analyses used have an intermediate level of difficulty. Also to this end, we left some coefficients or statistical analyses in footnotes or in the Annexes. Details: Buenos Aires: Associacion para Politicas Publicas, 2014. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: English Summary: Accessed August 11, 2014 at: http://www.app.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Crime-and-Violence-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.app.org.ar/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Crime-and-Violence-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf Shelf Number: 132983 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Latin America; Caribbean) Crime Victimization Violence Violent Crime

Author: Chambers, Victoria Title: Securing communities and transforming policing cultures: a desk study of community policing in Jamaica Summary: As part of ODI's Securing Communities project, this case study aims to examine different models of community policing around the world, to understand their diversity of objectives, approaches and methods, and what this might mean for those who aim to support community policing. The Jamaica case study offers a unique context vis-a-vis the other case studies under the Securing Communities project, due to the high levels of urban violent crime affecting the country which present distinct challenges for community policing. In addition, it is a valuable example of a community policing programme which has been a formal state-led process, but has taken place in a security and justice arena that has received significant support from multiple donors. Community policing in Jamaica has been shaped by a number of contextual factors including, in particular, high levels of violent crime which have been fuelled by socio-economic problems and the historical nexus between crime, corruption and a political culture of patronage. This has encouraged the continuation of paramilitary styles of policing that emerged from histories of slavery and colonialism and has perpetuated a deep mistrust in the police among many community members, especially in the urban communities most affected by crime. High levels of violent crime and police corruption have weakened police-community relations and meant that reliance on informal security structures has become engrained in local cultures of protection. Details: London: ODI (Overseas Development Institute), 2014. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2014 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/8957.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Jamaica URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/8957.pdf Shelf Number: 133029 Keywords: Community Policing (Jamaica) Police Reform Urban Areas Violent Crime

Author: Grayson, George W. Title: The Evolution of Los Zetas in Mexico and Central America: Sadism as an Instrument of Cartel Warfare Summary: The United States has diplomatic relations with 194 independent nations. Of these, none is more important to America than Mexico in terms of trade, investment, tourism, natural resources, migration, energy, and security. In recent years, narco-violence has afflicted Mexico with more than 50,000 drug-related murders since 2007 and some 26,000 men, women, and children missing. President Enrique Pena Nieto has tried to divert national attention from the bloodshed through reforms in energy, education, anti-hunger, health-care, and other areas. Even though the death rate has declined since the chief executive took office on December 1, 2012, other crimes continue to plague his nation. Members of the business community report continual extortion demands; the national oil company PEMEX suffers widespread theft of oil, gas, explosives, and solvents (with which to prepare methamphetamines); hundreds of Central American migrants have shown up in mass graves; and the public identifies the police with corruption and villainy. Washington policymakers, who overwhelmingly concentrate on Asia and the Mideast, would be well-advised to focus on the acute dangers that lie principally below the Rio Grande, but whose deadly avatars are spilling into our nation. Details: Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, 2014. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 13, 2014 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1195.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB1195.pdf Shelf Number: 133040 Keywords: Drug Cartels (Mexico) Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Chi, Jocelyn Title: Reducing Drug Violence in Mexico: Options for Implementing Targeted Enforcement Summary: Between 2006 and 2012, drug-related violence in Mexico escalated to unprecedented levels. During this time, five of the top ten most violent cities in the world were found in Mexico, and over 60,000 Mexicans were killed at the hands of Violent Drug Trafficking Organizations (VDTOs). This reign of terror has expanded to include other types of violence, such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and spectacular public displays of violence. Most alarmingly, VDTO victims increasingly include ordinary citizens, journalists, law enforcement and military, and other government officials. To date, enforcement efforts in the United States (U.S.) have focused almost exclusively on reducing the flow of drugs from, and through, Mexico. Violence reduction has been a secondary concern, and has been mostly considered as a potential side-benefit of flow reduction policies. Until recently, Mexican authorities have focused their attacks on the upper leadership of major organized crime groups as a method of reducing flows, and in an effort to address threats to public safety. However, freshly elected President Enrique Pena Nieto has indicated that his administration will shift focus away from drug flows, in order to prioritize crime prevention and violence reduction. Given that both the Bush and Obama Administrations have acknowledged that the U.S. market for illegal drugs is largely responsible for fueling the Mexican drug trade, and that the U.S. has a strategic interest in Mexican security, the U.S. may have a currently-unexploited opportunity to reduce violence in Mexico. In this project, we explore whether the adoption of targeted enforcement in the Unites States could theoretically effect a reduction in violence in Mexico, and, if so, what form that strategy might take. We consider the operational and informational requirements for implementation, as well as the information a decision-maker would require in order to elect targeted enforcement as a strategy for addressing the security problem in Mexico. Targeted enforcement is novel in several respects. While it is not inconsistent with flow-reduction goals, the strategy leverages enforcement resources in the United States to effect violence reduction in Mexico. Furthermore, because it is a deterrent strategy, targeted enforcement requires authorities on both sides to clearly and publicly identify the target and communicate that violence will no longer be accepted as a method of conducting business. Finally, the target will encompass entire VDTOs, and not just individual offenders, which increases the cost of individual offending through internal organizational pressure. Keeping in mind current budgetary constraints, we develop four design options for violence-focused U.S.-side targeted enforcement. We evaluate our options with reference to the potential for crime and violence reduction, intelligence demands, implementation and political feasibility, and community impacts. Through a series of interviews with experts in the field, and an exhaustive review of secondary sources, we find that not only is U.S. adoption of targeted enforcement possible within existing frameworks, but that this approach has great potential for reducing Mexican-side violence. Our findings suggest: - First and foremost, we note that the adoption of a targeted violence-reduction approach need not conflict with current U.S. efforts to reduce drug flows; thus, there should be no cost in terms of drug abuse in the U.S. - While a short-term surge in violence is possible, attacking drug-trafficking revenues in the U.S. could incentivize VDTOs away from using violence to advance their drug-trafficking interests. Authorities would need to better understand the revenue portfolios of VDTOs in order to estimate how responsive organizations might be to attacks on revenues, and measure the cost-effectiveness of such a strategy. - Successful implementation requires sophisticated intelligence, and while there is some indication that both the U.S. and Mexico possess the capacity to gather this intelligence, this capacity would likely need to be refined and/or expanded. - The necessary administrative and enforcement infrastructures appear to be in place in the U.S., though resources would need to be reallocated, and additional funding might be necessary. - In the U.S., policies targeting drug flows are popular due to a perception that they decrease drug consumption; a shift towards violence reduction would probably require intensive outreach to educate stakeholders. In Mexico, current distrust in government would require clear and public communication about target selection and the role of Mexican authorities in U.S.-side enforcement. - Finally, a number of possible community impacts exist, and U.S. and Mexican authorities would need to establish mechanisms for collecting data and tracking trends in order to respond to negative externalities. Details: Los Angeles: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2014 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/reducing_drug_violence_mexico.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/reducing_drug_violence_mexico.pdf Shelf Number: 129923 Keywords: Criminal Networks Drug Markets Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Homicides Kidnappings Organized Crime Targeted Law Enforcement Violence Violence Prevention Violence Reduction Violent Crime

Author: Blank, Lorraine Title: Rapid Youth Assessment in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Summary: Crime and violence in Port Moresby and the National Capital District (NCD) are widespread and costly. In 2004, 68 percent of households reported that they had been victims of crime at least once in the past year and 51 percent had been victims of multiple crimes. Violence against women is pervasive, with domestic violence and rape, including gang rape, routine. By 2005, there had been small decreases in reported victimization; however, 61 percent of households still reported being victims of at least one crime and 46 percent reported being victims of multiple crimes. At the same time, costs associated with security and theft amounted to an estimated 12-15 percent of business turnover and law and order problems serve as a deterrent to investment. Young people account for the greatest share of crime and violence, so tackling the problem means addressing the underlying causes of youth crime and violence. This report provides a rapid assessment of youth and youth serving institutions in Port Moresby. The report relies on extensive consultations held in Port Moresby from July 7 - 23, 2008. Meetings were held with over 100 young people, their parents, community leaders, government officials, researchers, youth workers, leaders of youth groups and youth serving agencies, and representatives of the international non-governmental and donor agencies. Community meetings were held in three Port Moresby settlements (Savaka, Vadavada and Morata). Youth in a residential program for street boys were also consulted. The objective of this rapid assessment is to inform the design of an Urban Youth Empowerment Project by providing information on youth and youth serving initiatives. Section II examines the extent and root causes of youth unemployment and crime. High risk groups and monitoring indicators are identified. Good practices and lessons learned are presented in Section III. Section IV reports the mapping of community and civil society organizations - their programs and constraints and areas for potential partnership. Section V reviews the National Youth Commission Annual Work Plan (2008/2009) and youth programs implemented in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the last five years and ends with a review of relevant service delivery mechanisms and gap analysis" and rationale / outline of potential entry points for the Bank in certain sectors. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 4, 2014 at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPAPUANEWGUINEA/Resources/PNG_UYEP_PNG_Rapid_Youth_Assessment.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Papua New Guinea URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPAPUANEWGUINEA/Resources/PNG_UYEP_PNG_Rapid_Youth_Assessment.pdf Shelf Number: 133176 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Offenders (Papua New Guinea) Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Unemployment and Crime Violent Crime Youthful Offenders

Author: Nwalozie, Joel Chijioke Title: Armed Robbery In Nigeria - A Qualitative Study Of Young Male Robbers Summary: This is a Nigerian study, which initially aimed to examine armed robbery culture and the youth subculture. With the employment of subcultural theory, the study became intellectually unviable in explaining the primary data. A replacement was made by seeking recourse to anomie-strain theory and control theory to explain the data. Presently, the main aim of this study is to examine the involvement of youths in armed robbery. Specifically, the study will look at armed robbery from the point of view of offenders and the factors responsible for their crime. Armed robbery is a type of robbery aided by weapon(s) to threaten, force and deprive a person or persons of the right to private, public or corporate belongings. Since the end of the Nigeria civil war (1967-1970), the offence has become a problem in the country, occurring almost on a daily basis in the urban areas more than the rural. Armed robbery can take place in residential homes, commercial places, motorways and any other place the offenders may deem necessary to operate. The current criminal climate has made it possible for armed robbers to engage in interstate criminal operations as well. Methodologically, the research is qualitative, involving semi-structured face-to-face oral interviews (open-ended) with 20 armed robbers in prison custody in Nigeria. There is also an unstructured interview with 4 members of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. The analytical framework employed is interpretive phenomenology, to capture the holistic worldview of the offender sample. Secondary data comes from both the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Prison Service records. Findings are presented under four systematic themes: family circumstances, economic motivations, life course engagement, and situational dynamics in carrying out a robbery. Data reveal the four most significant factors in the hierarchy of response (bad friends, money, poverty and corruption) that may account for the involvement of youths in armed robbery. Since the group of "bad friends" is the main catalyst responsible for the involvement of youths in armed robbery, the thesis concludes that this sample of respondents be regarded as a network of criminals who were strained by the unjust social structure in their native Nigeria. Besides, there is need for a Nigerian criminological theoretical framework that offers an in-depth explanation of crime in the Nigerian society. Details: Manchester, UK: School of Law, University of Manchester, 2011. 319p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 9, 2014 at: https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:155586&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF Year: 2011 Country: Nigeria URL: https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/api/datastream?publicationPid=uk-ac-man-scw:155586&datastreamId=FULL-TEXT.PDF Shelf Number: 133188 Keywords: Armed Robbery (Nigeria) Juvenile Offenders Robbers Violent Crime Youthful Offenders

Author: Fuller, Georgina Title: Where and when: A profile of armed robbery by location Summary: Armed robbery is a diverse, heterogeneous crime shaped by the presence or absence of a wide array of characteristics. Therefore, effectively preventing armed robbery requires a good understanding of the nature of the offence. Previous attempts to understand armed robbery have focused on the offender, primarily by interviewing incarcerated offenders to gain insight into their motivations and planning. However, this approach overlooks the unique vulnerabilities associated with the victim and/or the location of the offence. In this paper, four armed robbery profiles have been constructed, based on information contained in qualitative police narratives supplied as part of the AIC's National Armed Robbery Monitoring Program. These profiles highlight the way in which the location, environment and offender interact to shape individual incidents of armed robbery in Australia and may assist to inform prevention strategies. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice, No. 479: Accessed September 11, 2014 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi479.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi479.pdf Shelf Number: 133273 Keywords: Armed Robbery Crime Analysis Location Offender Decision Making Robbery Violent Crime

Author: Pavanello, Sara Title: Survival in the City: Youth, displacement and violence in urban settings Summary: - Youth, displacement and violence in urban environments are treated as separate areas in humanitarian research, policy and practice. Despite being a key driver of vulnerability, urban violence and its humanitarian consequences are not well understood by the humanitarian community. - Displaced populations, particularly displaced youth, are often particularly exposed to urban violence. However, their needs and vulnerabilities typically go unaddressed. - Tackling the causes of violence in urban settings is a challenge that goes beyond strictly humanitarian concerns to encompass long-term development efforts. While humanitarian action is an important element of the response to urban violence it is inherently limited, and a complementary approach involving development strategies and programmes is required to tackle the root causes of this violence. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, Humanitarian Policy Group, 2012. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: HPG Policy Brief 44: Accessed September 15, 2014 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/7627.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/7627.pdf Shelf Number: 133320 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Urban Areas and Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Title: Venezuela: Dangerous Inertia Summary: The streets of Venezuela's major cities are now largely calm, following several months of violent clashes between opposition demonstrators, security forces and civilian gunmen that left more than 40 dead. The crisis, however, is not over. The opposition is demanding freedom for several dozen activists jailed during the unrest and an end to the threat of prosecution against more than 2,000. The underlying causes have not been addressed, and calls to restore autonomy and independence to the justice system and other key institutions have not been heeded. Living standards continue to decline due to economic recession; violent crime remains at record levels, and labour unrest and protests over poor-quality public services are often dealt with harshly. Greater international efforts are required to bring the sides back to the negotiating table, since the alternative to dialogue is likely to be further violence sooner or later. Talks between the government and leaders of the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) alliance, facilitated by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Vatican broke down in May 2014, when the MUD announced a "freeze" on its participation, citing repression of student protesters. The internal dissent faced by the MUD - whose executive secretary and deputy executive secretary recently resigned - and the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) has further complicated returning the parties to negotiations. The UNASUR foreign ministers charged with accompanying the process (from Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador) have not formally met with them since shortly after the talks broke down. It remains important for the international community to play a role in facilitating the political dialogue and to suggest avenues for agreement on pending tasks. The recent appointment of a new UNASUR Secretary General should provide a renewed impetus. Furthermore, this regional organisation would greatly benefit from technical and political support from the UN system, which has much greater experience of advising on public policies and legal reforms, as it did in Venezuela in 2002. This assistance might initially focus, for example, on reinforcing the capacity of UNASUR to produce analysis and policy recommendations and, at a later stage, on helping to design a credible framework for talks. Both sides, as well as Venezuelan society at large, would benefit. The opposition clearly requires an impartial observer, able to offer reassurances, while the government would benefit by bringing in credible external actors, such as UNASUR, to bolster it in some of the difficult decisions it faces. The most urgent of the pending tasks is to complete the appointment of respected, independent figures to the Supreme Court (TSJ), the electoral authority (CNE) and other constitutionally autonomous state bodies - a process that received a boost from the initial round of talks but now threatens to become bogged down. With the government's popularity suffering in the crisis, the need for autonomous institutions capable of fulfilling their constitutional roles is becoming ever more critical. As Crisis Group has argued since May, the international community - particularly UNASUR but including also the UN system - needs to: - press both sides to agree on a concise, viable timeframe and a trustworthy mechanism for appointing new members of the key rule-of-law institutions; - urge the government to release those detained for non-violent political protest; - call on the opposition to reassert and act on its commitment to resort exclusively to constitutional channels; and - redouble, through UNASUR and with the assistance of the UN system, efforts to help Venezuela move beyond its current polarisation in order to promote democracy, human rights and stability in a country still very much in crisis. Details: Caracas/Bogota/Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Briefing No. 31: Accessed September 23, 2014 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/venezuela/b031-venezuela-dangerous-inertia.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Venezuela URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/venezuela/b031-venezuela-dangerous-inertia.pdf Shelf Number: 133386 Keywords: Court System Human Rights Justice System (Venezuela) Prosecution Violent Crime

Author: Sethi, Dinesh Title: European report on preventing violence and knife crime among young people Summary: This report highlights interpersonal violence as the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability among people aged 10-29 years in the 53 countries of the WHO European Region. This burden is unequally distributed, and 9 of 10 homicide deaths in the Region occur in low- and middle-income countries. Irrespective of country income, interpersonal violence disproportionately affects young people from deprived sections of society and males, who comprise 4 of 5 homicide deaths. Numerous biological, social, cultural, economic and environmental factors interact to increase young people's risk of being involved in violence and knife-related crime. Factors that can protect against violence developing among young people include good social skills, self-esteem, academic achievement, strong bonds with parents, positive peer groups, good attachment to school, community involvement and access to social support. Good evidence indicates that reducing risk factors and enhancing protective factors will reduce violence among young people. The experience accumulated by several countries in the Region and elsewhere shows that social policy and sustained and systematic approaches that address the underlying causes of violence can make countries in the Region much safer. These make compelling arguments for advocating for increased investment in prevention and for mainstreaming objectives for preventing violence among young people into other areas of health and social policy. Details: Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2010. 117p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2014 at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/121314/E94277.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Europe URL: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/121314/E94277.pdf Shelf Number: 121192 Keywords: Homicides Interpersonal Violence Juvenile Offenders Knife Crime (Europe) Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Truman, Jennifer L. Title: Criminal Victimization, 2013 Summary: This report presents 2013 estimates of rates and levels of criminal victimization in the United States. This bulletin includes violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) and property victimization (burglary, motor vehicle theft, and property theft). It describes the annual change from 2012 and analyzes 10-year trends from 2004 through 2013. The bulletin includes estimates of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, and injury and use of weapons in violent victimization. It also describes the characteristics of victims. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. During 2013, about 90,630 households and 160,040 persons were interviewed for the NCVS. Highlights: The rate of violent crime declined slightly from 26.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 2012 to 23.2 per 1,000 in 2013. No statistically significant change was detected in the rate of serious violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) from 2012 to 2013 (7.3 per 1,000). From 2012 to 2013, no statistically significant changes occurred in the rates of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, violence resulting in an injury, or violence involving a firearm. The rate of property crime decreased from 155.8 victimizations per 1,000 households in 2012 to 131.4 per 1,000 in 2013. In 2013, 1.2% of all persons age 12 or older (3 million persons) experienced at least one violent victimization. About 0.4% (1.1 million persons) experienced at least one serious violent victimization. Details: Washington, DC: S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 27, 2014 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv13.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv13.pdf Shelf Number: 133429 Keywords: Crime Statistics Property Crime Victimization Surveys Victims of Crimes Violent Crime

Author: Florquin, Nicolas Title: Searching for Stability: Perceptions of Security, Justice, and Firearms in Libya Summary: The Issue Brief examines the Libyan population's views and experiences of armed violence, security and justice providers, and firearms circulation. It uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative tools, including semi-directed interviews, focus groups, and a nationwide household survey - administered to 1,500 Libyan households between June and August 2013 - to provide this overview of Libyan perceptions. Four main thematic components elucidate the Issue Brief's findings: (1) perceptions of security and justice; (2) perceptions of security and justice providers; (3) direct experiences of crime and violence; and (4) perceptions of firearms and arms control initiatives. The primary findings include the following: - Although Libyans consider the general lack of security to be their main concern, most also claim that their own neighbourhoods are relatively safe. Reported levels of victimization - i.e. respondents' direct experiences of crime and violence - also appear to be relatively low. Regular clashes between armed groups and tribes in a number of locations contribute to the rampant perceptions of political instability and general insecurity. - The population is confused about the security sector. More than half of survey respondents claimed that no institution, group, or individual provided security in their own neighbourhoods. While the police were the most frequently cited provider of security, Libyans assessed their performance negatively. Some actors, such as the former revolutionary fighters or thuwar, are viewed as both providers of security and sources of insecurity. - A diverse set of both formal and informal actors are involved in the successful resolution of disputes, including police, traditional leaders, family members, local councils, and non-state armed groups. - Self-reported household ownership of firearms is only moderately high in Libya when compared to the situation in several other countries and territories affected by conflict or marked insecurity. Most respondents who reported owning firearms identified them as automatic weapons, such as Kalashnikov-pattern rifles. While they expressed openness to weapons control initiatives, respondents also identified stronger government and security institutions as preconditions for their participation in such initiatives. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Accessed September 27, 2014 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/SAS-SANA-IB1-Searching-for-Stability-Libya.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Libya URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/SAS-SANA-IB1-Searching-for-Stability-Libya.pdf Shelf Number: 133451 Keywords: Firearms Gun-Related Violence Violence (Kenya) Violent Crime

Author: Blair, J. Pete Title: A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013 Summary: "A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 2013" contains a full list of the 160 incidents used in study, including those that occurred at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Fort Hood, the Aurora (Colorado) Cinemark Century 16 movie theater, the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, and the Washington Navy Yard, as well as numerous other tragic shootings. Here are some of the study's findings: - Active shooter incidents are becoming more frequent - the first seven years of the study show an average of 6.4 incidents annually, while the last seven years show 16.4 incidents annually. - These incidents resulted in a total of 1,043 casualties (486 killed, 557 wounded - excluding the shooters). - All but six of the 160 incidents involved male shooters (and only two involved more than one shooter). - More than half of the incidents - 90 shootings - ended on the shooter's initiative (i.e., suicide, fleeing), while 21 incidents ended after unarmed citizens successfully restrained the shooter. - In 21 of the 45 incidents where law enforcement had to engage the shooter to end the threat, nine officers were killed and 28 were wounded. - The largest percentage of incidents - 45.6 percent - took place in a commercial environment (73 incidents), followed by 24.3 percent that took place in an educational environment (39 incidents). The remaining incidents occurred at the other location types specified in the study - open spaces, military and other government properties, residential properties, houses of worship, and health care facilities Details: Washington, DC: Texas State University; Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, 2014. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 27, 2014 at: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013 Shelf Number: 133454 Keywords: Active Shooter Incidents Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence (U.S.) Homicides School Violence Violent Crime Workplace Violence

Author: Great Britain. National Crime Agency Title: National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2014 Summary: If there is a single cross-cutting issue that has changed the landscape for serious and organised crime and our response against it, it is the growth in scale and speed of internet communication technologies. The online streaming of real-time child sexual exploitation and abuse is a growing threat. Cyber techniques have proliferated and are used ever more extensively by wider serious and organised crime groups to commit 'traditional' crimes (see Section 1: Cross-cutting issues for cyber-enabled crime). As more government services go online, including tax collection, there is an increasing risk of online attacks and fraud against the public sector. Large scale attacks on public as well as private online services erode consumer confidence, which affects the UK's social and economic well-being and reduces the attractiveness of the UK as a place to do business. 84% of all cases of identity fraud are delivered by the internet. The pace of development of deployable criminal tools is such that we anticipate an increase in the targeted compromise of UK networked systems, more ransom-ware attacks and distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks against business-critical systems. Corruption is another key cross-cutting issue, the impact of which is disproportionate to the level and frequency at which it occurs, with serious ramifications in terms of confidence towards the public and private sectors and in undermining trust in government. Proceeds of corruption and bribery amounting to millions of pounds from some international politically exposed persons (PEPs) have been laundered through UK financial systems including banks and investment property. The scale of the laundering of criminal proceeds, despite the UK's leading role in developing international standards to tackle it, is a strategic threat to the UK's economy and reputation. Some of the same financial transfer systems used by serious and organised criminals in the UK are also used by terrorist groups both domestically and overseas. The UK and its dependent territories are believed to have been the destination for billions of pounds of European criminal proceeds. We assess that the supply of heroin from Afghanistan, amphetamine processing/production in the UK and the supply of new psychoactive substances are all likely to increase, and that the supply of cocaine from South America is likely to remain at a high rate. The impact of the illegal drugs trade in the countries where they are sourced and those through which they are trafficked can be significant and undermines states and government structures. In some cases it has the potential to damage UK strategic partnerships. Human trafficking is widely recognised as a significant global problem. Work to scope the extent of criminality behind the trafficking of human beings continues in order to improve the understanding of modern slavery. We assess that irregular migrants already in the UK will continue to provide a pool of people that serious and organised criminals can exploit by selling them forged or counterfeit documents to support fraudulent applications for leave to remain in the UK. We also assess that criminal exploitation of the legitimate supply of firearms to the UK marketplace will increase. There is also a concern that weapons, whether from illegal or legitimate sources, might find their way into the hands of extremists. All of the most serious crime threats are transnational. Commodities of all types - including, for example, trafficked people destined for modern slavery, intangibles targeted in fraud and cyber crime - either come from or transit through often unstable countries. Corruption in these countries both feeds off the proceeds of the crime and contributes in turn to instability. The criminal exploitation of corrupt and unstable governments or countries can directly threaten UK national security. Details: London: National Crime Agency, 2014. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2014 at: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/207-nca-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime/file Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/207-nca-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime/file Shelf Number: 133466 Keywords: Child Sexual Exploitation Cybercrime Drug Trafficking Human Trafficking Illegal Drugs Illegal Guns National Security Online Victimization Organized Crime (U.K.) Violent Crime

Author: Maryland. Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention Title: Evaluation of the Maryland Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI): 2013 Summary: In 2007, under the direction of Governor Martin O'Malley, the Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI) was launched in Maryland. Developed and implemented by the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, now known as Community Supervision, the goal of VPI was to identify, and closely monitor the state's most dangerous supervisees. In 2010, Dr. James F. Austin from the JFA Institute completed a preliminary evaluation of VPI while analyzing specific data regarding the VPI population. Expanding on these preliminary findings, GOCCP conducted a study with additional research to determine if VPI was truly accomplishing its goals by lowering recidivism among a violent subgroup of offenders, and providing swift and certain punishment to violent offenders who violated the terms of their community supervision. This current study used a quasi-experimental design to analyze two groups of offenders. The control group consisted of paroled offenders who were assigned to Maryland's intensive community supervision program for the three years prior to the implementation of VPI in 2007. The experimental group consisted of paroled offenders who were assigned to Maryland's Violence Prevention Initiative from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008. Criminal and technical violation data was collected on both cohorts for a period of three years from their assignment to their respective supervision. Results indicated that the 2004 control group had a statistically significantly higher mean number of arrests while under original supervision, violent arrests while under original supervision, arrests 3 years after the start of supervision, and violent arrests 3 years after the start of supervision than the VPI group. In addition, offenders in the 2008 group were violated, served warrants, and apprehended swifter than offenders in the 2004 group. Finally, offenders in the VPI group were more likely to have their supervision revoked for a new offense, a violent new offense, and a technical violation when compared to the 2004 sample. An analysis of the substance treatment aspect of VPI yielded inconclusive results due to limitations in data collection. Overall, evidence supports the theory that when compared to the intensive supervision program in place prior to VPI, the Violence Prevention Initiative aids in the reduction of crime, and administers swift and certain sanctions when supervision is violated. Details: Towson, MD: Maryland Statistical Analysis Center (MSAC) Governor�s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, 2014. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 1, 2014 at: http://www.jrsa.org/sac-spotlight/maryland/vpi-eval.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.jrsa.org/sac-spotlight/maryland/vpi-eval.pdf Shelf Number: 133528 Keywords: Crime Prevention Intensive Supervision Parole Supervision Parolees Violence Prevention (Maryland) Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Enamorado, Ted Title: Crime and Growth Convergence: Evidence from Mexico Summary: Scholars have often argued that crime deters growth, but the empirical literature assessing such effect is scarce. By exploiting cross-municipality income and crime data for Mexico - a country that experienced a high increase in crime rates over the past decade - this study circumvents two of the most common problems faced by researchers in this area. These are: (i) the lack of a homogenous, consistently comparable measure of crime and (ii) the small sample problem in the estimation. Combining income data from poverty maps, administrative records on crime and violence, and public expenditures data at the municipal level for Mexico (2005-2010), the analysis finds evidence indicating that drug-related crimes indeed deter growth. It also finds no evidence of a negative effect on growth from crimes unrelated to drug trafficking. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit, 2013. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper No. 6730: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-9450-6730 Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-9450-6730 Shelf Number: 133906 Keywords: Crime Rates (Mexico) Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Economic Analysis Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Svoboda, Eva Title: The search for common ground: Police, protection and coordination in Timor-Leste Summary: Despite only recently celebrating its tenth anniversary as an independent nation, Timor-Leste has had an extensive experience of international engagement, with two military interventions and five UN missions over the course of less than 13 years. This study examines the evolution of policing in UN missions in Timor-Leste between 1999 and 2012, highlighting their impact on the development of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the PNTL's relationship with the Timorese military, the Timor-Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL). The report focuses particularly on the violence that flared up in the country in April-June 2006, and examines the coordination mechanisms and actors involved in the response. Key findings: - Improvements are needed if international and national police in transitional settings are to provide an effective and reliable service for people affected by violence and crime. - Fragmentation, lack of clarity and language issues undermined the performance of UN police as well as the development of the PNTL throughout the 13 years of international missions. - The failure to take into account the legacy of the liberation struggle, and the prestige veterans of that struggle hold within Timorese society, hampered efforts to promote the independence and integrity of the PTNL. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, Humanitarian Policy Group, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: HPG Working Paper: Accessed October 9, 2014 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/8783.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Asia URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/8783.pdf Shelf Number: 133621 Keywords: Police Performance Policing (Timor-Leste) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Carvajal, Roger A. Title: Violence in Honduras: An Analysis of the Failure in Public Security and the State's Response to Criminality Summary: The incidence of violence in Honduras currently is the highest in Honduran history. In 2014, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported the Honduras homicide rate, at 90.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, as the highest in the world for nations outside of war. It is the foundation of this thesis that the Honduran security collapse is due to unresolved internal factors - political, economic, and societal - as well as the influence of foreign factors and actors - the evolution of the global illicit trade. Two of the most important areas affecting public security in Honduras are the challenges posed by transnational organized crime and the relative weakness and fragility of the Honduran state to provide basic needs and security to the population. The emergence of criminal gangs and drug traffickers, and the government's security policies, are all factors that have worsened public security. The crime environment has overwhelmed the police, military, judicial system and overcrowded the prison system with mostly juvenile petty delinquents. Moreover, with a high impunity rate of nearly 95 percent for homicides, killing in Honduras has become an activity without consequences. The latest state's response is with re-militarization of security, highlighting the dilemma of the challenges of combatting internal violence and transnational organized crime in a weak state. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014. 111p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed October 10, 2014 at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/42596/14Jun_Carvajal_Roger.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2014 Country: Honduras URL: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/42596/14Jun_Carvajal_Roger.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 133901 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Organized Crime Violence (Honduras) Violent Crime

Author: Donges, Hannah Title: Women and Gun Ownership Summary: Policy and research on the role of firearms in women's lives usually stress women as victims of gun violence. Around the world, firearms are used in roughly 40 per cent of the estimated 66,000 annual homicides with female victims. Guns are even more commonly used to injure, intimidate, and coerce women (Alvazzi del Frate, 2011, pp. 117, 131-32). Although women own and use guns, or live in households where firearms are present, firearms policy and research tend to focus on the role of and effects on men, who are the majority of firearm owners worldwide (Alvazzi del Frate and McDonald, 2014, p. 2). While relevant data is scarce, it reveals a substantial gap between male and female civilian firearm owners and users. As shown in this Research Note, women account for a smaller proportion of gun owners than men, and they are not as aware of or not as willing to acknowledge the presence of firearms in homes and communities. Bridging this gender gap will help shed light on perceptions of and attitudes towards firearms, which could help to inform the agenda for women, peace, and security as well as the development of comprehensive and efficient safety policies. By showing what can be said with relative certainty, this Research Note establishes a baseline for systematic analysis and careful policy-making. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2014. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Notes, No. 45: Accessed October 22, 2014 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-45.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Europe URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-45.pdf Shelf Number: 133788 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Ownersehip Gun Policies Gun Violence Guns Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Violence Policy Center Title: Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2012 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24 Summary: Homicide is the second leading cause of death for California youth and young adults ages 10 to 24 years old. In 2011, the most recent year for which complete data is available from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), homicides in California were outpaced only by unintentional injuries-the majority of which were motor vehicle fatalities-as the leading cause of death for this age group. Of the 633 homicides reported, 83 percent were committed with firearms. Nationally in 2011, California had the 15th highest homicide rate for youth and young adults ages 10 to 24. Broken out by gender, homicide retains its number-two ranking for males and drops to number four for females for this age group in California. For males, of the 581 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 84 percent of the killings. For females, of the 52 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 67 percent of the killings. When analyzed by race and ethnicity, however, the rankings become less uniform and the severe effects of homicide on specific segments of this age group increasingly stark. For blacks ages 10 to 24 in California in 2011, homicide was the leading cause of death. For Hispanics it was the second leading cause of death. For Asian/Pacific Islanders it was the third leading cause of death. For whites it was the fourth leading cause of death, and for American Indian and Alaska Natives it was the fifth leading cause of death. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2014. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 23, 2014 at: https://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2014.pdf Shelf Number: 133806 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gang Violence Homicides (California) Murders Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Sutherland, Rachel Title: Motivations and substance use amongst property and violent offenders: Findings from the 2008 & 2013 Illicit Drug Reporting System Summary: Key findings - The prevalence of property crime remained stable across 2008 & 2013, with 18% of PWID reporting that they had committed a property offence in the month preceding interview. Violent crime remained low and stable at 4% and 3% respectively. - In both 2008 and 2013, the majority of property offenders reported being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol the last time they committed an offence (73% and 71% respectively). - In 2008, the largest proportion of drug-affected property offenders reported being under the influence of heroin (32%) and benzodiazepines (31%). Similarly, in 2013, they largely reported being under the influence of benzodiazepines (29%). - Property offenders most commonly reported that they had committed their last offence for financial reasons. - Amongst those who had committed a violent offence, almost three-quarters reported that they were under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol (73% respectively). - In 2008, the largest proportion of violent offenders reported being under the influence of alcohol (36%), followed by methamphetamine (29%). Similarly, in 2013, the largest proportion of violent offenders reported being under the influence of alcohol and heroin equally (32% respectively). - The largest proportion of violent offenders reported committing their last violent offence for 'opportunistic' reasons. Details: Sydney: National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, 2014. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Trends Bulletin: Accessed November 12, 2014 at: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/IDRSJuly2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/ndarc/resources/IDRSJuly2014.pdf Shelf Number: 134056 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Crime Statistics Drug Abuse and Crime (Australia) Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: Changing the Game or Dropping the Ball? Mexico's Security and Anti-Crime Strategy under President Enrique Pena Nieto Summary: ANALYSIS - Even as the administration of Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto has scored important reform successes in the economic sphere, its security and law enforcement policy toward organized crime remains incomplete and ill-defined. Preoccupied with the fighting among vicious drug trafficking groups and the rise of anti-crime vigilante militias in the center of Mexico, the administration has for the most part averted its eyes from the previously highly-violent criminal hotspots in the north where major law enforcement challenges remain. - The Pena Nieto administration thus mostly continues to put out immediate security fires - such as in Michoacan and Tamaulipas - but the overall deterrence capacity of Mexico's military and law enforcement forces and justice sector continue to be very limited and largely unable to deter violence escalation and reescalation. - Identifying the need to reduce violence in Mexico as the most important priority for its security policy was the right decision of the Pena Nieto administration. But despite the capture of Mexico's most notorious drug trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, much of the security policy reform momentum that surrounded the Pena Nieto administration at the outset of its six-year term has prematurely dissipated. Key pillars of the policy are plodding along meekly, including the national gendarmerie, the new intelligence supercenter, and the mando unico. The October 2013 deadline to vet all police units for corruption and links to organized crime was missed once again and extended until October 2014. As with many institutional reforms in Mexico, there is large regional variation in the quality and even design of the reforms being implemented. At least, however, the Mexican Congress, overall a weak player in setting and overseeing anti-crime policy in Mexico, approved a new criminal code in the spring of 2014. The so-called National Code of Penal Procedure (Codigo Nacional de Procedimientos Penales) will be critical in establishing uniform application of criminal law across Mexico's thirty-one states and the Federal District, and standardizing procedures regarding investigations, trials, and punishment. - Instead of pushing ahead with institutional reforms, the Pena Nieto administration has highlighted poor coordination among national security agencies and local and national government units as a crucial cause of the rise of violent crime in Mexico. It has thus defined improving coordination as a key aspect of its anti-crime approach. - Despite its rhetoric and early ambitions, the Pena Nieto administration fell straight back not only into relying on the Mexican military in combination with the Federal Police to cope with criminal violence, but also doing so belatedly and with an essentially analogous lack of planning and prepositioning, and with essentially the same operational design as the previous Felipe Calderon administration. - Although homicides, including those perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), have decreased in Mexico, the drop did not reach the 50% reduction in the first six months in office that the Pena Nieto administration had promised. Moreover, in various parts of Mexico, the violence reduction cannot be necessarily attributed to government policies, but rather is the outcome of new balances of power being established among criminal groups in previously highly contested hotspots. Many of these balances of power among the DTOs had emerged already in the last years of the Felipe Calderon administration. In these areas of newly established criminal control and deterrence, even kidnapping and extortion might be leveling off and becoming more predictable, even as they are overall on the rise in Mexico. - In its security and law enforcement efforts, the Pena Nieto administration has largely slipped into many of the same policies of President Felipe Calderon. In particular, the current administration has adopted the same non-strategic high-value targeting that defined the previous administration. Perhaps with the exception of targeting the Zetas and Los Caballeros Templarios, this interdiction posture mostly continues to be undertaken on a non-strategic basis as opportunistic intelligence becomes available and without forethought, planning, and prepositioning to avoid new dangerous cycles of violence and renewed contestation among local drug trafficking groups. This development is partially the outcome of institutional inertia in the absence of an alternative strategy, and of operational simplicity, compared to, for example, a more effective but also more demanding policy of middle-level targeting. - Importantly, the Pena Nieto administration has sought to pay greater attention to and respect for human rights issues, such as by allowing civilian claims of human rights violations by Mexico's military forces to be tried in civilian courts and establishing a victims' compensation fund. But the efforts to increase rule of law, justice, and the protection of human rights and to reduce impunity and corruption remain very much a work in progress, with the government's resolve, policies, and outcomes varying widely among Mexico's states. - The Pena Nieto administration's focus on socio-economic anti-crime policies and other crime prevention measures is highly laudable. But its signature anti-crime socio-economic approach - the so-called poligonos program - has not been well-operationalized and is not integrated with law enforcement efforts. The discreet efforts remain scattered. The theory, implementation, and monitoring parameters of the national crime prevention strategy are not yet adequately worked out. These deficiencies undermine the program's effectiveness and risk dissipating the dedicated yet relatively small resources allocated to the effort as well as the effort's energy. Monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of socio-economic anti-crime efforts, including the poligonos approach, is particularly weak and nebulous. Details: Washington, DC: Latin American Initiative, Foreign Policy at Brookings, 2014. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2014 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/11/mexico%20security%20anti%20crime%20nieto%20felbabbrown/mexico%20security%20anti%20crime%20nieto%20v1%20felbabbrown.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2014/11/mexico%20security%20anti%20crime%20nieto%20felbabbrown/mexico%20security%20anti%20crime%20nieto%20v1%20felbabbrown.pdf Shelf Number: 134070 Keywords: Criminal Justice Policy Criminal Networks Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Kidnapping Organized Crime Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: Harrell, Erika Title: Household Poverty and Nonfatal Violent Victimization, 2008-2012 Summary: This report presents findings from 2008 to 2012 on the relationship between households that were above or below the federal poverty level and nonfatal violent victimization, including rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. This report examines the violent victimization experiences of persons living in households at various levels of poverty, focusing on type of violence, victim's race or Hispanic origin, and location of residence. It also examines the percentage of violent victimizations reported to the police by poverty level. Data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. During 2012, about 92,390 households and 162,940 persons were interviewed for the NCVS. Highlights: For the period 2008-12 - Persons in poor households at or below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) (39.8 per 1,000) had more than double the rate of violent victimization as persons in high-income households (16.9 per 1,000). Persons in poor households had a higher rate of violence involving a firearm (3.5 per 1,000) compared to persons above the FPL (0.8-2.5 per 1,000). The overall pattern of poor persons having the highest rates of violent victimization was consistent for both whites and blacks. However, the rate of violent victimization for Hispanics did not vary across poverty levels. Poor Hispanics (25.3 per 1,000) had lower rates of violence compared to poor whites (46.4 per 1,000) and poor blacks (43.4 per 1,000). Poor persons living in urban areas (43.9 per 1,000) had violent victimization rates similar to poor persons living in rural areas (38.8 per 1,000). Poor urban blacks (51.3 per 1,000) had rates of violence similar to poor urban whites (56.4 per 1,000). Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2014 at: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5137 Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5137 Shelf Number: 134167 Keywords: Crime Statistics Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Victimization Surveys (U.S.) Violent Crime

Author: Perez, Maria Fernanda Tourinho Title: Firearm-related violence in Brazil Summary: This report provides a summary of the major findings and conclusions of a research effort to create a comprehensive profile of firearm-related violence in Brazil. The research was undertaken and coordinated by the Centre for the Study of Violence at the University of Sao Paulo, and received technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Small Arms Survey (SAS). The WHO has drawn attention to the fact that violence is a major global public health problem through a variety of World Health Assembly resolutions and comprehensive reports such as the World report on violence and health. The statement that violence is a public health problem may not, at first view, be easily understandable. In Brazil, as in many other countries around the world, violence is traditionally approached almost exclusively as a public security problem, with major responses focused on police action and judicial mechanisms. However, this view is beginning to change, and there is increasing recognition of the role of the public health sector and perspective in preventing violence. A public health approach to violence promotes analysis of the distribution of violence and it's determinants, and advocates drawing from this analysis coherent preventive strategies which involve a variety of sectors, including the health sector. This does not mean that violence should be viewed only as a health problem, but that it is important to consider the effects of violence on public health and the potential contributions for preventing violence that can be made through the public health sector. In sum, a public health approach to violence advocates understanding violence through the study of its social determinants, knowing its frequency and distribution in population groups, identifying its risk factors, proposing preventive measures and evaluating and monitoring preventive actions. Thus, far from viewing violence only as a health problem, the public health approach argues that violence must be understood in terms of it's distribution and determinants, and that from understanding these complexities societies can engage in preventive measures. This is neither an easy task, nor is it the task of a single sector. Violence is a social problem with public health, development and security dimensions, and rising to meet this challenge will require the combined and coherent efforts of a broad variety of sectors - both governmental and non-governmental. While there have been a number of studies addressing violence within Brazil, particularly since the late 1980's, the specific issue of firearm-related violence has not always been addressed. Over and above this, many academic studies have tended to circulate mainly within academic networks, with relatively little impact on policy-making or practitioners of violence prevention. The purpose of this publication is to provide a means for the broad dissemination of the summary results of an extensive research undertaking regarding firearm-related violence in Brazil, and in particular to underline the policy-oriented relevance of this work. We hope to contribute to the public debate, as well as towards the formulation of new proposals for such a serious problem in the country. Preventing firearm-related violence will require multi-sectoral approaches. The WHO's World report on violence and health rightly draws attention to the fact that no single factor is responsible for any form of violence. Firearm-related violence, like all other forms of violence, arises from a complex interaction of determinants that can be situated at the level of the individual, their relationships, the community, and society. Multi-sectoral and integrated preventive measures that include structural measures to reduce inequity are essential. Furthermore, the reduction of impunity, reforms within police, judicial and penitentiary systems are all necessary to reduce perceived insecurity within the Brazilian population, particularly since perceived insecurity is the fundamental driver of demand for firearms. Ample evidence indicates that ready access to firearms dramatically increases the lethality of violent encounters, thereby augmenting feelings of fear and insecurity. As a result the demand for firearms fuels increasing insecurity, which fuels further demand for firearms and so on and so forth. The pages of this report demonstrate clearly that firearm-related violence has become an everyday fact of life within Brazilian society, and that this tragedy is experienced most acutely by Brazil's urban youth. Illicit trafficking in drugs and firearms, limited opportunities and perspectives on life for the young population, combined with a social context characterized by unemployment and huge socioeconomic disparities, all contribute to the strikingly high levels of firearm-related violence among Brazil's urban youth. It is beyond the scope of this work to answer all questions about armed violence in Brazil, and this has not been our intent. Our intent has been - through the presentation of a comprehensive profile of firearm-related violence within the country - to contribute to the recognition of the scale and characteristics of this problem, and to advance the case that a broad grouping of sectors within Brazil need to move forward in developing coherent solutions to the problem of firearm-related violence. Details: Sao Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo, 2004. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2014 at: http://www.nevusp.org/downloads/down131.pdf Year: 2004 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.nevusp.org/downloads/down131.pdf Shelf Number: 134182 Keywords: Firearms Gun Violence (Brazil) Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Kollmann, Stephanie Title: Combating Gun Violence in Illinois: Evidence-Based Solutions Summary: Although we are all deeply disturbed by gun violence - each death is another tragedy and a call for action - our responses must be smart, strategic and grounded in evidence-based solutions. The evidence indicates, repeatedly, that mandatory minimum sentences will not reduce gun violence. On the contrary, such restrictions are not only costly, but also counterproductive. But there is good news: other approaches to reducing gun violence show great promise. Conducted outside of the criminal court process - in the real world, where effects are more concrete and immediate - these approaches have been proven to reduce risky behavior and violence, with significantly less damage to our justice and corrections systems as well as our social fabric. Together with targeted enforcement of existing Illinois laws that provide for harsh gun sentences where appropriate, these initiatives offer real solutions to gun violence. Details: Chicago: Northwestern School of Law, Bluhm Legal Clinic, 2013. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 26, 2014 at: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/cfjc/documents/Gun%20Violence%20Memo%20-%20Final.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/cfjc/documents/Gun%20Violence%20Memo%20-%20Final.pdf Shelf Number: 134259 Keywords: Evidence-Based Policies Gun Violence (Illinois) Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Berk-Seligson, Susan Title: Impact Evaluation of USAID's Community-Based Crime and Violence Prevention Approach in Central America: Regional Report for El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama Summary: The countries of Central America - especially "the Northern Triangle" of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras - are among the most criminally violent nations in the world. As part of the U.S. Government's (USG) Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has designed and implemented a set of programs to improve citizen security in Central America by strengthening community capacity to combat crime and by creating educational and employment opportunities for at-risk youth. USAID's crime prevention work has been implemented through its field Missions in five countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. USAID/Washington, via its Cooperative Agreement with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University, asked LAPOP to design and carry out an impact evaluation of the crime prevention interventions under CARSI in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama. This evaluation is part of a broader effort to determine the effectiveness of community-based crime prevention, in contrast to the traditionally more common law enforcement, or mano dura ("iron fist"), approach to addressing the widespread crime and violence permeating Central America. The crime prevention approach attempts to address the root causes of crime, rather than deal with crime after it has become endemic. This multi-method, multi-country, multi-year evaluation was designed to contribute to an understanding of the effectiveness of USAID's community-based crime and violence prevention approach. This package of interventions - that is, the "treatment" in this impact evaluation - includes activities such as planning by municipal-level committees; crime observatories and data collection; crime prevention through environmental design (such as improved street lighting, graffiti removal, cleaned up public spaces); programs for at-risk youth (such as outreach centers, workforce development, mentorships); and community policing. USAID's community-based crime prevention projects are inherently cross-sectoral. That is, they integrate education and workforce development, economic growth and employment, public health, and governance interventions. This scientifically rigorous impact evaluation is based on recommendations found in the comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council 2008). It presents a summary of the main findings for the region as a whole. For each of the four focus countries, a more extensive, detailed country-level report has been prepared and is available online at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/ carsi-study.php. Details: Nashville, TN: The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), Vanderbilt University, 2014. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 8, 2014 at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/Regional_Report_v12c_final_W_111914.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Central America URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/Regional_Report_v12c_final_W_111914.pdf Shelf Number: 134288 Keywords: Community-Based Programs Crime Prevention Programs Interventions Situational Crime Prevention Violence (Central America) Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Weatherburn, Don Title: Young but not so restless: Trends in the age-specific rate of offending Summary: Aim: To describe and discuss trends in age-specific rates of offending for property crime, robbery and serious assault. Method: Descriptive statistics and graphical displays. Results: The number of people apprehended by police for property crime and robbery has fallen sharply since around 2001 and is much lower now than it was 15 years ago. The decline has been most pronounced among adolescent and young adult offenders (aged 15-20 years). The rate at which people in this age group were apprehended for robbery first rose and fell between 1995 and 2004 and then rose and fell (again) between 2005 and 2012. The rate at which 21-24 year olds were apprehended for robbery declined between 1999 and 2012. A similar but less pronounced pattern is seen for 25-29 year olds. The rate at which people were apprehended for serious assault remained fairly stable for all age groups up until around 2003. Thereafter the rate rose rapidly for 15-20 year olds, peaking at around 2008 and then falling from 2009 to 2012. The rate at which older age groups have been apprehended by police for assault remained fairly steady since 1999 but over the last three years has slowly declined. Conclusion: It is impossible to be certain but there is good reason to expect a continuation of the downward trend in rates of property crime and robbery in NSW. The future course of trends in serious assault will likely depend on whether the current fall in alcohol misuse by young people continues. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Paper No. 98: Accessed December 9, 2014 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l4/bb98.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/bocsar/m716854l4/bb98.pdf Shelf Number: 134292 Keywords: Assaults Crime Trends Motor Vehicle Theft Property Crimes (Australia) Robbery Violent Crime

Author: World Health Organization Title: Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014 Summary: Despite indications that homicide rates decreased by 16% globally between 2000 and 2012, violence remains widespread. Released today, the "Global status report on violence prevention 2014" reveals that 475 000 people were murdered in 2012. Homicide is the third leading cause of death globally for males aged 15-44 years. These facts highlight the importance of creating more decisive action to prevent violence. Jointly published today by WHO, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the report indicates that: only one third of the 133 countries surveyed are implementing large-scale initiatives to prevent violence, such as bullying prevention programmes, visits by nurses to families at risk, and support to those who care for older people; just over half the countries are fully enforcing a set of 12 laws generally acknowledged to prevent violence, although 80% of countries have enacted them; only half of all countries have services in place to protect and support victims of violence The "Global status report on violence prevention 2014" is the first report of its kind to assess national efforts to address interpersonal violence, namely child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner and sexual violence, and elder abuse. Individual country profiles reflect the extent to which key violence prevention programmes and laws and selected services for victims of violence are being implemented. Details: Geneva, SWIT: WHO, 2014. 292p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 10, 2014 at: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/status_report/2014/en/ Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/status_report/2014/en/ Shelf Number: 134305 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Elder Abuse Homicides Interpersonal Violence Sexual Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: Tackling Youth Knife Crime: Practical Advice for Police Summary: The Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP) was developed by the Home Office, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders including local government, police forces, community groups and practitioners in affected local areas. TKAP will sustain and build on existing cross-government and community work; this includes the lessons learned and success achieved by the Tackling Gangs Action Programme and Youth Crime Action Plan (YCAP) to reduce the number of teenagers killed or seriously wounded and increase public confidence that our streets are safe. The first phase of TKAP was launched by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary on 5 June 2008. In the first nine months we focused nearly $7 million of resources on rapid, concentrated work to tackle teenage knife crime in 14 areas of the country. In March 2009 TKAP was extended for a further year, with an extra $5 million to tackle knife crime and increase targeted police action to tackle the minority of young people who commit serious violence, regardless of the weapon involved. TKAP has been extended to include 13- to 24-year-olds (previously 13- to 19-year-olds), and to a further two forces, taking the total to 16 forces. This work runs alongside the Youth Crime Action Plan. The guide will help police to engage with key partners including: - the local community; - Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) and Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs); - children's services, schools, colleges and Safer School Partnerships; - health services; and - trading standards. This guide will help you to: - share and use available data effectively; - identify an emerging knife-carrying population/knife crime problem; - identify the range of partners you should work with in your area; and - consider options for tackling the problem (including prevention-based, targeted work with at-risk individuals, risk assessment, mediation, enforcement and community reassurance). The nature and extent of knife crime varies across England and Wales, so the approaches discussed in this guide are not prescriptive. The guide reflects learning from around the country and is designed to be used as a starting point for developing strategies to address your local issues. Details: London: Home Office, 2009. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 21, 2015 at: http://www.knifecrimes.org/youth087a.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.knifecrimes.org/youth087a.pdf Shelf Number: 134426 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Gang Violence Knife Crime (U.K.) Violent Crime Weapons Youth Gangs

Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada Summary: 1. This report addresses the situation of missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia, Canada. It analyzes the context in which indigenous women have gone missing and been murdered over the past several years and the response to this human rights issue by the Canadian State. The report offers recommendations geared towards assisting the State in strengthening its efforts to protect and guarantee indigenous women's rights. 2. Indigenous women and girls in Canada have been murdered or have gone missing at a rate four times higher than the rate of representation of indigenous women in the Canadian population which is 4.3%. The most comprehensive numbers available were collected by the non-profit organization Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) through an initiative financed by the governmental entity Status of Women Canada. As of March 31, 2010, NWAC has gathered information regarding 582 cases of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls across the country from the past 30 years. Civil society organizations have long claimed that the number could be much higher, and new research indicates that over 1000 indigenous women could be missing or dead across Canada. Although high numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada have been identified at both the national and international levels, there are no trustworthy statistics that could assist in reaching a fuller understanding of this problem. The Government itself recognizes that Canada's official statistics do not provide accurate information regarding the true numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women. In addition, there is no reliable source of disaggregated data on violence against indigenous women and girls because police across Canada do not consistently report or record whether or not the victims of violent crime are indigenous. 3. As the report explains, the numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women are particularly concerning when considered in light of the fact that indigenous people represent a small percentage of the total population of Canada. Although the information received by the Commission indicates that this could be a nationwide phenomenon, this report is focused on the situation in British Columbia, because the number of missing and murdered indigenous women is higher there in absolute terms than any other province or territory in Canada. 4. British Columbia accounts for 160 cases, 28% of NWAC's total database of 582 and is followed by Alberta with 93 cases, 16% of the total. The high numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia are concentrated in two different areas of the province: Prince George, in the northern part of the province; and the Downtown East Side, an area of downtown Vancouver, the largest city and metropolitan area in the province. 5. The disappearances and murders of indigenous women in Canada are part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women in the country. Various official and civil society reports demonstrate that indigenous women are victims of higher rates of violence committed by strangers and acquaintances than non-indigenous women. During the IACHR visit the Canadian government indicated that indigenous women are significantly over-represented as victims of homicide and are also three times more likely to be victims of violence than non-indigenous women. Also, indigenous women suffer more frequently from more severe forms of domestic violence than non-indigenous women. 6. According to the information received, the police have failed to adequately prevent and protect indigenous women and girls from killings and disappearances, extreme forms of violence, and have failed to diligently and promptly investigate these acts. Family members of missing and murdered indigenous women have described dismissive attitudes from police officers working on their cases, a lack of adequate resources allocated to those cases, and a lengthy failure to investigate and recognize a pattern of violence. Also, the existence of multiple policing jurisdictions in British Columbia resulted in confusion between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Vancouver Police Department regarding responsibility for investigation. This situation in turn has perpetuated the violence; as the failure to ensure that there are consequences for these crimes has given rise to both real and perceived impunity. The kinds of irregularities and deficiencies that have been denounced and documented include: poor report taking and follow up on reports of missing women; inadequate proactive strategies to prevent further harm to women in the Downtown Eastside; failure to consider and properly pursue all investigative strategies; failure to address cross-jurisdictional issues; ineffective coordination between police; and insensitive treatment of families. 7. Canadian authorities and civil society organizations largely agree on the root causes of these high levels of violence against indigenous women and the existing vulnerabilities that make indigenous women more susceptible to violence. These root causes are related to a history of discrimination beginning with colonization and continuing through inadequate and unjust laws and policies such as the Indian Act and forced enrolment in residential schools that continue to affect them. In this regard, the collection of laws determining Aboriginal status established in the Indian Act restricted the freedom of women who identified themselves as indigenous to be recognized as such. Additionally, the residential schools program separated indigenous children from their families, communities, and cultural heritage. 8. As a consequence of this historical discrimination, the IACHR understands that indigenous women and girls constitute one of the most disadvantaged groups in Canada. Poverty, inadequate housing, economic and social relegation, among other factors, contribute to their increased vulnerability to violence. In addition, prevalent attitudes of discrimination - mainly relating to gender and race - and the longstanding stereotypes to which they have been subjected, exacerbate their vulnerability. 9. The OAS Charter and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man constitute sources of legal obligation for OAS Member states including Canada. The organs of the international and regional human rights systems for the protection of human rights have developed jurisprudence that recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples as well as the obligation to guarantee women's rights, both of which encompass rights to equality, nondiscrimination and non- violence. In this regard, international and regional human rights systems have developed a set of principles when applying the due diligence standards in cases of violence against women, as well as particular standards in relation to missing women. 10. International and regional systems have also emphasized that a State's failure to act with due diligence with respect to cases of violence against women is a form of discrimination. The lack of due diligence in cases of violence against indigenous women is especially grave as it affects not only the victims, but also their families and the communities to which they belong. In addition, given the strong connection between the greater risks for violence that indigenous women confront and the social and economic inequalities they face, when applying the due diligence standard, States must implement specific measures to address the social and economic disparities that affect them. 11. The IACHR stresses that addressing violence against indigenous women is not sufficient unless the underlying factors of racial and gender discrimination that originate and exacerbate the violence are also comprehensively addressed. A comprehensive holistic approach applied to violence against indigenous women means addressing the past and present institutional and structural inequalities confronted by these women. Elements that must be addressed include the dispossession of their land, as well as historical laws and policies that have negatively affected indigenous women, put them in an unequal situation, and prevented their full enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Details: Washington, DC: Organization of American States, 2014. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 21, 2015 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Indigenous-Women-BC-Canada-en.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Indigenous-Women-BC-Canada-en.pdf Shelf Number: 134433 Keywords: Gender-Based Violence Homicides Indigenous Peoples (Canada) Missing Persons Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Cotter, Adam Title: Homicide in Canada, 2013 Summary: Homicide continues to be a relatively rare event in Canada, accounting for about 0.1% of all police-reported violent crime and about 0.2% of all annual deaths. In a given year in Canada, there are about 4 times more deaths from motor vehicle accidents and about 7 times more deaths from suicide than there are deaths from homicide. While rare, homicide is the most serious criminal offence in Canada and can have devastating consequences for families, communities, and society more broadly. Homicides also require considerable police and criminal justice resources and, due to their visibility, can contribute to the public's perception of safety (Romer et al. 2003). Since 1961, police services have been reporting detailed information on homicides in Canada through Statistics Canada's Homicide Survey. In 1974, the survey was expanded to include manslaughter and infanticide. Using data from the Homicide Survey, this Juristat explores the characteristics of homicide incidents, victims, and accused persons in 2013 and compares these findings to short- and long-term trends. Details: Ottawa: Minister of Industry, 2014. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Juristat vol. 34(1): Accessed January 22, 2015 at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2014001/article/14108-eng.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2014001/article/14108-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 134439 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides (Canada) Murders Violent Crime

Author: Bradham, Douglas D. Title: Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: Benefit-to-Cost Analysis of Springfield and Boston Sites Summary: This Benefit to Cost Analysis was conducted as a preliminary investigation into the value of the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) implemented in Massachusetts (MA) as an effort to curb violent crime in eleven cities across the State. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) and WestEd are conducting a series of studies on the effectiveness of the SSYI program on behalf of the MA Executive Office of Health and Human Services. In this study we use the results of an Interrupted Time Series (ITS) study examining SSYI's impact on community violence victimizations (Petrosino, et al., 2014), to derive an estimate of SSYI's prevention benefits over the 2012 to 2013 funding period. Boston and Springfield, as the state's two largest cities involved in SSYI, were chosen for the analysis, pending receipt of additional cost data from the other nine SSYI cites; as such, the findings in this report should be considered preliminary in terms of placing a total benefit to cost estimate on the entire SSYI initiative. Three descriptive objectives were investigated: (1) to estimate the site-specific costs to society of implementing the SSYI interventions in Boston and Springfield, from January 2012 through December 2013; (2) to estimate the potential economic benefits of the crime victimization reductions documented in the ITS study by applying reliable estimates of the economic losses incurred when violent crimes are committed; and (3) to estimate the average annual ratio of society's benefit-to-cost ratios (BCR), after all amounts have been adjusted to 2013 values. This study utilized methods consistent with recommendations for program evaluation in public health prevention, and conservative estimates from a 2010 study that estimated the costs of violent crimes in Boston, adjusted to dollar values for 2013 (Drummond, et al, 2005; Brownson, et al, 2010; Gold et al, 1996; Haddix, et al, 2003). We proportionally adjusted Springfield's costs-savings estimate based on SSYI wage rate comparison to Boston's SSYI wages. Boston's 2013 value of 99.7 million in potential cost savings per 10% reduction in crime rate was used as the "benefit of prevention" for each city. This annual cost savings ("benefit of prevention") of violent crimes for each city was then placed over the city's estimated, annual societal intervention costs, and Benefit-to-Cost Ratios (BCR) calculated. Details: Boston: Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, 2014. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2015 at: http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Benefit%20to%20Cost%20Analysis%20of%20Boston%20and%20Springfield%20SSYI%20Programs.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/downloads/report/Benefit%20to%20Cost%20Analysis%20of%20Boston%20and%20Springfield%20SSYI%20Programs.pdf Shelf Number: 134503 Keywords: Cost-Benefit Analysis (Boston) Crime Prevention Delinquency Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Lakhani, Sadaf Title: The socio-economic costs of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea : recommendations for policy and programs Summary: At the request of the Prime Minister's office, between 2011‐2013, the World Bank conducted a study to understand the social and economic costs of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea. The purpose of the study was to feed a national conversation about crime and violence and inform policy directions and program interventions. The work has benefitted from extensive input from international partners and local stakeholders through a consultative and participatory methodology. The findings of the study are summarized separately in this Research and Dialogue Series on the Socioeconomic Costs of Crime and Violence in PNG. This brief outlines the policy and programming recommendations that emerge from the research. II. Key Findings of the Study Levels of crime and violence in PNG have remained high, although with annual fluctuations, and differences across regions. According to analysis of RPNGC data conducted for this study, the homicide rate-considered the most reliable indicator of overall crime-was 10.4 per 100,000 habitants in 2010, which is roughly the same as it was in 2000. The rate varies widely across regions, with an estimated rate of 66 per 100,000 in Lae and 33 in NCD, amongst the highest in the world. Robbery and assault are the most commonly reported crimes. Family and sexual violence (FSV) is also highly prevalent, and affects both females and males. Details: Washington, DC: : The World Bank, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Research and Dialogue series ; no. 5: Accessed February 4, 2015 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/06/06/000350881_20140606161204/Rendered/PDF/885450NWP0Box3050Policy0PNG06005014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Papua New Guinea URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/06/06/000350881_20140606161204/Rendered/PDF/885450NWP0Box3050Policy0PNG06005014.pdf Shelf Number: 134535 Keywords: Costs of Crime (Papua New Guinea) Crime Rates Crime Statistics Violence Violent Crime

Author: Wilson, Christopher Title: Plan Tamaulipas: A New Security Strategy for a Troubled State Summary: Recognizing that the situation in Tamaulipas had reached crisis levels, in May, 2014, Mexico's top security officials met with their state level counterparts in Tamaulipas to unveil a new security strategy. At the heart of the conflict between the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, Tamaulipas suffers from high rates of violent crime, including the nation's highest for kidnapping, large-scale cases of migrant abuse, and extremely weak state and local level law enforcement institutions and governance. By sending significant additional resources to Tamaulipas, the federal government made a strong and much needed commitment to support efforts to restore public security in the state. This short report analyzes the new strategy, describes the challenging local context, and offers a few recommendations that could serve to strengthen the effort. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, 2014. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2015 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/New_Security_Strategy_Tamaulipas.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/New_Security_Strategy_Tamaulipas.pdf Shelf Number: 134580 Keywords: Homicides Kidnapping Public Security Violence (Mexico) Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Back from the Brink: Saving Ciudad Juarez Summary: Just four years ago, Ciudad Juarez was under siege from criminal gang members and being sabotaged by crooked cops. Killings and kidnappings spiralled out of control despite the deployment of thousands of soldiers and federal police. Today Juarez is on the path to recovery: public investments in social programs and institutional reform plus a unique model of citizen engagement have helped bring what was once dubbed the world's "murder capital" back from the brink. Daunting problems persist. Juarez remains an unruly frontier city of great inequalities, where traffickers and other criminals can too easily find recruits among a largely young population, many of whom still lack good jobs or education. To sustain progress, citizens and local policymakers need to assess achievements and obstacles, relaunching their partnership and upgrading efforts to strengthen local institutions and address social inequities. Though Juarez remains fragile, there are reasons for guarded optimism: civil society leaders - including business and professional groups, non-profit organisations and academics - hold the government accountable for any increase in crime, meeting regularly with municipal, state and federal officials in a unique Mesa de Seguridad y Justicia (Security and Justice Working Group), an independent body including citizens and authorities. All three levels of government remain committed in principle to addressing the causes of violence through social programs aimed at the poor communities that have borne the brunt of the killings. President Felipe Calderon's administration invested more than $380 million in 2010-2011 under its Todos Somos Juarez (TSJ, We are all Juarez) initiative to finance social programs designed to make communities, especially their young people, more resistant to violent crime. Much of the money went to expanding existing programs for the urban poor and building or renovating community centres, schools and hospitals. But the impact of these efforts was never evaluated, largely wasting the opportunity to create innovative, sustainable programs, subject to outside review and evaluation. When he took office in December 2012, President Enrique Pena Nieto promised to make crime and violence prevention central to his security strategy, adopting and adapting some of the strategies initiated by his predecessor. Among his first acts was to order nine ministries to join forces on a national program. Its objectives are sweepingly ambitious: promote citizen participation and a culture of peace and respect for the law; address the risk factors that render children, adolescents, women and other groups vulnerable to violence; create and reclaim public spaces to foster peaceful coexistence; and strengthen institutional capacity at the federal, state and municipal level. The National Program for the Social Prevention of Violence and Delinquency channels funding into high-risk zones chosen to serve as laboratories for social change, including three within Ciudad Juarez. This "socio-urban acupuncture" approach holds promise. Officials say crime rates have already fallen within many of the target zones and promise that detailed surveys will measure impact going forward. But the effort in Juarez itself has been plagued by delays and controversy. The lack of transparency in project selection and monitoring has given rise to accusations of mismanagement and political favouritism. Local authorities are justifiably proud of progress in reducing homicide and other high-impact crimes, such as kidnapping, but more is needed to keep Ju�rez from again falling victim to a surge of violence. The model of citizen participation embodied in the Mesa de Seguridad y Justicia should be extended to the neighbourhood level, so that working class and poor communities are empowered to monitor violence- prevention projects and work with law enforcement to combat crime. Local police must play a more important role. Authorities on the municipal, state and federal levels should open their efforts to greater scrutiny, crafting long-term strategies that can be continued past the next electoral cycle. The achievements of Juarez and the surrounding state of Chihuahua offer hope for other Mexican cities and regions still suffering epidemic rates of violent crimes, including murder, often at the hands of criminals in league with local authorities. The focus of federal action has shifted to the north east, where the state of Tamaulipas now leads the country in kidnappings, and the south west, where the state of Guerrero and the city of Acapulco have the highest rates of homicides per capita. National authorities have poured soldiers and police into these regions while promising funding for social programs, much as they did a few years ago in Chihuahua. But they have not been able to stem the crisis of confidence in government at all levels: municipal, state and federal. The kidnapping and apparent killing of 43 students from the rural teaching college of Ayotzinapa by a criminal gang allegedly backed by corrupt police has sparked violent protests in Guerrero and mass marches in Mexico City. Perhaps the most important lesson of Juarez is that crime must be tackled through the combined effort of authorities and citizens. Opaque, top-down solutions that fail to address the concerns of local communities - eliciting their ideas and soliciting their support - are unlikely to produce sustainable progress against the scourge of violent crime. Details: Brussels, Belgium: International Crisis Group, 2015. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 54: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/mexico/054-back-from-the-brink-saving-ciudad-juarez.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/mexico/054-back-from-the-brink-saving-ciudad-juarez.pdf Shelf Number: 134679 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs (Mexico) Homicides Kidnappings Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Foley, Conor Title: Pelo telefone: Rumors, truths and myths in the 'pacification' of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro Summary: The phenomenon of humanitarian engagement with situations of urban violence has attracted growing interest from academics, and practitioners in recent years. Yet the subject remains shrouded with myths and misconceptions. Much violence in the world today takes place outside formal conflict zones, in what are sometimes referred to as 'fragile settings'. The purpose of the paper is to provide a detailed, factual assessment of one such operation, the so-called 'pacification' of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, written from a humanitarian and human rights perspective. Since the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11th September 2001 and the subsequent US-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, some have argued that fragile states represent a threat to international peace and security. This has triggered a range of responses by both national governments and the UN Security Council, which are increasingly referred to under the common rubric of stabilization. The UN missions to Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo both feature 'stabilization' as a central goal and there is a growing literature describing the interrelationship between 'stabilization', counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency, peacebuilding, state-building, early recovery and development. In some cases these operations have been led by international armed forces, often mandated by the Security Council under its Chapter VII powers, while in others they have been carried out by national governments themselves. In both cases there has sometimes been doubt about the legal framework governing such operations, particularly where they have involved soldiers as well as the police. Rhetoric about a global 'war on terror', which was preceded by the so-called 'war on drugs', has been used by some to argue that international human rights law could be suspended, or displaced by the more permissive laws of armed conflict, which, by turning criminals into combatants, gives the security forces a license to kill. At the same time, the supposed benefits of bringing to bear military planning, strategy and coordination has excited policy-makers frustrated by the failures of traditional policing in some settings. Operations such as the one described in this paper have attracted international attention because they appear to offer lessons both to those involved in formal counter-insurgency situations and to those struggling to uphold law and order in the face of extreme crime and violence. For humanitarians, accustomed to working in complex emergencies, this places the old dilemmas of host-state consent and civil-military cooperation in a new, and sometimes unsettling context when delivering social services or stimulating economic activity in territories that have been 'pacified' or otherwise brought under state control. This paper does not seek to deny or diminish the achievements of the 'pacification' process. By driving organized armed gangs out of a significant number of Rio de Janeiro's favelas, the police have brought a relative degree of stability to places for the first time in a generation. At the same time, it will be argued, that the 'pacification' has not been the 'silver bullet' that is sometimes portrayed. The real lesson is that there is no short-cut from long-term reform of policing and the criminal justice system as well as tackling the corruption, poverty, inequality and social exclusion that give rise to states of fragility to begin with. Humanitarian action can also only ever be a palliative and agencies would be advised to continue with a gradual and incremental approach towards such engagement. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Humanitarian Actions in Situations other than War, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper 8: Accessed February 26, 2015 at: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/117/doc/1760478317.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.hasow.org/uploads/trabalhos/117/doc/1760478317.pdf Shelf Number: 134709 Keywords: Criminal Violence Favelas (Brazil) Gang-Related Violence Gangs Urban Areas Violent Crime War on Drugs

Author: Kivivuori, Janne Title: Homicide in Finland, 2002�2006. A Description Based on the Finnish Homicide Monitoring System (FHMS) Summary: For decades, the Finnish homicide rate has been higher than the corresponding rate in other Nordic Countries. Every year, about three Finns per 100,000 are killed by interpersonal violence. It is, therefore, natural that homicide research has remained among the top priorities of Finnish criminology. Summary - In 2006, the Finnish Police reported 138 homicides. The crime rate was 2.6 victims per 100,000 population. - From the 1970s till the end of the 1990s, the homicide rate remained stable (about 3 per 100,000 population), but has decreased during the last five years. � The majority of Finnish homicides occur in the context of drinking quarrels between unemployed, middle-aged male alcoholics. During the period 2002-2006, in 71% of all homicides all persons involved were intoxicated. In 85% of the crimes at least one of the persons involved was intoxicated. - In 2002-2006, 58% of male homicide offenders had prior convictions for violent crime and 37% had been in prison prior to the homicide. - Finnish homicide is regionally patterned: the northern and eastern parts of the country have higher homicide rates than the other regions. During the last decade, the gap has widened. Thus the overall drop in homicide occurrence reflects the decrease of lethal violence in the southern and western regions. - The Finnish homicide rate is one of the highest in the European Union. This is largely explained by the alcohol and drinking group related homicides of the socially marginalized men. The homicide rates of other socio-economic groups are roughly the same as in the other Scandinavian countries. - In 2002, Finland launched a national homicide monitoring system (FHMS) collecting detailed information about all homicides. This research brief is the first English-language report based on the FHMS. Details: Helsinki: National Research Institute of Legal Policy, 2007. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief 3/2007: Accessed February 27, 2015 at: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/KoRbDTYm7/hominfin2007.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Finland URL: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/KoRbDTYm7/hominfin2007.pdf Shelf Number: 134727 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Crime Rates Crime Statistics Homicides (Finland) Violent Crime

Author: Aaltonen, Mikko Title: Risk Factors of Violence in Finland: A Register Based Study Summary: Many policy decisions affect people's life circumstances in a manner that may also influence their likelihood or propensity to commit crimes. If alcohol availability is greatly increased, the incidence of alcohol related brawls, fights and family violence may show a rise. If poverty increases due to societal processes or policy decisions, this may result in more people experiencing criminogenic strain. If economy changes, or is deliberately changed, so that people have to move from one place to another, this may break social ties causing control deficits and increase in crime. Clearly, it would be useful to know how social policy decisions are translated into increases or decreases in crime. In an ideal situation, policy programmes would be evaluated by experimental research with adequate control groups of individuals or aggregated groups (such as areas). However, practical, ethical and legal obstacles often stand in the way of experimental design. On rare occasions, natural experiments are available when, for example, policy decisions alter the availability of alcohol (Kivivuori 2003; Siren & Lehti 2006). More commonly, policy makers must do without causal (or any kind of) evaluations. The Risk Factors of Crime in Finland (RFCF) research project was launched to provide additional insight into the likely policy consequences of social policy decisions. It utilizes the abundance of register data available on the potential risk factors of crime, and studies their association with crime involvement. In the future, the possibility of simulating the crime effects of various kinds of social and criminal policy changes will be probed. In principle, such simulation results could be used in the quantitative estimation of crime effects of legislative and other political or societal changes. Details: Helsinki: National Research Institute of Legal Policy< 2008. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief 6/2008: Accessed February 27, 2015 at: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/C8egqtJ2d/riskitekijat2008.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Finland URL: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/C8egqtJ2d/riskitekijat2008.pdf Shelf Number: 134728 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Crime Control Policy Criminal Behavior Criminal Justice Policy (Finland) Violent Crime

Author: Bakrania, Shivit Title: Policy responses to criminal violence in Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: Mediation efforts between the 'maras' in El Salvador have led to a significant reduction in homicide rates. What other policy responses to gang and criminal violence, including but not limited to formal and informal mediation efforts, exist in Latin America and the Caribbean? What lessons can the donor community learn from them? Combatting the threat posed by transnational and domestic criminal organisations has become a critical concern of governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Ideas of how to reduce crime and organised violence in this region vary between those who advocate for state-security led approaches and those who argue for approaches that tackle the causes of crime and the factors that incentivise people to engage in risky behaviour (Basombrio & Dammert, 2013). Policy responses in Latin America and the Caribbean have been implemented at a range of levels, from local to regional, and have involved a range of different actors. The following lessons and recommendations were identified from the literature reviewed: - Several authors argue that state-security led approaches such as the mano dura (strong handed) approach in the northern triangle have been ineffective at reducing organised crime -Several authors recommend more comprehensive and preventative approaches -Several authors emphasise the importance of targeting preventative programmes -Initiatives should involve a broad range of stakeholders: The World Bank (2011) suggests an inclusive coalition of agencies and individuals across governments as well as civil society -Policies and programmes should be based upon facts and evidence: Basombrio & Dammert (2013) argue that policymakers in Latin America should examine lessons learned from previous successes and failures and take an evidence-based approach in order to implement effective, efficient, and just public policies in their countries. -Several authors suggest that criminal justice reform is needed in order to tackle organised violence effectively -The impacts of gang truces in Latin America and the Caribbean are as yet inconclusive A regional approach is needed: The World Bank (2011) argues that issues relating to organised crime, particularly in the areas of drug trafficking and firearms, transcend boundaries in Latin America and require a coordinated response. Details: GSDRC Research Helpdesk, 2013. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Helpdesk Research Report: Accessed March 3, 2015 at: http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/HDQ934.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.gsdrc.org/docs/open/HDQ934.pdf Shelf Number: 134733 Keywords: Criminal Gangs Drug Related Violence Organized Crime (Latin America) Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Rodgers, Dennis Title: Broderes in Arms: Gangs and the Socialization of Violence in Post-conflict Nicaragua Summary: This paper explores various ways in which gang members in post-conflict Nicaragua have internalized and put into practice a range of violent behaviour patterns over the past two decades. It shows how different types of gang violence can be related to distinct forms of socialization, tracing how these particular articulations have changed over time, often for very contingent reasons. As such, the paper highlights the need to conceive the socialization of violence within gangs as a dynamic and contextualized process, and suggests drawing on the notion of "repertoire" as a means of meaningfully representing this. Details: Burnaby, BC: Simon Fraser University, 2013. 37qp. Source: Internet Resource: Simons Papers in Security and Development no. 31/2013: Accessed March 16, 2015 at: http://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/internationalstudies/documents/swp/SWP2013-31-Rodgers.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Nicaragua URL: http://www.sfu.ca/content/dam/sfu/internationalstudies/documents/swp/SWP2013-31-Rodgers.pdf Shelf Number: 134939 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs (Nicaragua) Violent Crime

Author: Wood, Charles H. Title: Quality of Democracy, Crime Victimization, and the Resilience of Political Culture in the Americas: Outline and Test of a Theory Summary: The idea that the upsurge in crime and violence in Latin America since the mid-1980s erodes the values, attitudes, and preferences deemed essential to democracy is a conclusion advanced by journalists and scholars, often with little supporting evidence. More problematic is the implicit assumption that crime affects all components of political culture equally, and that the crime effect is equal in all political environments. To address these limitations, we draw on the literatures on the quality of democracy and the attitudinal foundations of democracy to outline a theory that predicts that the corrosive effects of crime victimization on political culture will be comparatively low in high quality democracies, moderate in intermediate regimes, and pronounced in weak democracies. Using data for 20 countries in the 2010 Americas Barometer surveys, we show that people's commitment to the rule of law and their support for democracy is less vulnerable to the victimization effect in strong democracies, compared to intermediate and weak democracies, as predicted. Contrary to expectation, some features of mass political culture, such as people's trust in neighbors and in state institutions, are sensitive to the victimization effect, even in the more consolidated democratic regimes. Evidence that victimization reduces some democratic attitudes more than others, and the findings that show that the magnitude of the crime effect is mediated by the structural context suggest new directions in the study of crime, violence, and democracy in the Americas. Details: Nashville: Vanderbilt University, Latin American Public Opinion Project, 2011. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2015 at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/pdfs/Wood_Ribeiro_SmallGrant_Publish.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Latin America URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/pdfs/Wood_Ribeiro_SmallGrant_Publish.pdf Shelf Number: 135068 Keywords: Criminal Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Cerqueira, Daniel R.C. Title: The Welfare Cost of Homicides in Brazil: Accounting for Heterogeneity in the Willingness to Pay for Mortality Reductions Summary: This paper estimates the health dimension of the welfare cost of homicides in Brazil incorporating age, gender, educational, and regional heterogeneities. We use the marginal willingness to pay approach from the "value of life" literature to assign monetary values to the welfare cost of increased mortality due to violence. The results indicate that the present discounted value of the welfare cost of homicides in Brazil corresponds to roughly 78% of the GDP or, measured in terms of yearly flow, 2.3%. The analysis also indicates that reliance on aggregate data to perform such calculations, without taking into account the relevant dimensions of heterogeneity, can lead to biases of the order of 20% in the estimated social cost of violence. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Institute of Applied Economic Research, 2012. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: TEXTO PARA DISCUSSION, No. 600: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://www.econ.puc-rio.br/pdf/td600.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.econ.puc-rio.br/pdf/td600.pdf Shelf Number: 135143 Keywords: Costs of Crime Homicides (Brazil) Violent Crime Welfare

Author: Moore, Kristin A. Title: Preventing Violence: A Review of Research, Evaluation, Gaps, and Opportunities Summary: Rates of violence have declined substantially in the United States across all types of violence. Nevertheless, rates of violence and the numbers of children and youth affected by violence remain high compared with other countries. Moreover, data indicate great variation across states and communities. The fact that there is so much variation across states and countries suggests that there is substantial opportunity to reduce high rates of violence. Violence comes, of course, in many forms. In this report, we use the following definition of violence: "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation." While Child Trends takes the lens of the child in this review, violence is often intergenerational; hence adults are frequently critical actors. Our purview includes varied forms of violence, including child maltreatment, crime/delinquency, gang violence, intimate partner violence, suicide, self-harm, and general physical aggression. Our review identifies a number of critical themes. - Violence appears in many forms, but there are common determinants across types of violence; these are the risk and protective factors that are found across types of violence. A child or family that experiences multiple risk factors and few protective factors faces a particularly high risk of experiencing violence, either as a victim, as a perpetrator, or both. - While the U.S. has high rates of violence compared with other countries, many programs and approaches have been identified that could reduce violence, if scaled up with quality. - Prevention of violence is preferable to treatment, but emerging evidence from neuroscientists indicates significant plasticity of the human brain, including individuals experiencing trauma, supporting the perspective that treatment can make a difference. - Social and economic disparities are strongly correlated with violence and are malleable; however, we have not focused on these because other interventions seem more realistic. - Interventions are available at the level of individuals, the family, schools, and communities. - For individuals, problems with self-regulation, sleep, hostile attributions about other people's intentions, and abuse of substances are risk factors. While mental health problems are not generally a cause of violence, the combination of substance use and mental health issues does elevate the risk of violence. Individuals with mental health issues and disabilities are more likely to be victims of violence. - Family factors represent an important determinant of violence. Potential interventions include the prevention of unintended pregnancy, programs to prevent and treat intimate partner violence, and parenting education. - Schools are another important locus for intervention, and efforts to improve school climate include a focus on improving engagement, safety, and environment by developing social and emotional skills, reduction of bullying and other physical and emotional safety issues, and creating consistent and fair disciplinary policies. - High levels of violence across the U.S. compared with other countries suggest that there are beliefs, values, and policies underlying our national culture that, if better understood and thoughtfully discussed, could reduce violence. - Many of the interventions that might be pursued to reduce violence are useful in their own right (e.g., reducing substance abuse); the fact that these interventions can also reduce violence should give them added importance and urgency. Details: Bethesda, MD: Child Trends, 2015. 152p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2015 at: http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015-15FuturesWithoutViolence1.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2015-15FuturesWithoutViolence1.pdf Shelf Number: 135146 Keywords: Crime Prevention Interventions Violence (U.S.) Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Police Foundation Title: The Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission: Final Report Summary: The City of Wilmington is the largest and the most culturally and economically diverse city in Delaware. The ability of the City to grow and improve the lives of its residents depends on its ability effectively to provide public safety. The residents, employers, and civic and community leaders with whom we speak routinely cited public safety as a principal concern affecting their decisions about where to live, where to locate their business, and how to lead the City to a better future. Like many cities, Wilmington experiences a significant amount of crime, including crimes of violence, drug crimes and nuisance crimes. However, many cities across the country have experienced significant reductions in crimes in all categories in recent years - often attributed to improved policing strategies. Wilmington is not one of those cities. According to the FBI, Wilmington ranks third in violence among 450 cities of its size and sixth among all cities over 50,000. Crime in Wilmington - and particularly homicides - has reached record numbers in recent years. Over the past decade, the City of Wilmington has averaged 118 shooting victims per year, reaching a record high of 154 shootings victims in 2013. In 2014 alone, there were 127 shooting victims and 23 shooting deaths in the City. The principal questions facing the Wilmington Public Safety Strategies Commission are why the City of Wilmington has not experienced the same crime reductions enjoyed by similarly situated municipalities across the country and what Wilmington can do about that. This report offers our examination of the strategies currently being employed by the City and the WPD, and our proposal of strategies that might be employed to better address the WPD's core mission of creating a safer Wilmington. Improving public safety in Wilmington is challenging, but it is certainly not impossible. Wilmington has three built-in advantages. First and most significantly, Wilmington has a sufficiently large police force to bring appropriate resources to bear on this issue. While we make clear in this report that there are several areas of police work that deserve additional resources, and that a reorganization of some functions would assist the Department, the WPD begins this work with a force large enough to effectively patrol and fight crime in Wilmington. Second, as the Crime Analysis and CAD Incident Analysis done by Temple University's Jerry Ratcliffe, Ph.D. make clear, "[s]mall areas of the city account for a large proportion of the crime and community harm." As a result, if appropriate strategies are brought to bear on those small areas, significant reductions in crime can be obtained. Third, many people with whom we spoke in the WPD, from the leadership to rank-and-file officers, recognize that there is a need for and opportunity to change for the better. Significant cultural and organizational changes can be made only with buy-in from those tasked with the need to lead and implement those changes, and the recognition of the need for and inevitability of change was evident in many of the law enforcement professionals with whom we spoke. Generally, we found that WPD has a respond-and-react orientation and structure that focuses on resolving calls for service rather than proactively implementing crime reduction strategies. Although WPD is sufficiently staffed, the department does not deploy sufficient officers in patrol and key investigatory functions. WPD is behind other law enforcement agencies in its use of technology (some of which it already owns) to both analyze and predict crime, as well as to provide accountability of its officers as to there whereabouts and activities. The WPD's investigatory units do not solve a sufficient number of crimes - particularly homicides - and can improve its investigatory functions and victims' services. The Wilmington community appreciates the dedication and effort of the Department's officers, but some community relationships have become strained and can be improved. All of the issues identified in this report are fixable, and none is exclusive to Wilmington. Many of the building blocks for reform are already in place - a city and community that recognizes the need for change, a WPD administration that is open to new strategies, and supportive local partners. Details: Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2015. 200p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2015 at: http://www.policefoundation.org/sites/g/files/g798246/f/201504/WPSSC%20Final%20Report%203_31_15.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policefoundation.org/sites/g/files/g798246/f/201504/WPSSC%20Final%20Report%203_31_15.pdf Shelf Number: 135155 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun-Related Violence Homicides Police Reform Police Response Police-Community Relations Policing Policing Strategies Public Safety Violent Crime

Author: Bryant, Kevin M. Title: Shawnee, Kansas, Smart Policing Initiative Reducing Crime and Automobile Collisions through Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) Summary: From 2008 to 2010, the city of Shawnee, Kansas, experienced a 22 percent increase in violent crime. At the same time, the Shawnee Police Department (SPD) was acutely aware of persistent traffic accident hot spots. Moreover, budgetary constraints resulted in nearly a 5-percent decrease in the department's sworn staff in one year (2009). The SPD leadership became increasingly concerned about their ability to maintain a sufficient level of service, and to effectively respond to changing crime trends in the city. In response to these emerging concerns, the SPD implemented the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) model beginning in July 2010. DDACTS identifies locations where crime and traffic problems disproportionately co-occur, and then deploys increased police presence and high-visibility traffic enforcement (HVTE) in those areas. The DDACTS model is grounded in seven guiding principles that highlight collaboration, data-driven decision-making, hot spots policing, and ongoing program assessment and dissemination of findings. In 2011, the Department received funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) to support the implementation of DDACTS and conduct a rigorous evaluation of the impact of the DDACTS model on crime and automobile crashes in the city of Shawnee. The Shawnee SPI team employed a three-pronged evaluation to examine the implementation and impact of the DDACTS model. First, the SPI team conducted two waves of focus groups with officers from units throughout the department. Results from the focus groups showed evidence of a shift in culture and officer "buy-in," especially with the divisions of the department most closely associated with the model. Participants agreed that DDACTS is an effective and sustainable initiative. The first wave of focus groups identified several areas in need of improvement, most notably with providing training, addressing concerns over resource depletion, and delivery of a clear message about the foundations and goals of the program. Second, the Shawnee SPI team administered surveys to businesses and residents in the DDACTS target area, well after program implementation. Results indicated that a majority of respondents perceived a greater police presence and more traffic stops in the area, and they expressed support for high-visibility, targeted traffic enforcement. Moreover, most respondents stated that DDACTS has improved the quality of life in Shawnee, and the majority rated the relationship between SPD and residents and businesses as very good to excellent. Third, the Shawnee SPI team employed a quantitative impact evaluation of DDACTS by comparing trends in crime over a six-year period (three years pre-implementation and three years post) in the target area and a comparison area. Using both bivariate and interrupted time series analysis, the SPI team demonstrated that the DDACTS model produced statistically significant decreases in robberies (88 percent), commercial burglaries (84 percent), and vehicle crashes (24 percent). The Shawnee SPI experience highlighted several important lessons for police managers and line officers, including recognition of the fundamental connection between crime and traffic problems, the importance of program fidelity through careful implementation, and the need to overcome the tendency to view DDACTS through a "zero tolerance" lens that minimizes the collaborative, data-driven, and problem-solving aspects of the model. - Details: Arlington, VA: CNA Analysis & Solutions, 2015. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 7, 2015 at: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Shawnee-Site-Spotlight.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.cna.org/sites/default/files/research/Shawnee-Site-Spotlight.pdf Shelf Number: 135171 Keywords: Community Policing Hot-Spots Policing Problem-Solving Policing Traffic Safety Violent Crime

Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: Managing the Group Violence Intervention: Using Shooting Scorecards to Track Group Violence Summary: This guide begins with a brief description of the shooting scorecard concept and its links to problem analysis and performance measurement systems in police departments. It then presents the key steps in the process and associated data quality issues and then details the use of shooting scorecards by the Boston Police Department as an example of the practical applications of this approach. Group shooting scorecards identify the criminal groups that commit the highest number shootings and experience the greatest number of shooting victimizations during a specific time period. With this information, shooting scorecards support the implementation of focused deterrence strategies to prevent group-involved violence. They also ensure that police departments appropriately focus scarce resources on the groups that consistently generate the most gun violence. The most violent groups then receive systematic considered for focused interventions, such as the National Network for Safe Communities' Group Violence Intervention in which a partnership of community members, law enforcement, and social service providers delivers a "no violence" message, information about legal consequences for further violence, and an offer of help. Managing the Group Violence Intervention: Using Shooting Scorecards to Track Group Violence begins with a brief description of the shooting scorecard concept and its links to problem analysis and performance measurement systems in police departments. It then presents the key steps in the process and associated data quality issues and then details the use of shooting scorecards by the Boston Police Department as an example of the practical applications of this approach. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2015 at: http://nnscommunities.org/uploads/Shooting_Scorecards_Guide.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://nnscommunities.org/uploads/Shooting_Scorecards_Guide.pdf Shelf Number: 135369 Keywords: Focused Deterrence Gun-Related Violence Problem Analysis Problem-Oriented Policing Violent Crime

Author: Culp, Richard F. Title: Is Burglary A Crime Of Violence? An Analysis of National Data 1998-2007 Summary: Traditionally considered an offense committed against the property of another, burglary is nevertheless often regarded as a violent crime. For purposes of statistical description, both the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) list it as a property crime. But burglary is prosecuted as a violent crime under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act, is sentenced in accord with violent crimes under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and is regarded as violent in state law depending on varied circumstances. The United States Supreme Court has treated burglary as either violent or non-violent in different cases. This study explored the circumstances of crimes of burglary and matched them to state and federal laws. Analyzing UCR, NCVS, and the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data collections for the ten year period 1998-2007, it became clear that the majority of burglaries do not involve physical violence and scarcely even present the possibility of physical violence. Overall, the incidence of actual violence or threats of violence during burglary ranged from a low of .9% in rural areas based upon NIBRS data, to a high of 7.6% in highly urban areas based upon NCVS data. At most, 2.7% involved actual acts of violence. A comprehensive content analysis of the provisions of state burglary and habitual offender statutes showed that burglary is often treated as a violent crime instead of prosecuting and punishing it as a property crime while separately charging and punishing for any violent acts that occasionally co-occur with it. Legislative reform of current statutes that do not comport with empirical descriptions of the characteristics of burglaries is contemplated, primarily by requiring at the minimum that the burglary involved an occupied building if it is to be regarded as a serious crime, and preferably requiring that an actual act of violence or threatened violence occurred in order for a burglary to be prosecuted as a violent crime. Details: New York: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2015. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2015 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248651.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248651.pdf Shelf Number: 135375 Keywords: Burglary (U.S.) Property Crimes Violent Crime

Author: Goh, Derek Title: ​An update of long-term trends in property and violent crime in New South Wales: 1990-2014 Summary: Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyse the trends in the rates of annual recorded incidents of 10 categories of property and violent crime for the period 1990 to 2014 in New South Wales (NSW). Method: Offence rates were calculated using criminal incident data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) for the period 1995 to 2014, and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research's recorded crime statistics report series for the period 1990 to 1994. Kendall's trend test was run on the 24 annual rates for each of the 10 offence categories. Results: Some categories of crime in NSW are now at the lowest recorded levels they have been for over 20 years. Comparing per capita rates of crime in 2014 with per capita rates in 1990, lower rates were found for: motor vehicle theft (79% lower), robbery with a firearm (76% lower), break and enter non-dwelling (73% lower), break and enter dwelling (55% lower), robbery without a weapon (50% lower), murder (42% lower) and robbery with a weapon not a firearm (40% lower). Three of the ten offence types analysed in this report were found to have recorded rates higher in 2014 than in 1990: sexual assault (132% higher), other sexual offences (96% higher) and assault (67% higher). Conclusion: In the period since 1990, assault and sexual assault rates recorded significant long term upward trends whilst the other eight offences analysed in this report were trending down or stable. The 2014 recorded sexual assault rate was marginally below the highest in that series (occurring in 2012) and the rate since 2000 has recorded a significant uptrend. Apart from sexual assault and other sexual offences, the remaining eight offence types recorded significant downtrends in recorded rates since 2000. The three robbery and three property crime series all recorded falls of more than 60 per cent since 2000. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2015. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: Issue Paper 104: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/BB/BB104.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/BB/BB104.pdf Shelf Number: 135404 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics (Australia) Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: Review of the operation of injunctions to prevent gang-related violence Summary: The aim of a gang injunction is to prevent a person from engaging in, encouraging or assisting gang-related violence and to protect them from gang-related violence. Gang injunctions are a civil tool that enables the police or a local authority to apply to a county court (or the High Court) for an injunction against an individual to prevent gang-related violence. Gang injunctions allow courts to place a range of prohibitions and requirements (including supportive, positive requirements) on the behaviour and activities of a person involved in gang-related violence. These conditions could include prohibiting someone from being in a particular place or requiring them to participate in rehabilitative activities. Details: London: Stationery Office, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/278786/ReviewInjunctionsGangRelatedViolence.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 135409 Keywords: Civil Injunctions Gang Violence Gang-Related Violence Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Yocco, Victor Title: Gun Violence in Ohio Summary: Gun violence is an issue that touches communities across the United States. Ohio's communities are no exception. Capturing data on the nature, extent, and frequency of gun violence is a vital first step to conducting research and developing strategies and policies aimed at gun violence prevention. Data on gun violence are collected by a number of criminal justice and non-criminal justice sources. Some of the data are specific to Ohio or regions within Ohio and some are representative of the U.S. as a whole. This report pulls together statistics from numerous sources to present a snapshot of gun violence in Ohio and the United States. Details: Columbus, OH: Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, 2013. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov/GunViolence_Ohio_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.ocjs.ohio.gov/GunViolence_Ohio_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 135412 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence (Ohio) Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Kasang, Nicholas Title: Socio-spatial violence prevention: Inhibiting violence in Caracas, Venezuela through spatial planning Summary: Contemporary urban growth in many cities in Latin American and Africa has been accompanied by unprecedented levels of urban violence. Latin America epitomizes this trend as three of the world's most dangerous cities, Ciudad Juarez, San Pedro Sula, and Caracas, are located within this region (JACOME; GRATIUS, 2011, p. 2). Of these three, Caracas is notable because its exorbitant homicide rate cannot be explicitly attributed to the illicit drug trade-cartel wars that consume Mexico, nor is it represented by the civil conflict-gang violence that afflicts Central America. Moreover, the Venezuelan context is further distinguished as inequality, which is consistently cited as the primary catalyst for the emergence of everyday reactionary violence, is not overtly characteristic of the contemporary situation. Rather, caraque�o insecurity has largely been attributed to the exacerbation of social factors that perpetuate violence as "(...) an end in itself or a [mechanism] to injure/ eliminate another person in order to resolve an interpersonal conflict (...)" (SANJUAN, 2002, p. 95). Based on this reality, this work proposes the inclusion of socio-spatial interventions into contemporary prevention initiatives. Spatial interventions have shown a "(...) significant capacity to prevent the occurrence of violence in areas that are either totally or partially excluded from economic development and larger society (...)� (DIAZ; MELLER, 2012, p. 23). Implications of this work have the capacity to augment predominantly technical violence prevention precedent and enhance knowledge on alternative mechanisms to prevent insecurity. This study employs a comprehensive literature review in conjunction with data analyses in the development of a spatial proposal for Caracas. Details: urbe. Revista Brasileira de Gestao Urbana (Brazilian Journal of Urban Management), 2014. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/urbe/v6n2/07.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Venezuela URL: http://www.scielo.br/pdf/urbe/v6n2/07.pdf Shelf Number: 135421 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Homicides Urban Areas Urban Violence (Brazil) Violent Crime

Author: Dube, Arindrajit Title: Cross-Border Spillover: U.S. Gun Laws and Violence in Mexico Summary: To what extent, and under what conditions, does access to arms fuel violent crime? To answer this question, we exploit a unique natural experiment: the 2004 expiration of the U.S. Federal Assault Weapons Ban exerted a spillover on gun supply in Mexican municipios near Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, but not near California, which retained a pre-existing state-level ban. We find first that Mexican municipios located closer to the non-California border states experienced differential increases in homicides, gun-related homicides and crime gun seizures in the post-2004 period. Second, the magnitude of this effect is contingent on political factors related to Mexico's democratic transition. Killings increased substantially more in municipios where local elections had become more competitive prior to 2004, with the largest differentials emerging in high narco-trafficking areas. Our findings are consistent with the notion that political competition undermined informal agreements between drug cartels and entrenched local governments, highlighting the role of political instability in mediating the gun-crime relationship. Details: Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2012. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA Discussion Paper No. 7098: Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp7098.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Mexico URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp7098.pdf Shelf Number: 135425 Keywords: Assault Weapons Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Gun Control Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Langley, Marty Title: Hispanic Victims of Lethal Firearms Violence in the United States Summary: Key Findings - The homicide victimization rate for Hispanics in the United States is more than twice as high as the homicide victimization rate for whites. The Hispanic homicide victimization rate in 2010 was 5.73 per 100,000. In comparison, the homicide victimization rate for whites was 2.52 per 100,000. - Homicide is the second leading cause of death for Hispanics ages 15 to 24 - More than 38,000 Hispanics were killed by guns between 1999 and 2010. During this period, 26,349 Hispanics died in gun homicides, 10,314 died in gun suicides, and 747 died in unintentional shootings - Most Hispanic murder victims are killed with guns. Guns are used in more than two-thirds of the homicides where the victims are Hispanic. The latest data shows that for homicides where the victim was Hispanic and a gun was used, 78 percent of these shootings involved a handgun - Hispanic victims are more likely to be killed by a stranger than the national average. The latest data from 2011 shows that when the victim-to-offender relationship could be identified, 39 percent of Hispanic victims were killed by a stranger. Nationwide, 25 percent of all homicide victims were killed by strangers . - A large percentage of Hispanic homicide victims are young. The most recent available data shows 41 percent of Hispanic homicide victims in 2011 were age 24 and younger. In comparison, 40 percent of black homicide victims and 22 percent of white homicide victims were age 24 and younger. - As a result of the limitations in current data collection, the total number of Hispanic victims is almost certainly higher than the reported numbers suggest. Government agencies often report data on race but not on ethnic origin. Recognizing the changing demographic landscape in the United States, it is clear that fully documenting such victimization is a crucial first step toward preventing it. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2014. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2015 at: http://www.vpc.org/studies/hispanic.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.vpc.org/studies/hispanic.pdf Shelf Number: 135435 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Hispanic Americans Homicides (U.S.) Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Gopal, Anandasivam Title: Traders, Guns, and Money: The Effect of Mass Shootings on Stock Price Summary: In this work, we investigate how mass shootings influence the stock price of firearms manufacturers. While significant anecdotal evidence suggests there is an immediate spike in firearms purchase after such events, the reaction of financial markets is unclear. On one hand, if the increased short-term demand represents an unanticipated financial windfall for firearms manufacturers, the stock prices of the firms may rise. On the other hand, mass shootings may result in perceptions of the social contract between the firm and society being systematically violated. In this case, the increasing potential for regulation may render the firm's business model untenable in the long run, leading to stock prices decreasing. We empirically resolve this tension using a market movement event study of 93 mass shootings between 2009 and 2013. Findings suggest that stock prices of firearm manufacturers significantly decline over a 2, 5, 10, and 30 day window in the wake of mass shootings. Furthermore, these losses are exacerbated by the presence of a handgun and the number of victims killed. Interestingly, results are not influenced by the location of the crime, insofar as there is no difference across "red" or "blue" states, or the loss of a child. Details: Unpublished paper, 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Robert H. Smith School Research Paper No. RHS 2581664 ; Fox School of Business Research Paper No. 15-061 : Accessed May 6, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2581664 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2581664 Shelf Number: 135531 Keywords: Financial Markets Gun-Related Violence Mass Shootings (U.S.) Violent Crime

Author: Haugaard, Lisa Title: Honduras: A Government Failing to Protect its People Summary: With a population of just over 8 million people, Honduras is home to some of the highest poverty rates in Latin America and most violent cities on earth. The deep roots of organized crime, government corruption and abuses by state forces, and impunity for criminals reverberate throughout the small Central American nation, where 97% of murders go unsolved. These factors have forced many Hondurans to flee towards the United States in hopes of finding an income, security and hope for the future. In response, the Obama Administration has proposed a $1 billion aid package to Central America, which Vice President Biden emphasized in his Central America visit last week. Last December, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) and Center for International Policy (CIP) traveled to Honduras for a first-hand look. What we found was a security situation in shambles and a country in dire need of reform. We have compiled our findings into this report which paints a picture of the most alarming issues facing Honduras today, including mass migration, the disturbing and highly visible militarization of law enforcement, grave threats against human rights defenders, and a lack of an effective and independent justice system. The report also examines the role U.S. assistance has played, and can play, in the plight of the Honduran people. In addition to describing the depth of the problem, the report points to the elements of a solution, including the development of a more effective, independent judiciary, and a thoroughly reformed civilian police force. The ultimate solution must include tackling the underlying issues of poverty and lack of education that help create an environment in which crime and violence flourish. But this requires what we did not see in Honduras - a government deeply committed to respect for human rights, with a vision of more broadly shared prosperity and a will to protect all Honduran citizens. The report concludes that carefully crafted international aid programs can help address these problems, but that, "political will from the Honduran government to protect and respect its citizenry must come first." Details: Washington, DC: Center for International Policy, 2015. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2015 at: http://www.ciponline.org/images/uploads/publications/Honduras-failing-to-protect-its-people.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.ciponline.org/images/uploads/publications/Honduras-failing-to-protect-its-people.pdf Shelf Number: 135627 Keywords: Crime (Honduras) Law Enforcement Militarization Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cussen, Tracy Title: Indigenous and non-Indigenous homicide in Australia Summary: Indigenous people (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians) are disproportionately victims and offenders in homicide incidents both in relation to their relative proportion of the Australian population and in comparison with their non-Indigenous counterparts. In 2011�12, Indigenous people comprised three percent of the Australian population (ABS 2009; ABS 2012) yet constituted 13 percent of homicide victims (n=35) and 11 percent of homicide offenders (n=32; Bryant & Cussen 2015). The rate of both victimisation and offending by Indigenous people was approximately five times higher than that of non-Indigenous people (Bryant & Cussen 2015). Available research suggests that victims and offenders may be exposed to, or experience, a number of vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood they will be involved in a violent offence and further, that these factors may be more pronounced for Indigenous people. Research undertaken by Wundersitz (2010), Bryant (2009) and Bryant and Willis (2008) has linked substance abuse, personal history (such as sexual abuse as a child), housing mobility, and social stressors (such as witnessing violence, gambling addiction, mental illness or serious accident) to an increase in offending and victimisation risk. A previous comparative analysis of Indigenous and non-Indigenous homicides in Australia (Mouzos 2001) also identified that the majority of Indigenous homicides occurred between family members in the context of domestic conflict. This paper describes selected characteristics of Indigenous and non-Indigenous homicides as recorded within the AIC�s National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) from 1 July 1989 to 30 June 2012. Over this time period, the NHMP has recorded: 6,744 homicide incidents (1,096 involving at least one Indigenous person); 7,217 victims (of whom 951 or 13% were Indigenous people); and 7,599 identified offenders (of whom 1,234 or 16% were Indigenous). Both the total number of victims and offenders is greater than the total number of homicide incidents over the 23 year period because some incidents involve multiple offenders and/or the death of multiple victims. Homicides contained within the NHMP are reported to the AIC by police services and data are augmented with information from the National Coronial Information System, media reports and/or publicly available sentencing remarks from relevant court proceedings. Victim and offender Indigenous status is principally identified by the police and is likely derived from subjective assessments based on appearance and/or offender self-reported status. It is therefore likely that the number of victims and offenders identified as Indigenous within the NHMP is under-estimated and this limitation should be considered with reference to the data presented in this report. It should also be noted that there were 1,126 homicides (17%) where the Indigenous status of victims and/or offenders was not recorded. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2015. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research in Practice, no. 37: Accessed May 13, 2015 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip37/rip37.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip37/rip37.pdf Shelf Number: 135630 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicide Indigenous Peoples Violent Crime

Author: Rydberg, Jason Title: Flint DDACTS Pilot Evaluation Summary: In response to the public safety challenges posed by high levels of violent crime and local level law enforcement resource constraints, the Michigan State Police (MSP) have developed the "Secure Cities" initiative as part of its strategic plan. The Secure Cities initiative involves providing additional MSP enforcement resources to Detroit, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw; using data-driven planning; and developing evidence-informed and evidence-based strategies for addressing high levels of violent crime. One specific strategy has been the implementation of the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) in Flint. The Flint DDACTS initiative began enforcement activities in January 2012. The current evaluation examined the program as it operated between January 2012 and March 2014. This report presents the findings of the evaluation of the Flint DDACTS program, describing both trends in program activities and the effect of DDACTS on violent crime. Key Findings - The DDACTS strategy targeted five hotspots for violent crime in Flint, later expanded to include two additional hotspot areas. - MSP collected very detailed activity data from the Troopers involved in DDACTS. This reflected exceptional performance output measures. - A significant level of patrol resources with associated activities occurred in these hotspot areas. Indeed, over 22,000 traffic stops occurred between January 1, 2012 and March 2014 as part of the DDACTS initiative. Nearly three-quarters of the traffic stops occurred in the targeted hotspots. This equated to significant enforcement presence in the hotspot areas with over 600 traffic stops occurring each month in the hotspot areas - For every 100 traffic stops, there were nearly 95 verbal warnings, 2 citations, 14 arrests for misdemeanor and felony charges, and 17 fugitive arrests. - The heavy use of verbal warnings appears to reflect concern with maintaining positive relationships with Flint residents. - The high number of arrests per traffic stop reflects a very high level of enforcement productivity. - The initial set of analyses focused on the trend in violent crime in the DDACTS hotspot target areas. Violent crime (homicide, aggravated assaults, robberies, criminal sexual conduct, weapons offenses) declined 19 percent in the hotspot areas. The declines were observed in 14 of the 27 months of the DDACTS initiative. The remainder of the city experienced a 7 percent decline in violent crime. - Robberies declined 30 percent in the hotspot areas. The remainder of the city experienced a 2 percent decline in robberies. - Several analyses were undertaken to test rival explanations for the decline in violent crime. Specifically, "synthetic" comparison areas consisting of block groups within the city that were not subject to the DDACTS initiative were compared to the trend in violent crime in the hotspot areas. The findings indicated that the comparison areas also experienced a decline in violent crime. Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan Justice Statistics Center, 2014. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2015 at: http://cj.msu.edu/assets/DDACTS-Report-Expanded_BJS_2012_BJ_CX_K036-1-2-FINAL.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://cj.msu.edu/assets/DDACTS-Report-Expanded_BJS_2012_BJ_CX_K036-1-2-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 135656 Keywords: Crime Analysis Crime Hotspots Crime Prevention Evidence-Based Practices Police Patrol Stop and Search Violent Crime

Author: Curry, Philip A. Title: Crime, Apprehension and Clearance Rates: Panel Data Evidence from Canadian Provinces Summary: The Becker (1968) model of crime establishes the importance of the probability of apprehension as a key factor in a rational individual's decision to commit a crime. In this respect, most empirical studies have used U.S. data to study the effects of more police officers on crime rates. We add to the relatively thin literature on the impacts of clearance rates, which we think is an equally important measure of the probability of apprehension. Our data are drawn from a panel of Canadian provinces from 1986-2005. Reduced form and IV estimates yield statistically significant elasticities of clearance rates, ranging from -0.2 to -0.36 from violent crimes and from -0.5 to -0.6 for property crimes. We think that these findings reflect the importance of productivity of the police force in terms of solving crimes and the possibility that hiring of police officers will not necessarily result in lower crime rates. Details: Unpublished paper, 2013. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 19, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2336202 Year: 2013 Country: Canada URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2336202 Shelf Number: 135716 Keywords: Arrest and Apprehension Clearance Rates Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Levy, Horace Title: Youth Violence and Organized Crime in Jamaica: Causes and Counter-Measures. An Examination of the Linkages and Disconnections Summary: This Project emanated from the need to establish research-based grounds of solid value for an alternative to the mano dura approach, elements of which the authorities planned to continue using, or even extending, to address Jamaica's high homicide rates. The objective, therefore, was to investigate the relationship between youth violence and organized crime, with special attention given to the role of women and best practices and with the aim of influencing policy. Enabled by the Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) qualitative methodology, the Institute of Criminal Justice and Security (ICJS) research team was able, through focus groups and interviews with key informants, to engage directly with gangs and crews in communities in Kingston, and to a lesser extent, those in Spanish Town. The team encountered "defence crews" that were aligned to communities. These crews did not exhibit behaviour similar to that of illegal, wealth-seeking criminal gangs and, indicated no movement in that direction. Instead, they were strongly supported by women and responded positively to the mediatory and developmental "best practices" of state and non-state agencies. A significant number of criminal gang members also showed interest in pursuing an alternative and legal lifestyle. Women, for their part, were not associated with personal weapon usage. They tried to discourage conflicts and played an important part in community bonding. However, by having sexual relationships with "the enemy", they were often the ones blamed for provoking conflicts. For inner-city people, the community is of prime importance and defence crews and sometimes gangs are embedded in it. The various crews provide a constant source of enjoyment for inner-city people who live in depressed conditions. The research team recommends a national security policy that, rather than focusing simply on attacking the gangs, proposes the combination of community policing with community development and firmly asserting the central authority of the state. In the series of public forums held with security officials, the researchers received support for this approach from high-ranking officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). A number of specific recommendations include the provision of additional resources to "best practices", and women's empowerment, as well as ceasing to grant contracts to criminal gangs. Details: Ottawa: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), 2012. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 22, 2015 at: https://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/51348/1/IDL-51348.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Jamaica URL: https://idl-bnc.idrc.ca/dspace/bitstream/10625/51348/1/IDL-51348.pdf Shelf Number: 135756 Keywords: Gangs Homicides Juvenile Offenders Organized Crime Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Steele, Paul D. Title: The Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative in Albuquerque: Project Activities and Research Results Summary: The Strategic Alternatives to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI) was established by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1998. Implemented in ten cities, SACSI was a coordinated effort to reduce and prevent firearm and firearm-related violent crime. The initiative was notable for its innovative organization and approach. First, SACSI relied upon the participation of a core group of decision makers in each SACSI service area. These decision makers included local, state and federal law enforcement, prosecutorial, and corrections personnel as well as service providers and representatives from the community. Together, they constituted a working group that was charged with the responsibility of implementing new and potentially effective approaches to dealing with crime in the area served by the initiative. Second, the working group was supported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which was charged with the responsibility of facilitating and coordinating the working group's efforts. The U.S. Attorney's Office also had the opportunity to provide resources to local violence reduction strategies, and served as a member agency in the working group. Third, a research partner also supported the working group. The research partner's role included providing information concerning general crime patterns in the community, more focused analysis in support of strategic and tactical planning, knowledge concerning best practices for reducing gun violence, and assessment of local efforts to deal with violent crime. Ten cities were selected as SACSI sites; the first five (Indianapolis, Memphis, New Haven, Portland, and Winston-Salem) were funded in 1998, and the second five (Albuquerque, Atlanta, Detroit, Rochester, and St. Louis) were funded in 2000. From the perspective of the research partner, this report describes SACSI in the Albuquerque service area, which consists of Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Of particular note is the evolution of the local SACSI effort, including the development of the working group and various project initiatives in the community. Also highlighted are findings of research about criminal activities in the community, criminal justice responses to crime, and assessment of SACSI initiatives. To address these topics, the report is organized into four sections. The current section is comprised of three chapters. The current chapter concludes with a review of relevant literature concerning firearm, firearm-related, and other violent crime that was useful in orienting the project. Chapter II describes the development and implementation of the SACSI working group and initiatives in the Albuquerque service area, and Chapter III discusses research activities in the service area. The next section of the report describes crime offender, victim and crime episode patterns within the service area, highlighting trends and spatial distribution of serious violent crimes. It also covers the movement of homicide and aggravated assault cases in the service area reported to or detected by the police through the criminal justice system. Section three describes and assesses the various SACSI initiatives implemented in the community to respond to violent crime. The report concludes with a final section summarizing the findings and making recommendations for future activities. Details: Albuquerque, NM: New Mexico Criminal Justice Analysis Center, Institute for Social Research, University of New Mexico, 2005. 333p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2015 at: http://isr.unm.edu/reports/2005/sacsi.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://isr.unm.edu/reports/2005/sacsi.pdf Shelf Number: 135762 Keywords: Community Participation Firearms and Crime Gang-Related Violence Gangs Gun-Related Violence Guns Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Blattman, Christopher Title: Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence on Adult Noncognitive Investments in Liberia Summary: We show self control and self image are malleable in adults, and that investments in them reduce crime and violence. We recruited criminally-engaged Liberian men and randomized half to eight weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy, teaching self control skills and a noncriminal self-image. We also randomized $200 grants. Cash raised incomes and reduced crime in the short-run but effects dissipated within a year. Therapy increased self control and noncriminal values, and acts of crime and violence fell 20--50%. Therapy's impacts lasted at least a year when followed by cash, likely because cash reinforced behavioral changes via prolonged practice. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2015. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.nber.org/papers/w21204: http://www.nber.org/papers/w21204?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w21204?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw Shelf Number: 135781 Keywords: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Economics of Crime Rehabilitation Violence Violent Crime

Author: Janke, Katharina Title: Does Violent Crime Deter Physical Activity? Summary: Crime has been argued to have important externalities. We investigate the relationship between violent crime and an important type of behaviour: individuals' participation in their local area through walking and physical activity. We use a sample of nearly 1 million people residing in over 320 small areas in England between 2005 and 2011. We show that concerns about personal safety co-move with police recorded violent crime. To identify the causal effect of recorded violent crime on walking and other physical activity we control for individual-level characteristics, non-time varying local authority effects, national time effects and local authority-specific trends. In addition, we exploit a natural experiment that caused a sudden increase in crime - the 2011 England riots - to identify the causal impact of a large exogenous crime shock on physical activity in a triple difference framework. Our results show a substantive deterrent effect of local area violent crime on walking, pointing to important effects of violent crime on non-victims. The adverse effect of an increase in local area violent crime from the 25th to the 75th percentile on walking is equivalent in size to a 6 degrees Celsius fall in average minimum temperature. Details: Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper No. 7545: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp7545.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp7545.pdf Shelf Number: 129794 Keywords: Fear of Crime Physical Activity Riots Violent Crime

Author: University of Washington. Jackson School of International Studies Title: 2013 Task Force Report: Violent Crime Reduction in Rio de Janeiro Summary: Rio de Janeiro is infamous for violence. In many of the city's large, informal settlements known as favelas, violent drug gangs have ruled with impunity while corrupt police officers contribute to distrust of formal government. The introduction of new Pacifying Police Units (UPP) in 2008 has resulted in impressive progress, but much still remains to be done. The focus of this Task Force is to provide recommendations to ensure that the UPP program continues to be successful. Our recommendations are geared toward furthering UPP integration into communities in a way that 1) preserves the progress that has already been made and 2) ensures permanent change, both within Rio's troubled police force and in "pacified" communities. While much has been accomplished already, the task is far from complete. Each of the policy recommendations presented in the following chapters was prepared for the Public Security Secretary of Rio de Janeiro Jose Beltrame, and is tailored to his position and responsibilities. However, we recognize that a systemic problem cannot be solved by one actor, and real change must come from a combination of efforts on the part of government, NGOs, and community members themselves. The project is loosely divided into two broad sections. The first five chapters address ways internal police policies can be improved to strengthen the ability of UPPs to carry out their community policing mission. Topics include strengthening respect for community policing objectives within the police force, improving working conditions for officers, enhancing community control and involvement with local UPP units, coordinating with other governmental institutions to break the cycle of violence for convicted criminals, and including NGOs and community members in devising training curriculum for officers. The second half involves improving the means by which community upgrading projects and the provision of public services takes place after the UPPs are installed in communities. Topics include instituting a new system for coordinating public service works with ground-level community interests, improving access to healthcare within favelas by involving UPP officers in first-response systems, easing the process of land title formalization, and instituting programs to dissipate tensions between police and youth. Details: Seattle: Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, 2013. 270p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/22749/TF%20I%202013%20text.pdf?sequence=2 Year: 2013 Country: Brazil URL: https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/22749/TF%20I%202013%20text.pdf?sequence=2 Shelf Number: 129789 Keywords: Community Policing Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Crime Favelas Gang-Related Violence Gangs Violence Violent Crime

Author: Simmons, Krista Title: The State and Youth Violence:A Socio-Political Approach to Understanding Youth Violence in Rio de Janeiro's Favelas Summary: Drug trafficking has drastically increased levels of violence in Rio de Janeiro since the arrival of the cocaine trade in the early 1980's. The rate of homicides in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990's and early 2000's marked the city as one of the most violent urban centers in the world. Even today, there is an average of 20 homicides each day in Rio de Janeiro, a city of just under 12,000,000 people. The rate of death as a result of violence and other demographic factors such as an overabundance of male recorded deaths between the ages of 15-24, a deficit of young men, an imbalanced sex ratio, and a rise in youth mortality since the 1980's more closely mirror warzone demographics than those of a city in a modern, stable state such as Brazil. For example, between 1998 and 2000 there were between 2,000 and 5,000 violent deaths, in Yugoslavia, and roughly 11,000 in Angola. In the same period, Rio de Janeiro saw 7,465 citizens die as a result of violence. Of grave concern to children's rights activists has been the accompanying spike in violence against and among children and youth. Deaths by external causes among individuals under 18 years of age in Rio de Janeiro have increased from 8.1% in 1979 to 26.4% in 2002, with violent causes predominating external causes of death increasingly with time. The increased involvement of children in violent drug gangs is reflected in the testimony of local favela dwellers (or favelados), as well as Rio de Janeiro crime statistics. In 1980, there were 110 registered convictions of minors for drug related crime. By 2001, there were 1,584 convictions of minors for drug related crimes: a number shocking, although decreased from a high of 3,211 in 1998. This translates to a 1340% increase in drug related convictions among minors in Rio de Janeiro between 1980 and 2001. It is estimated that 5,000-6,000 children are currently working for drug factions within Rio de Janeiro's favelas (poor shanty towns). The realities faced by youth involved in organized drug violence in Rio de Janeiro are similar to those of child soldiers elsewhere in the world, with whom they share the dynamics of "voluntary" recruitment, a hierarchical structure of orders and punishment, access to and use of firearms and other weapons, kill-or-be-killed surroundings, and involvement in large-scale armed confrontations. Despite the similarities, however, the children of Rio's drug gangs cannot be classified as child soldiers because the drug factions for which they work have no political objectives or desire to replace the state. Furthermore, labeling them child soldiers runs the risk of legitimizing lethal state force against them. However, these children are clearly more than "delinquents." A call for a category all their own has grown in recent years, with Brazilian NGO, Viva Rio, developing a working definition for these children which can be applied in similar circumstances around the world: "Children and Youth in Organized Armed Violence (COAV) - Children and Youth employed or otherwise participating in Organized Armed Violence where there are elements of command structure and power over territory, local population, or resources." Details: Washington, DC: American University, 2010. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://auislandora-dev.wrlc.org/islandora/object/0910capstones%3A108 Year: 2010 Country: Brazil URL: http://auislandora-dev.wrlc.org/islandora/object/0910capstones%3A108 Shelf Number: 129786 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Favelas Homicides Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youth Violence

Author: Davies, Philip Title: Why is crime In South Africa so violent?: Rapid evidence assessment Summary: Political-Historical Factors South Africa's colonial and apartheid legacy is said to have given way to the 'normalisation' of violence, in which violence is seen as an acceptable means of problem solving and resolving conflict. The policing and justice system of South Africa is also seen as having led to a mistrust of the rule of law and authorities, and to some vigilantism and summary justice. Environmental factors Fractured families, poor socialisation, harsh and inconsistent discipline, physical and emotional abuse, and inadequate limit-setting are contributing factors to why crime in South Africa is so violent. So too are gangs that use violence, guns and other weapons to acquire goods, opportunities, and a sense of identity and self-worth. The misuse of alcohol and other drugs also increases the level of violence in criminal activity. Social attitudes and cultural values about gender condone and reinforce abusive practices against women. Individual Factors The age (younger), gender (males) and educational background (low achievement) of criminals are strongly associated with violent behaviour and violent crime. So too are certain psychological profiles and some psychiatric conditions. Poverty, unemployment inequality and social exclusion also contribute to South Africa's burden of violence, but are inseparably related to other key factors (political-historical, environmental and individual). Social Distribution of Violence Violent crime is not uniform across South Africa. The Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal have the highest rates of homicides, and Gauteng has the highest rates of car and truck hijacking and robberies. Affluent areas of South Africa experience more violent property crime, whilst poorer communities have more domestic violence, male-male assaults, murder and rape. Violent crime is a concern for Black and White South Africans, and the concerns of poorer communities about violence and violent crime need to be given greater attention. Promising Interventions for Reducing Violence and Violent Crime These include interventions at the political, environmental and individual levels, requiring actions that are inter-sectoral, strategic, and evidence-based. Interventions to reduce poverty, increase educational participation and completion, develop work-based skills and job opportunities, and support for programmes that seek to change social attitudes and norms (particularly those related to gender and violence), are suggested. Better control of guns, weapons, alcohol and other drugs are also called for. Multi-modal programmes for violent behaviour seem to be more effective than single component interventions. Inter-personal and social skills training, along with parenting skills training, seem to offer considerable opportunity to reduce violent and other antisocial behaviour. Details: Oxford Evidentia, 2011. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://www.pan.org.za/node/8682 Year: 2011 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.pan.org.za/node/8682 Shelf Number: 129779 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Vigilantism Violence Violent Crime

Author: Physicians for Human Rights Title: Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call for Accountability and Prevention Summary: Violence against ethnic and other minority groups living in Burma (officially the Union of Myanmar) has marked the country's history over the past several decades. Burma's former military regime made common practice of targeting ethnic communities for forced labor, sexual violence, and other serious crimes. Under Burma's current nominally democratic government, violence against marginalized groups has escalated to an unprecedented level as Rohingyas and other Muslims throughout Burma face renewed acts of violence. Persecution and violence against Rohingyas, a Muslim group long excluded from Burmese society and denied citizenship, has spread to other Muslim communities throughout the country. Serious human rights violations, including anti-Muslim violence, have resulted in the displacement of nearly 250,000 people since June 2011, as well as the destruction of more than 10,000 homes, scores of mosques, and a dozen monasteries. The successive waves of violence too often go unpunished by the Burmese government. At times, the crimes have even been facilitated by the police. The failure of the Burmese government to properly protect its people and address human rights violations committed by police officers signals serious obstacles ahead on the path from military dictatorship to a truly democratic country where everyone has a voice and the rights of all people are respected and protected. One of the most extreme and alarming examples of anti-Muslim violence was the March 2013 massacre of dozens of Muslim students, teachers, and other community members in Meiktila, a town in central Burma. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) conducted an in-depth investigation into those killings and released a report in May 2013 detailing the crimes. In an effort to place this particular incident in the wider context of ongoing violence, PHR produced this report to analyze and asses patterns of extreme violence from various sites across the country, which indicate that the government has consistently failed to properly address attacks driven by hate speech and racism. Further investigation by an independent commission is necessary to uncover additional details about the organization and motivation behind the recent violence. There are no simple solutions to stem rising tides of religious hatred and violence. The people of Burma face the significant task of choosing how to grapple with intolerance and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as myriad abuses by the government against other marginalized groups. The ultimate responsibility, however, rests with the Government of Burma, which must ensure that people are protected from violence and that any perpetrators are investigated, arrested, and charged according to fair and transparent legal standards. As this report demonstrates, while there have been several arrests following some of the most extreme outbreaks of violence, the government must do more not only to respond to the individual acts of violence, but also to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance where the rights of all people are protected. The Burmese government also has the responsibility to find durable solutions to end violence that respect ethnic diversity. Institutionalized displacement and segregation are abhorrent and unsustainable responses that have devastating consequences for those displaced by violence or fear of persecution. PHR conducted eight separate investigations in Burma and the surrounding region between 2004 and 2013. PHR's most recent field research in early 2013 indicates a need for renewed attention to violence against minorities and impunity for such crimes. The findings presented in this report are based on investigations conducted in Burma over two separate visits for a combined 21-day period between March and May 2013. The Government of Burma, civil society leaders, and the international community must act immediately to stop anti-Muslim violence in the country. The unhampered spread of violent incidents across Burma exposes concerning indicators of future violence. There is, for instance, rapid dissemination of hate speech against marginalized groups, widespread impunity for most perpetrators, and inaction or acquiescence by many leaders in government and the democracy movement. As we have witnessed in the past, these elements are ingredients for potential catastrophic violence in the future, including potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide. If left unchecked, this particular combination could lead to mass atrocities on a scale heretofore unseen in Burma. Details: New York: Physicians for Human Rights, 2013. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/Burma-Violence-Report-August-2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma URL: https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/Burma-Violence-Report-August-2013.pdf Shelf Number: 129780 Keywords: Bias-Related Crimes Ethnic Groups Hate Crimes Homicides Human Rights Abuses Minority Groups Muslims Religion Violence Violent Crime

Author: Paparazzo, John Title: Strategic Approaches to Preventing Multiple Casualty Violence: Report on the National Summit on Multiple Casualty Shootings. Summary: Immediately following the tragic shooting on July 20, 2012, at the Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and in recognition of increased public alarm over multiple casualty violence in the United States, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) began partnering with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and the Johns Hopkins University, School of Education, Division of Public Safety Leadership (JHU-PSL), to bring together a cross-section of stakeholders from a variety of disciplines, including law enforcement, health care, law, social sciences, education, and academia, for the purpose of improving the nation's ability to prevent such incidents. The three partners worked over the next several months to plan and coordinate the National Summit on Multiple Casualty Shootings, held at the FLETC's headquarters in Glynco, Georgia, December 11-13, 2012. More than two dozen experts from multiple disciplines assembled in an effort to advance the safety and security of the nation's communities: educational institutions, workplaces, public venues, places of worship, recreational areas, etc. The summit goal was to bring together a cadre of leaders and subject-area authorities to develop and propose a national dialogue on multiple casualty violence and to create a path forward. During the preliminary meeting phase of the summit, the planners developed a set of definitions to serve as a framework for discussions about preventing multiple casualty violence. The FLETC, COPS Office, and JHU-PSL invited subject-matter experts from a wide range of disciplines to engage a cross-section of professions positioned to help facilitate the prevention of multiple casualty violence. Over the course of the three-day summit, these participants further refined and structured the national dialogue on multiple casualty violence and discussed, debated, and built consensus on potential strategies for preventing such incidents. Through careful examination of voluminous summit notes and documentation, summit partners synthesized definitions into a common framework and developed recommendations for future actions. These delineate the direction of future conversations and meetings on preventing multiple casualty violence. Summary of Summit Recommendations Summit recommendations fell into a framework comprising one set focused on what institutions, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, can do to improve the prevention of multiple casualty violence, and one set centered on improving prevention efforts pertaining to individual subjects: Institution-focused 1. Maintain a multidisciplinary focus on preventing escalation toward a violent act. 2. Identify and promote the use of interdisciplinary models designed to prevent multiple casualty incidents through threat assessment and intervention. 3. Develop a public service campaign with a focus on the identification and notification of potential threats to begin a cultural shift toward the acceptability of reporting. 4. Better educate health care practitioners; school administrators, faculty, and staff; and law enforcement professionals about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and the Privacy Act to alleviate misperceptions or perceived barriers to sharing information across disciplines. 5. Draft a model statute establishing affirmative requirements for pertinent professions to report bona fide indicators of potentially violent behavior. Details: Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2013. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 27, 2015 at: https://www.fletc.gov/sites/default/files/imported_files/publications/summits-on-preventing-multiple-causality-violence/e021311546_MultiCasualty-Violence_v508_05APR13.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.fletc.gov/sites/default/files/imported_files/publications/summits-on-preventing-multiple-causality-violence/e021311546_MultiCasualty-Violence_v508_05APR13.pdf Shelf Number: 129823 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Homicides Mass Violence Multiple Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Myrttinen, Henri Title: Up in Smoke. Impoverishment and Instability in Post-Independence Timor Leste Summary: The scenes in Dili in late May 2006 were reminiscent of a previous wave of violence that had gripped the East Timorese capital. As in September 1999, the town was burning, armed gangs roamed the streets and a large part of the population was huddled together in the squalor of makeshift camps, where shops remained locked up, shots rang out across town and Australian Defence Force (ADF) troops secured the airport perimeter for evacuations. Apart from a sense of deja vu and these superficial similarities, however, the situation in 2006 was very different from 1999. On the one hand, it was much simpler: it was not a campaign of orchestrated, all-out violence committed by a heavily armed occupation force with its paramilitary proxies in defiance of the international community that needed to be brought to a halt. The violence in 2006 was on a much smaller scale. But the problem was also much more complicated this time around, as the perpetrators were members of Timorese society and finding workable solutions to the crisis was far harder. At the end of May 2006, the humanitarian situation in Dili was dire and the security situation precarious. Of the city's approximately 150,000 inhabitants, almost half were in 'internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps. The fighting of the previous few weeks had left at least 37 dead. In addition to perhaps hundreds of houses, much else had gone up in smoke - trust in the central institutions of the state, trust in key political figures, trust in the international community, trust in the power of the intervening peacekeepers to provide security and, perhaps most seriously, trust in one another's neighbours, in the neighbouring communities and even in the unity of the nation. Much had gone up in smoke. Almost a year and a half on, the violence has subsided to a level where it is almost a kind of 'background noise.' There are gang fights, occasional killings, random cases of arson and cars are still stoned on a regular basis, but the violence is usually restricted to certain areas - which then tend to be avoided by all who do not live in them. Few people move around after dark any more. Tens of thousands of Timorese remain in IDP camps, most of them in and around Dili. A new government has been elected, numerous peace and reconciliation efforts have been launched but a long-term solution still seems elusive. Details: Helsinki: Kehitysyhteisty�n palvelukeskus, 2007. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Kepa's Working Paper 11: Accessed May 28, 2015 at: https://www.kepa.fi/tiedostot/julkaisut/up-in-smoke.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Indonesia URL: https://www.kepa.fi/tiedostot/julkaisut/up-in-smoke.pdf Shelf Number: 129961 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Levy, Horace Title: Inner city, killing streets, reviving community Summary: Jamaica stands out world-wide for its extremely high rate of homicides. Less known but no less significant is the steady and threatening rate of homicidal increase - and beyond the numbers the daily, endless weeping, the habituation to violence and its ingraining in the life of a people. Still less accessible to the world have been the predictions of knowledgeable observers on the ground for more than a decade that worse was to come. What did these observers see - who evidently did not find the source of the problem all that abstruse - that those did not who might have been able to check the increase, head off the consequences and prevent the pain? Or if they did, were slow or unwilling to act? And why so unseeing - and unwilling? Over 40 per cent of the homicides in Jamaica - it used to be 70 per cent until the epidemic spread - occur in the communities of Kingston's inner city and in a context of community violence. It is clearly necessary, if this current of homicidal violence is to be checked, to examine the community context, the possible sources there of the violence and any countering attempts that have been made, those in particular that have been effective. Hopefully any conclusions reached will have some impact on policy with those who make it. The task then is to trace, even if fairly briefly, the trajectory of violence since the formation of political parties in the late 1930s and early 1940s, while paying special attention to the underlying continuity factor, which is community. A theoretical framework highlighting the importance of the community in civil society as well as the contrary significance of violence will also be tentatively and summarily advanced. This study, then, adopts as a working hypothesis that, however insufficiently recognised by policy makers, community plays a critical role in local homicide. Historically on a national scale community has been paid enormous attention from the days of Jamaica Welfare, which was started in 1937 by Norman Manley, one of the "fathers of the nation". The specific quasi-community or anti-community formation playing a role in homicide is the "garrison". It came into existence between 1965 and 1975 - the major exemplars, that is, and since then most of lower-income Kingston has been garrisoned - but had its foundations laid much earlier. The organization and structure of governance of the garrison are carefully scrutinized in this paper, with examination of actual instances leading to the identification of a typology that explains much of garrison behaviour. Details: Kingston, Jamaica: Arawak, 2009. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Arawak Monograph Series: Accessed May 29, 2015 at: http://sta.uwi.edu/conferences/12/icopa/documents/Horace%20Levy%20PAPER%20Inner%20city%20killing%20streets%20reviving%20the%20community.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Jamaica URL: http://sta.uwi.edu/conferences/12/icopa/documents/Horace%20Levy%20PAPER%20Inner%20city%20killing%20streets%20reviving%20the%20community.pdf Shelf Number: 135799 Keywords: Communities Gangs Homicides Urban Areas and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Braehler, Verena Barbara Title: Inequality of Security: Exploring Violent Pluralism and Territory in Six Neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Summary: Security is a universal human right and a highly valued societal good. It is crucial for the preservation of human life and is of inestimable value for our societies. However, in Latin America, the right to security is far from being universally established. The aim of this sequential, exploratory mixed methods study is to explore the logic of security provision in six neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro (Vidigal, Santissimo, Complexo do Alemao, Tabuleiro, Botafogo and Novo Leblon) and assess its implications for citizens' right to security. The findings from the research show that, on a city level, Rio de Janeiro's security network can best be understood as an oligopoly because different security providers (police, municipal guards, military, private security companies, militias and drug trafficking factions) are connected through cooperative, neutral or conflictual relationships and need to consider the actions and reactions of other groups when taking strategic decisions. On a neighbourhood level, the preferred option for security providers are monopolistic-type constellations, characterised by relative peace and stability. However, all actors are willing to engage in violence if the perceived political and/or economic benefits are great enough. The thesis shows that the relative power and influence of the security providers are primarily determined by the way they are perceived by the local communities and by their capacity to use violence effectively. Despite its appearance as chaotic, violence is therefore an instrument which is negotiated and managed quite carefully. The thesis concludes that insecurity and violence in Rio de Janeiro are primarily fuelled by the struggle for territorial control between conflicting security providers within the oligopoly. The oligopolistic constellation of security providers leads to an inequality of security, defined as a condition in which the right to security is not enjoyed by all residents to the same extent. Details: London: University College London, 2014. 292p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 30, 2015 at: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1457437/1/Verena_Barbara_Braehler_PhD_thesis.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1457437/1/Verena_Barbara_Braehler_PhD_thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 135808 Keywords: Gangs Neighborhoods and Crime Organized Crime Security Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Santamaria, Gema Title: Drugs, gangs and vigilantes: how to tackle the new breeds of Mexican armed violence Summary: Since 2007 Mexico has experienced a steady increase in lethal and non-lethal forms of violence, including kidnappings, extortion, extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances. This spiral of violence has been driven by the consolidation and expansion of non-conventional armed actors operating in an institutional and political climate characterised by pervasive levels of corruption, impunity and criminal collusion. Public indignation over this state of affairs reached a high after the disappearance of 43 trainee teachers in the town of Iguala in September 2014. This report analyses the objectives, structures and impact of non-conventional armed actors in Mexico, focusing on drug-trafficking organisations, street gangs and so-called self-defence forces. It examines the pitfalls and lessons learned from the country's past and present security strategies, and lays out the basis for an alternative approach to understanding and tackling non-conventional armed violence. Based on a careful analysis of the dynamic and hybrid character of these groups, the report argues for an approach that prioritises the fight against corruption and the protection of embattled communities through localised prevention, geographic sequencing and knowledge-based policing. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2014. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 2, 2015 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Santamar%C3%ADa_NOREF_Drugs%2C_gangs_and_vigilantes_December%202014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Santamar%C3%ADa_NOREF_Drugs%2C_gangs_and_vigilantes_December%202014.pdf Shelf Number: 135843 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Homicides Kidnapping Organized Crime Political Corruption Violence Violent Crime

Author: Gutierrez, Michel Estefan Title: Violence, In Mexico? Homicide in a Democratizing Society Summary: Scholars who study Mexico have recently argued that the process of democratization the country went through in the past three decades contributed to the upsurge in violence we are currently witnessing. As one regime collapsed and the other emerged, change begot violence. Amid the flood of unequivocal assertions, however, a simple question remains: exactly how violent is Mexico? So far, the academic literature has failed to paint a systematic picture of patterns of violence in Mexico. In this thesis, I set the record straight regarding violence in Mexico and its connection to the country's transition to democracy. I make two empirical contributions that are theoretically consequential. First, I show that regardless of the data source used, violence in Mexico as measured by homicide rates decreased steadily since the early 1990s until 2007. Second, using a series of multiple regression models to determine the effect of political competition and voting participation on homicide rates, I show that democracy has not made Mexico more violent, but less. These findings force us to revisit our understanding of late twentieth century Mexico as a violent, unruly society, as well as debates on the causes of violence in the last few years. They also open new paths for theoretical reflection, raising the puzzle of change without disruption. Details: Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, 2011. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: accessed June 3, 3015 at: http://www.cdeunodc.inegi.org.mx/articulos/doc/tesis2estefan.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.cdeunodc.inegi.org.mx/articulos/doc/tesis2estefan.pdf Shelf Number: 129729 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides Murders Violent Crime

Author: Adams, Tani Marilena Title: Chronic violence and non-conventional armed actors: a systemic approach Summary: The phenomenon of "non-conventional armed violence, which refers to the hybrid forms of organised violence that emerge outside or alongside traditional armed conflict, is best understood through a more systemic understanding of violence. Many groups and individuals identified as part of the "nonconventional" phenomenon form part of a larger, self-reproducing system of chronic violence. These systems are driven by a complex combination of structural factors and behaviours, cultures, and practices that undermine human development in predictable ways. In short, chronic violence underpins the spread of the hybrid armed groups and factions that are now the focus of international attention in various regions. As a result, policymakers and practitioners must move beyond the current emphasis on normative approaches that are focused narrowly on security and justice to a broader array of strategies rooted in an understanding of the complex social forces that drive these patterns of behaviour. This requires a shift from single-issue approaches to more systemic multifocal processes; transcending the objective of violence reduction to focus on helping affected communities and groups to "thrive"; combining national-level top-down approaches with micro-level bottom-up strategies; and ensuring that the destructive dynamics of trauma are fully integrated into analysis and programming. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre, 2014. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2015 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Adams_NOREF_Chronic%20Violence_SEPT_NY%20FINAL.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/Adams_NOREF_Chronic%20Violence_SEPT_NY%20FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 135870 Keywords: Chronic Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Kennedy, David M. Title: Custom Notifications: Individualized Communication in the Group Violence Intervention Summary: The National Network for Safe Communities' Group Violence Intervention (GVI) has repeatedly demonstrated that serious violence can be reduced when law enforcement, community members, and social service providers join together to engage directly with violent street groups and clearly communicate (1) a credible, moral message against violence; (2) a credible law enforcement message about the group consequences of further violence; and (3) a genuine offer of help for those who want it. Custom Notifications: Individualized Communication in the Group Violence Intervention provides practical information about "custom notifications," an independent element of GVI that enables quick, tactical, direct communication to particular group members. Custom notifications articulate that group members are valued members of the community, give individualized information about their legal risk, and offer opportunities for help. They effectively interrupt group "beefs," avoid retaliation after incidents, calm outbreaks of violence, and reinforce the GVI message. This publication presents the custom notification process, explains its value within the broader strategy, details its use by several national practitioners, and encourages further development. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2014. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed June 4, 2015 at: http://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-p304-pub.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-p304-pub.pdf Shelf Number: 135904 Keywords: Communications Community Participation Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Macaluso, Agnese Title: Trapped in the City: Communities, Insecurity and Urban Life in Fragile States Summary: Hague Institute Researcher Agnese Macaluso and Clingendael's Senior Research Fellow Ivan Briscoe coauthored a policy brief on the challenges that fast-growing cities in fragile and developing states need to face in tackling insecurity and violence. The brief builds on the expert event Big Cities: Sources of and Solutions to New Insecurities hosted by the Secretariat of the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law in November 2014 at The Hague Institute for Global Justice. The meeting was intended to provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing and policy thinking on the impact of cities in fragile and conflict-affected environments, as well as to discuss possible donor responses to problems associated with urban development. A number of sessions brought together experts from different countries in the Global South, in order to discuss violence and insecurity in their urban dimension on the basis of concrete experiences. Furthermore, the discussion also sought to assess the value and impact of possible responses. Discussions benefited from the presentation of case studies from cities located in diverse geographical and cultural contexts, including Caracas, Karachi, Lagos, Nairobi and San Salvador - different in many ways, yet sharing similar social traumas and security concerns. A vital lesson that emerged from the discussion and participants' experiences is that understanding the real nature of urban insecurity requires stepping beyond the traditional analytical framework based on concepts such as legal and illegal, formal or informal, legitimate or illegitimate, and instead digging into the nuances and social adaptations undertaken in contexts of urban survival. In many urban contexts, the concept of crime is vague and difficult to define, since public institutions can be the main perpetrators of violence and gangs are relied upon to provide stability and security. The same ambiguity characterizes the most recent innovations to social problems that rapid urbanization has generated: while traditional governance approaches are often inadequate, high-tech solutions for urban dilemmas - often dependent on private sector involvement - pose new ethical and social challenges, and demand careful consideration of possible risks for the public interest. This brief builds on the insights from the seminar, and points to some of the more critical and controversial aspects of urban insecurity, above all in fragile and conflict-affected states. It explores relationship between violence, power and society in urban contexts, and aims to provide policy-relevant insights for the design of new approaches to urban governance. Details: The Hague: The Hague Institute for Global Justice, 2015. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2015 at: http://thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/cp/uploads/publications/trapped-in-the-city-communities-insecurity-and-urban-life-in-fragile-states%20(2).pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/cp/uploads/publications/trapped-in-the-city-communities-insecurity-and-urban-life-in-fragile-states%20(2).pdf Shelf Number: 135907 Keywords: Gangs Urban Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Jensen, Elise Title: Through the NOVA Door: A Process Evaluation of Shelby County's Defending Childhood Initiative Summary: As part of the U.S. Attorney General's Defending Childhood Demonstration Program, eight sites around the country were funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Office of Violence Against Women to use a collaborative process to develop and implement programming to address children's exposure to violence in their communities. Shelby County, Tennessee was chosen as one of these sites, and, since 2010, has received over $3 million in federal funding for this initiative. Led by the Shelby County Office of Early Childhood and Youth, the Shelby County Defending Childhood Initiative is known as the Network for Overcoming Violence and Abuse ("NOVA"). The program serves children ages 0-17 who have directly or indirectly been exposed to violence and initially targeted three apartment complexes in the Frayser and Hickory Hill neighborhoods in Memphis. These locations were chosen because of their high concentrations of violent crime and poverty. A major component of the initiative was to place staff in the three target apartment complexes, where staff conducted outreach to children and families in need, and, through case management and advocacy, referred and connected families to necessary services for therapeutic treatment and to organizations that could help them meet other basic needs (e.g., rental assistance). NOVA also created a service delivery model based on a "No Wrong Door" approach where at-risk children or children who have been exposed to violence and their parents in the targeted neighborhoods could receive treatment services as well as support for taking care of their basic needs no matter where their needs are identified. Other components of NOVA's programming included holding two community awareness campaigns. One targeted the professional community-law enforcement, treatment providers, and others who work with children and youth-to let them know about the services available through NOVA. A separate community awareness campaign was created for community members, particularly residents in the targeted apartment complexes and consisted of fairs and community cafes where apartment residents would learn about different topics, such as child abuse prevention and nurturing parenting. In addition, NOVA partnered with the University of Memphis' Department of Social Work to train professionals who work with children on children's exposure to violence. Finally, NOVA contracted with external consultants to create a shared data management system to be used as a trauma surveillance, referral and case management tool by NOVA agencies and others after the Defending Childhood grant ends. NOVA created many opportunities for both children and adults of Shelby County who have been affected by violence, and the collaboration among NOVA's many partner agencies has been one of the initiative's notable successes. However, the strategy of place-based targeted outreach and case management, although successful in helping families in need, may have shifted the focus of the initiative away from addressing children's exposure to violence to a focus on the associated problems of concentrated poverty and housing instability found in the targeted apartment complexes. A place-based approach may be more appropriate for initiatives that address poverty than for ones that have a specific focus on children's exposure to violence. Despite this caution arising from the research on the NOVA program, evidence is insufficient to conclude definitively that a place-based model for addressing exposure to violence could not be strengthened. Details: New York: Center for Court Innovation, 2015. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 8, 2015 at: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Shelby_County.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.courtinnovation.org/sites/default/files/documents/Shelby_County.pdf Shelf Number: 135969 Keywords: At Risk Youth Children and Violence Victims of Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Livingston, Andrew Title: A Reputation for Violence: Fractionalization's Impact on Criminal Reputation and the Mexican State Summary: Friday night, July 8th 2011 - gunmen aligned with Los Zetas smash their way into a bar in the Northern Mexican city of Monterrey. They open fire and kill 20 people while wounding even more. The next morning, in an unrelated incident, police find 10 people shot and left to rot in an abandoned SUV. In just 24 short hours, 30 people are added to the ever-expanding casualty count. Horrific days of violence like these have become more frequent over the past few years. The Government of Mexico responds to violent organized criminal groups (OCGs) by increasing enforcement and the OCGs retaliate with brazen acts of aggressive defiance. The 15,000 that died in 2010 alone, elevates the death toll from the Mexican Drug War to around 35,000 since 2007. These huge numbers have a way of desensitizing us to the reality of death. That cannot be allowed to happen. On average, 14 sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends and neighbors are murdered every day in the violent border city of Juarez. Fourteen died yesterday and more will perish today, tomorrow, and the day after. In an effort to reduce violence and the power of criminal organizations, US and Mexican strategy has focused primarily on removing high valued targets within an OCG's top leadership in order to fracture the organization's power structure. Mexican President Felipe Calderon believes breaking up the gangs will turn a criminal problem that threatens Mexican national security into a regional safety issue. But in the short run fragmentation causes spikes in violence because conflicts arise within and between criminal organizations. After the pre-existing power relationship disintegrates, leaders of criminal groups attempt to increase their market share by muscling out the competition. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration views this escalation in violence as "a sign of success in the fight against drugs" an instance of "caged animals, attacking one another." But this view may be oversimplified. Organized crime groups are horizontally structured for-profit criminal businesses that operate to maximize revenues gained from illegal activities. They typically engage in violence only when it serves a specific business purpose. The strategy of continually breaking apart criminal organizations has kept the balance of power from reaching a stable equilibrium. These uncertain conditions incentivize OCGs to forcefully take advantage of their rivals' unstable control over market share. But physical violence is only one way to increase market share and control competitors. Establishing a threatening reputation from past displays of violence and corrupting government officials are integral components of a combined strategy that allow an OCG to attain a dominant status within the market hierarchy without having to resort to expensive warfare. The following analysis considers criminal violence in Mexico from an economic perspective of illegal firms' incentives to build violent reputation capital. Studying the costs and benefits of utilizing violent intimidation and institutional corruption to gain an economic advantage provides an objective point from which the success or failure of the US-Mexican strategy of fragmentation can be analyzed. Reputation building by criminal organizations will be discussed in the context of their effect on the local population, the government and rival OCGs. This analysis will attempt to answer the central question of whether President Calderon's war against the organized crime groups increases violence and destabilizes the Mexican state. In the end, the continuous periods of intense violence that occur when government enforcement keeps the market destabilized perpetuates an environment where reputation must be constantly rebuilt and reaffirmed with actual displays of violence. This violent environment selects for the most aggressive and brutal leaders all while overburdening criminal justice system and eroding public confidence in the rule of law. Going after the dangerous criminals that control Mexico's illicit underworld sounds like a reasonable and responsible plan to weaken their power over the state but in the end, constantly breaking apart criminal organizations exacerbates many of the problems the government is trying to solve. Details: Hamilton, NY: Colgate University, 2011. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://www.colgate.edu/portaldata/imagegallerywww/096e1793-d3a4-43b3-b7fa-bd595c56c799/ImageGallery/LivingstonA(1)FinalCopy.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.colgate.edu/portaldata/imagegallerywww/096e1793-d3a4-43b3-b7fa-bd595c56c799/ImageGallery/LivingstonA(1)FinalCopy.pdf Shelf Number: 135999 Keywords: Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime War on drugs

Author: Butts, Jeffrey A. Title: Denormalizing Violence: Evaluation Framework for a Public Health Model of Violence Prevention Summary: Despite having one of the lowest murder rates among major U.S. cities, gun violence continues to be a serious problem in New York City. In 2011, the New York City Council created the Task Force to Combat Gun Violence. In a December 2012 report, the Task Force recommended the initiation of a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary "crisis management system" to reduce the incidence and severity of gun violence. The system was based on the Cure Violence model of violence reduction. Cure Violence utilizes a public health approach. It considers gun violence to be analogous to a communicable disease that passes from person to person when left untreated. According to the logic of Cure Violence, gun violence is most effectively reduced by changing the behavior of individuals at risk to participate in gun violence and "denormalizing" violence by working to change the community norms that support and perpetuate gun violence. The Research & Evaluation (R&E) Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is currently evaluating the effectiveness of the Cure Violence approach to violence reduction. Between April 2013 and February 2014, staff from the R&E Center began the project by visiting Cure Violence sites in New York City and Chicago, the home base for Cure Violence. Researchers observed the operation of the program and assessed the suitability of the model for detailed evaluation. The team reviewed documents and websites about the project, interviewed program staff, and spoke with local officials involved in the design and launch of the initiative in both cities. Researchers also met with staff of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which supports the Cure Violence model and contributed partial funding for this research. The following report addresses the operations of the Cure Violence model and how it differs from other approaches for reducing gun violence. It reviews the evidence underlying these models and proposes an agenda for future evaluation research. Details: New York: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Research & Evaluation Center, 2014. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 14, 2015 at: http://johnjayresearch.org/rec/files/2014/03/denormalizing.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://johnjayresearch.org/rec/files/2014/03/denormalizing.pdf Shelf Number: 136030 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun-Related Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Delgado, Sheyla A. Title: Perceptions of Violence: Surveying Young Males in New York City. Summary: Violent crime in New York City declined sharply during the previous two decades, but some neighborhoods remain highly vulnerable to gun violence. In 2011, the City Council's Task Force to Combat Gun Violence recommended the implementation of a new "Crisis Management System" (CMS) in five New York City neighborhoods. The CMS approach includes strategies from the Chicago-based Cure Violence model along with other social and legal services. The Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College began assessing the implementation and effects of these efforts in 2013. One element in the project involves in-person surveys with young men (ages 18-30) in many of the neighborhoods implementing the strategy. The study operates under the brand name, "NYC-Cure." This report contains survey results from the first four neighborhoods to be involved in the NYC-Cure study. The survey instrument measures personal attitudes towards violence and experiences with violence, as well as each respondent's awareness of local violence prevention efforts. Additional surveys are being conducted in these and other neighborhoods around New York City in an effort to detect any changes over a three-year period. The study relies on Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) methods to recruit survey respondents. Key Findings: 1. According to surveys conducted from March through June of 2014, Cure Violence programs have established a strong presence in New York City neighborhoods. The majority of young males in each neighborhood surveyed for this study recognized the educational materials (e.g. flyers, pamphlets, etc.) used by the organizations to promote their services. When asked if they recognized any staff from the programs (using unlabeled photographs), the majority of the survey respondents recognized at least one staff member. 2. Gun violence in these neighborhoods remains a real concern. When respondents were asked about their exposure to guns and gun violence, the majority reported hearing gunfire in their neighborhood at least once in the past 12-months and almost one-quarter (23%) heard gunshots more than 10 times. 3. Violent victimizations are common in these neighborhoods. Almost one in five survey respondents reported being stabbed at some time in the past, and almost 40 percent reported that they had been the target of gunfire in the past. 4. Contact with law enforcement was also common. Nearly 80 percent of all survey respondents reported that they had been "stopped, questioned, and frisked" in their neighborhoods at least once within the past year. Details: New York, NY: Research & Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2015. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 15, 2015 at: https://jjrec.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/perceptionsofviolence.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://jjrec.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/perceptionsofviolence.pdf Shelf Number: 136077 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Violent Offenders Young Adult Offenders

Author: Teplin, Linda A. Title: Violent Death in Delinquent Youth After Detention Summary: This bulletin examines the results of the Northwestern Juvenile Project - a longitudinal study of youth detained at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, IL. Among the issues under examination, the authors looked at mortality rates among the youth enrolled in the project. Some findings include the following: - The standardized mortality rate for delinquent youth is more than four times the rate for youth in the general population. - The mortality rate for delinquent female youth is nearly eight times the rate in the general population. - The vast majority of deaths among delinquent youth were homicides from gunshot wounds. - African American youth continue to experience the highest mortality rate. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Accessed July 20, 2015 at: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248408.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248408.pdf Shelf Number: 136113 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Homicides Juvenile Offenders Racial Disparities Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Marczak, Jason Title: Security in Central America's Northern Triangle: Violence Reduction and the Role of the Private Sector in El Salvador Summary: In the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the increase in violence and organized crime highlights the need for new approaches to improve citizen security. In the case of El Salvador, a March 2012 gang truce has halved the daily homicide rate, opening an opportunity to build on existing efforts or to launch new approaches aimed at violence prevention. While public safety is the responsibility of the state, this Americas Society policy brief highlights the role of the private sector in violence prevention. It highlights innovative corporate efforts in violence prevention so that policymakers, businesses leaders, and others concerned about improvements in security can learn from these initiatives and obtain a more nuanced grasp of the possible space that can be filled by the private sector. Security in Central America's Northern Triangle: Violence Reduction and the Role of the Private Sector in El Salvador focuses on the role that multinational corporations can play in forging an integrated approach to crime reduction. This is a little known field in Central America. While the policy brief analyzes reinsertion efforts for former gang members and at-risk youth programs in the Salvadoran context, it also serves as a reference point for Honduras and Guatemala. Drawing examples from a larger sample of violence prevention efforts, the Americas Society policy brief highlights five corporate efforts that are creating safer communities and contributing to business bottom line. The local focus and the direct or indirect cooperation with the public sector are critical to program success. One of the companies, Grupo Calvo, employs 90 rehabilitated former gang members in its El Salvador plant-about 5 percent of its staff-and facilitates employment opportunities with suppliers for an additional 100 former gang members. These workers are some of the strongest and most productive employees at Grupo Calvo as well as at League Collegiate Wear, where 15 percent (40 employees) of its Salvadoran workforce joined the company through its reinsertion program. Additional companies featured in the policy brief include the AES Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Rio Grande Foods. Five recommendations are issued: 1.The private and public sectors each bring unique ideas, resources, and skills to violence prevention efforts and must find ways to coordinate these efforts, especially at the local level. 2.Corporate practices to improve security must be continuously catalogued and updated with a central repository and coordinating institution. 3.Private-sector violence prevention programs must be recognized both for their value in improving local communities as well the potential benefits they can bring to corporate bottom lines. 4.Reinsertion efforts and at-risk youth programs analyzed in the Salvadoran context should serve as examples-both the lessons learned and the overall strategies-for other Northern Triangle countries. 5.Regular dialogue between the public and private sectors is critical for identifying medium- to long-term violence prevention programs that will outlast the period in office of one particular official or political party. Details: New York: Americas Society, 2011. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Americas Society Policy Brief: Accessed July 23, 2015 at: http://www.as-coa.org/sites/default/files/Central%20American%20Security%202012.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Central America URL: http://www.as-coa.org/sites/default/files/Central%20American%20Security%202012.pdf Shelf Number: 136141 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Drug Trafficking Gangs Public Safety Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Heinle, Kimberly Title: Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2014 Summary: - Violence is lower in Mexico than elsewhere in the Americas, but average for the region. Levels of violence are relatively lower in Mexico than in several other countries in the Americas, but are about average for the Western Hemisphere. Mexico's 2012 homicide rate of 21.5 was just above the region's average of approximately 21.4 homicides per 100,000 people. However, this was up nearly threefold from Mexico's rate of 8.1 per 100,000 in 2007. No other country in the hemisphere has seen such a large increase in the number or rate of homicides over the last decade. - Homicides had been declining through the mid-2000s, reaching a record low in 2007. Continuing a long-term trend, the number of intentional homicides documented by Mexico's National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information (INEGI) declined significantly under both presidents Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) and Vicente Fox (2000-2006). Under Zedillo, the number of intentional homicides declined fairly steadily from 15,839 in 1994 to 10,737 in 2000, totaling 80,311 homicides. The annual number of homicides fluctuated somewhat under Fox, but continued to decline generally, with a total of 60,162 homicides. Moreover, the number of homicides actually reached a record low of 8,867 intentional homicides in 2007, the first full year in office for Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). - Violence grew dramatically after 2008, with the number of homicides peaking in 2011. After Calderon's first year, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI climbed sharply, with year-over-year increases of more than 58% in 2008, 41% in 2009, 30% in 2010, and 5% in 2011. As predicted by last year's Justice in Mexico drug violence report, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI declined somewhat in 2012, Calderon's final year in office. Specifically, our March 2013 report predicted that INEGI would register a modest decline for 2012 (no greater than 8.5%). According to figures released in late-2013, the number of intentional homicides documented by INEGI for 2012 declined about 4% to 26,037. All told, throughout the Calderon administration, INEGI reported 121,669 homicides, an average of over 20,000 people per year, more than 55 people per day, or just over two people every hour. - The total number of homicides appears to have declined by nearly 15% again in 2014. While INEGI's figures are not available for 2014, preliminary data from Mexico's National Security System (SNSP) suggests that the total number of intentional homicides in 2013 declined again this year by about the same proportion as in 2013. However, some analysts are skeptical about SNSP's data because of concerns about possible political manipulation by the Peea Nieto administration, so these findings should be viewed with caution. Keeping such concerns in mind, at the time of this report, SNSP's tally of all intentional homicides in 2014 was 15,649, down 13.8% from the 18,146 reported for 2013 the same time last year. The authors estimate a more modest rate of decline (about 9%) for INEGI's figures, to be released later in 2015. - Mexico's recent violence is largely attributable to drug trafficking and organized crime. A large part of the sudden increase in violence in Mexico is attributable to drug trafficking and organized crime groups. Tallies compiled independently by media organizations in Mexico suggest that at least a third and as many as half of all intentional homicides in 2014 bore characteristics typical of organized-crime related killings, including the use of high-caliber automatic weapons, torture, dismemberment, and explicit messages involving organized-crime groups. The Mexican newspaper Reforma put the figure at 6,400 organized-crime-style homicides in 2014 (though its coverage appeared to be less complete and less consistent with other sources than previous years), while Milenio reported 7,993 for the year. - Amid declining violence, serious security crises continued in central & Pacific states. Even amid the overall reduction in violence, there were serious security crises in central and Pacific states, notably the states of Guerrero, Mexico, and Michoacan. In early 2014, clashes broke out between the Knights Templar Organization (Caballeros Templarios, or KTO) and local "self-defense" (autodefensa) groups in Michoacan, causing the federal government to intervene and deputize some self-defense groups, creating official Rural Defense Forces. In late 2014, there were a series of violent crackdowns by authorities that resulted in the deaths of scores of people - including both alleged criminals and innocent civilians - in the states of Mexico and Guerrero, provoking national and international condemnations. In particular, when municipal authorities in the town of Iguala, Guerrero allegedly turned over dozens of student protestors to a local organized crime group known as the Guerreros Unidos, the perceived corruption and ineptitude of government officials led to massive protests and even acts of violence throughout the country. - The Mexican government arrested major drug traffickers, including "El Chapo" Guzman. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018) has continued the previous administration's efforts to arrest major organized crime figures. In early 2014, the Pena Nieto administration succeeded in arresting Mexico's most notorious drug trafficker Joaqu�n "El Chapo" Guzman (head of the Sinaloa Cartel). In 2014, federal authorities also eliminated key leaders of the Knights Templar Organization, killing Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, a.k.a. "El Chayo" (who had been previously presumed dead) and Enrique "El Kike" Plancarte Solis. In early 2015, authorities continued to make important arrests targeting the Knights Templar Organization, the Gulf Cartel, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, and the Zetas. - Recent organized crime arrests have not appeared to produce large spikes in violence. Some experts say that destroying leadership structures leads to greater violence because it contributes to infighting, splintering, and/or encroachment by rival criminal organizations. However, compared to previous years, the Mexican government's arrests of high-level members of organized crime groups have not resulted in such dramatic surges in violence due to infighting, splintering, or encroachment by rival criminal organizations. This may be attributable to a number of factors, including the dwindling size and capacity of criminal organizations in Mexico, the reduction in competition over drug production and trafficking routes, and/or the possible collusion of government officials to broker a peace. - Mexican security efforts appear more focused on prevention and criminal justice reform. While President Pena Nieto continued the same strategies of the previous administration during his first year in office, he also began to emphasize crime prevention and judicial system reform more strongly than in the past. Indeed, both the federal and state governments have moved into high gear in the effort to transition Mexico to a new oral, adversarial criminal procedure - popularly referred to as "oral trials" (juicios orales) - that proponents believe will provide greater transparency, efficiency, and fairness in the Mexican criminal justice system. In 2014, the Pena Nieto administration moved these efforts forward considerably by approving a Unified Code of Criminal Procedure that will be implemented at the federal and state levels throughout the country by June 2016. Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico Project, University of San Diego, 2015. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2015 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-Drug-Violence-in-Mexico-final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-Drug-Violence-in-Mexico-final.pdf Shelf Number: 136142 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Drugs and Crime Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Ingram, Matthew C. Title: Homicide in El Salvador's Municipalities: Spatial Clusters and the Causal Role of Neighborhood Effects, Population Pressures, Poverty, and Education Summary: Violence directly affects individual and community well-being, and is also increasingly understood to undercut democracy and development. For public health scholars, violence presents a direct harm to health and well-being. In the worst cases, violence is lethal. Violence also generates serious costs to democracy. Fear and insecurity erode public trust and interpersonal confidence, hindering civic engagement and participation in public life. Further, low public trust undermines the legitimacy of democratic institutions, and persistent insecurity can generate support for heavy-handed or authoritarian policies. Indeed, in some new democracies in the region, including El Salvador, frustration with criminal violence has led majorities to support a return to authoritarian government. Across the region, polls identify crime and citizen security as top policy priorities. Thus, the prevention and reduction of violence is crucial to democratic stability. Lastly, violence generates heavy economic costs, dampening development. In the U.S., Miller and Cohen (1997) estimated the annual financial costs of gun shots alone at $126 billion. Similarly, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) found that the health care costs of violence constituted 1.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product in Brazil, 5.0 percent in Colombia, 4.3 percent in El Salvador, 1.3 percent in Mexico, 1. percent in Peru and 0.3 percent in Venezuela5. Along with law enforcement costs, costs to the court system, economic losses due to violence, and the cost of private security, violent crime has been estimated to cost Brazil 10.5 percent of GDP, Venezuela 11.3 percent, Mexico 12.3 percent, and El Salvador and Colombia more than 24 percent of GDP. Restating, violence costs several countries, including El Salvador, 10-20 percent of GDP. Given that GDP growth rates of three to four percent would be considered healthy, a substantial reduction of violence in these countries would have dramatic benefits for development. In sum, concerns about public health, democracy, and development motivate the need for a better understanding of the patterns and causes of violence, and of the need to translate this understanding into improved violence-reduction policies. Details: Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Latin American Program, 2014. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed August 4, 2015 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Homicides_El_Salvador.pdf Year: 2014 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Homicides_El_Salvador.pdf Shelf Number: 136308 Keywords: Homicides Murders Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: del Frate, Anna Alvazzi Title: Every Body Counts: Measuring Violent Deaths Summary: September 2015 world leaders will meet at the UN to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),which will be the international development framework that will replace the current Millennium Development Goals. The seventeen proposed goals and associated targets are planned to run until 2030. Among them, Goal 16 focuses on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and accountable institutions. The inclusion of Goal 16 in the reflects the growing acceptance that issues related to peace, security, and good governance should play a role in the post-2015 development framework. This progress of a global agenda on peace and development has been possible thanks to the work of several processes, including the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (GD), which calls for measurable reductions in the burden of armed violence that humankind faces. The Small Arms Survey has been the leading research partner of the Geneva Declaration's 'measurability pillar' since the beginning of the initiative. The Global Burden of Armed Violence reports (2008, 2011 and 2015) have used 'violent deaths' as the main indicator for measuring and monitoring the scope and impact of armed violence globally, and refined a methodology for its collection and analysis. The violent death of a human being is the most extreme consequence of armed violence, and is treated seriously in all societies. For this reason it is likely to be recorded more accurately than other violent events. As a consequence, the number of persons who die violently is frequently used as a proxy measure for insecurity in both conflict and non-conflict settings. The Global Burden of Armed Violence reports focus on lethal violence shows that 'violent deaths' is a realistic indicator for policy-making (towards goals and targets) and for the purpose of measuring the results of armed violence prevention and reduction programmes. This experience is of great value to the current discussion around targets and indicators for Goal 16. Details: Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2015. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Small Arms Survey Research Notes, No. 49: Accessed August 5, 2015 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-49.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-49.pdf Shelf Number: 136341 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violence Violent Crime Weapons and Violence

Author: Schunemann, Julia Title: Reform Without Ownership? Dilemmas in Supporting Security and Justice Sector Reform in Honduras Summary: Honduras simultaneously faces the recovery from a severe political crisis due to a coup d'etat in June 2009 as well as a sustained crisis of security and legitimacy. Since then, society has been ever more marked by polarisation and the political equilibrium is very fragile. Levels of violence are at an all-time high and organized crime, especially drug trafficking, is threatening the bases of state institutions and people's physical security. The country's socio-economic situation is dire and the global economic crisis has fuelled increasing levels of poverty and unemployment. Honduras' security and justice sector suffers from severe deficiencies. It remains largely inefficient and unable to safeguard security and the rule of law for its citizens. Criminal investigative units are plagued with serious problems of incompetence, corruption and progressive penetration by organised crime. The judiciary lacks independence and is subject to systematic political interference. Inter-institutional coordination is poor and flawed by a climate of mutual mistrust and rivalry over competencies. This report describes and analyses the EU's contribution to strengthening security and the rule of law in Honduras through a major security sector reform (SSR) programme earmarked with a budget of L44 million. The report underlines the crucial need for increased local ownership as a sine qua non condition if the EU's endeavours are to trigger sustainable institutional change and thus further human security in Honduras. The report also examines prospects for the creation of an international commission against impunity, following the example of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). The EU's Support Programme to the Security Sector (PASS) in Honduras meets local needs, is comprehensive in its approach and targeted at the relevant institutions. However, the current political climate of polarization and a government that is weak and lacking in legitimacy seriously compromises the programme's prospects for successful implementation. A solid political, legal and budgetary framework for reform is missing, as is local ownership. The EU and other donors eager to support security and justice sector reform in Honduras should use their joint weight to ensure basic conditions are met with regards to the political, legal and budgetary framework, thus preparing the ground for reasonable prospects for successful implementation and the sustainability of their activities. Details: Madrid: Initiative for Peacebuilding, 2010. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: IFP Security Cluster: Country Case Study: Honduras: Accessed August 8, 2015 at: http://www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu/pdf/020711honduras.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.initiativeforpeacebuilding.eu/pdf/020711honduras.pdf Shelf Number: 136367 Keywords: Criminal Justice Reform Drug Trafficking Organized Crime Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Sawas, Amiera Title: Urbanization, Gender and Violence in Rawalpindi and Islamabad: A Scoping Study Summary: This scoping study is part of a research project entitled 'Gender and Violence in Urban Pakistan'. This is one of 15 projects being conducted across the world which form the larger Safe and Inclusive Cities Project (SAIC). Co-funded by the International Development Research Center in Canada (IDRC) and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), SAIC is directed towards understanding the drivers of violence in the urban areas of the global South so as to inform evidence-based policy making for safe and inclusive cities. This project, on urban Pakistan, focuses on the material and discursive drivers of gender roles and their relevance to configuring violent geographies specifically among urban working class neighbourhoods of Karachi and the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. The research is primarily concerned with investigating how frustrated gendered expectations may be complicit in driving different types of violence in urban areas. The project is also concerned with addressing first, the material aspects of gender roles through improved access to public services and opportunities, and second, discursive aspects of gender roles in terms of public discourse, education and media. The purpose of this scoping study is to bring together existing knowledge on the process of urbanization, and the interplay of gender roles, vulnerabilities, and violence in Pakistan. With an awareness of existing knowledge and knowledge gaps, the research team has been able to form a research protocol with a view to exploring known links and gaps in knowledge on the aforementioned themes. Methodologically, the study undertakes a review of the academic and policy related literatures, combined with a 3 month media analysis of selected print and online newspapers, television and radio which are relevant to national and local discourses about violence in Rawalpindi-Islamabad. By undertaking an analysis of such links between urbanization and violence, this study concludes that various types of urban geographies and the associated infrastructure therein enable or produce distinct forms of violence in Pakistan. In definitional terms, violence here is understood as the use of or threat of physical force in attaining particular aims. This understanding of violence allows an analytical distinction between 'violence as a product' and 'violence as a process'. An accompanying expansion of focus led to the inclusion not only of spectacular forms of violence (like terrorism), which is quite common in Pakistan, but also the much more common, persistent and understudied forms of everyday violence. Details: London: King's College London, Department of Geography, 2014. 130p. Source: Internet Resource: Environment, Politics and Development Working Paper Series No. 67: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography/research/epd/wp67Mustafa.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography/research/epd/wp67Mustafa.pdf Shelf Number: 136404 Keywords: Gender-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Anwar, Nausheen H. Title: Urbanization, Gender & Violence in Millennial Karachi: A Scoping Study Summary: This scoping study is part of a research project entitled "Gender and Violence in Urban Pakistan". This is one of 15 projects being conducted across the world which form the larger Safe and Inclusive Cities Project (SAIC). Co-funded by the International Development Research Center in Canada (IDRC) and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), SAIC is directed towards understanding the drivers of violence in the urban areas of the global South so as to inform evidence-based policy making for safe and inclusive cities. This project, on urban Pakistan, focuses on the material and discursive drivers of gender roles and their relevance to configuring violent geographies specifically among urban working class neighbourhoods of Karachi and the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. The research is primarily concerned with investigating how frustrated gendered expectations may be complicit in driving different types of violence in urban areas. The project is also concerned with addressing first, the material aspects of gender roles through improved access to public services and opportunities, and second, discursive aspects of gender roles in terms of public discourse, education and media. The purpose of this scoping study is to bring together existing knowledge on the process of urbanization, and the interplay of gender roles, vulnerabilities, and violence in Pakistan. With an awareness of existing knowledge and knowledge gaps, the research team has been able to form a research protocol with a view to exploring known links and gaps in knowledge on the aforementioned themes. Methodologically, the study undertakes a review of the academic and policy related literatures, combined with a 3 month media analysis of selected print An accompanying expansion of focus led to the inclusion not only of spectacular forms of violence (like terrorism), which is quite common in Pakistan, but also the much more common, persistent and understudied forms of everyday violence. Details: London: King's College London, Department of Geography, 2014. 103p. Source: Internet Resource: Safe and Inclusive Cities: Accessed August 14, 2015 at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography/research/epd/wp66Mustafa.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/geography/research/epd/wp66Mustafa.pdf Shelf Number: 136409 Keywords: Gender-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Sivarajasingam, V. Title: Violence in England and Wales in 2014: An Accident and Emergency Perspective Summary: Executive Summary - A structured sample of 117 Emergency Departments (EDs), Minor Injury Units (MIUs) and Walk-in Centres in England and Wales which are certified members of the National Violence Surveillance Network (NVSN) were included in this national study of trends in serious violence. - Anonymous data relating to age, gender and attendance date of those treated for violence-related injuries were collected. - Overall, an estimated 211,514 people attended EDs in England and Wales for treatment following violence in 2014. - There were an estimated 101,519 fewer ED violence-related attendances in England and Wales in 2014 compared to 2010 - 22,995 fewer than in 2013. - According to these data, serious violence in England and Wales decreased by 10% in 2014 compared to 2013. Apart from a 7% increase in 2008 there have been decreases in every year since 2001 according to this measure. - Violent injury of males and females declined by 9.9% and 9.5% respectively in 2014, similar to the falls in 2013. - Serious violence affecting all age groups decreased in 2014 compared to the previous year; falls among children (0-10 year olds, down 18%), adolescents (11 to 17 year olds, down 18%), young adults (18 to 30 year olds, down 9%), those aged 31 to 50 years (down 9%) and those aged 51 years and over (down 4%). - As in previous years, those at highest risk of violence-related injury were males and those aged 18 to 30. Violence-related ED attendance was most frequent on Saturday and Sunday and during the months of May and July. Details: Cardiff, Wales, UK: Violence Research Group, Cardiff University, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 17, 2015 at: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/95778/nvit_2014.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/95778/nvit_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 136437 Keywords: Emergency Services Injury Violence Violent Crime

Author: Gupte, Jaideep Title: Key Challenges of Security Provision in Rapidly Urbanising Contexts: Evidence from Kathmandu Valley and Terai Regions of Nepal Summary: We know that urban violence not only affects people's health and wellbeing, it has a devastating impact on the social fabric and economic prospects of entire cities. It can also set recursive cycles of vulnerability in motion - violence-affected individuals find it increasingly harder to be gainfully employed, while poverty is sustained through inter generational transfers. However, the mechanisms through which violent crime and urbanisation are interconnected are not straightforward. While higher rates of violent crime are generally seen in the larger urban centres, not all urban centres experience similar degrees of violence. That is, the security and insecurity outcomes in a city are the result of a complex range of socioeconomic, political and demographic factors, which can vary temporally, spatially, as well as be significantly different for different individuals or groups. Importantly, rapid urbanisation also brings with it a unique set of challenges, which has the potential to overwhelm key government services, including policing and security provision. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2014. 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Addressing and Mitigating Violence, IDS Evidence Report No. 69: Accessed August 24, 2015 at: http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/key-challenges-of-security-provision-in-rapidly-urbanisig-contexts-evidence-from-kathmandu-valley-and-terai-regions-of-nepal Year: 2014 Country: Nepal URL: http://www.ids.ac.uk/publication/key-challenges-of-security-provision-in-rapidly-urbanisig-contexts-evidence-from-kathmandu-valley-and-terai-regions-of-nepal Shelf Number: 136569 Keywords: Urban Crime Urban Neighborhoods Violent Crime

Author: Ferguson, Brodie Title: Estimating Potential Gains in Life Expectancy by Reducing Violent Deaths in Selected Countries Summary: Injuries account for some 5 million deaths in the world each year, and nearly a third of these (1.6 million) are recognizable intentional. We assess the immediate demographic cost of mortality due to intentional violence in over 90 countries using population and mortality data collected from international organizations and country statistical offices for the year 2004, and attempt an economic costing valuation. We employ multiple decrement life table analysis to estimate the potential gains in life expectancy (PGLEs) that could be achieved by reducing the risk of intentional injury deaths to a proposed "regular" level of 1.27 deaths per 100,000 persons. Regional PGLEs range from 0.44 years for men in the Americas to 0.02 years for women in the Western Pacific. Violence prevention programs are likely to have the highest overall impact in countries such as Jamaica, Colombia, and Brazil characterized by both relatively high life expectancies and high levels of homicides. Details: Unpublished paper, 2009. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 25, 2015 at: https://www.diw.de/documents/dokumentenarchiv/17/diw_01.c.346948.de/restrepo_conflict_gecc.pdf Year: 2009 Country: South America URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/dokumentenarchiv/17/diw_01.c.346948.de/restrepo_conflict_gecc.pdf Shelf Number: 136577 Keywords: Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Mehlum, Halvor Title: The Market for Extortions Summary: We consider extortion gangs that are mafia-like in their protection of targets, but that are unlike the Mafia in their competition over targets. Does this type of organized crime pay? How are the returns to extortion affected by the number of competing extortionists and the violence they apply? Does the supply of extortions create the demand for protection that the groups live from? In order to answer such questions we analyse a model that focus on the trade-off between congestion and demand creation in the market for extortions. Details: Helsinki: United Nations University, WIDER (World Institute for Development Economics Research), 2001. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper No. 2001/26: Accessed September 5, 2015 at: http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/dp2001/dp2001-26.pdf Year: 2001 Country: International URL: http://www.wider.unu.edu/stc/repec/pdfs/dp2001/dp2001-26.pdf Shelf Number: 136678 Keywords: Extortion Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Turner, Duilia Mora Title: Violent crime in post-civil war Guatemala: causes and policy implications Summary: Guatemala is one of the most violent countries in Latin America, and thus the world. The primary purpose of this thesis is to answer the following question: what factors explain the rise of violent crime in post-civil war Guatemala? The secondary focus of this thesis is to identify the transnational implications of Guatemala's violence for U.S. policy. Guatemala's critical security environment requires the identification of causal relationships and potential corrective actions. This thesis hypothesizes that the causes of violent crime in post-conflict Guatemala are the combination of weak institutional performance and social factors. Determining that Guatemala is not a consolidated democracy, this thesis concludes that a flawed judicial system, inadequate police reform, and weak civil control over the armed forces have a direct causal effect on violent crime in Guatemala. Furthermore, an analysis of social factors demonstrates that these are not causal in nature but rather influential elements in the occurrence of violence. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2015. 131p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed September 9, 2015 at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/45266/15Mar_Turner_Duilia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2015 Country: Guatemala URL: https://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/45266/15Mar_Turner_Duilia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 136711 Keywords: Corruption Drug Trafficking Gang-Related Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Young, Suzanne Title: Gender, Policing and Social Control: Examining Police Officers' Perceptions of and. Responses to Young Women Depicted as Violent. Summary: In Britain, there have been growing concerns over the increasing female prison population and treatment of girls and women by the criminal justice system (see Carlen and Worrall, 2004; Hedderman, 2004; Batchelor, 2005; Hutson and Myers, 2006; Sharpe, 2009). In particular, there has been a rising female prison population in Scotland which has been associated with greater punitive controls over the behaviour of women (McIvor and Burman, 2011). The British press have depicted a social problem of certain young women becoming more violent and have attributed this to women's liberation, particularly in the night time economy (MacAskill and Goodwin, 2004; Gray, 2006; Evening News, 2008). These concerns have attracted widespread media and political attention leading to a steady growth in academic research exploring the apparent rise of violent young women (Burman et al., 2003; Burman, 2004b; Batchelor, 2005). Despite this, there are relatively few studies that examine responses to young women with an emphasis on violent offences. Furthermore, there is a lack of research that has examined the role police officers have played in the control and depiction of young women's violence. This research investigates the perceptions of and responses to young women depicted as violent from police officers in Scotland. Thirty three qualitative interviews were carried out with front line police officers in 2008 to investigate social control mechanisms employed to regulate the behaviour of young women. The research utilised feminist perspectives to develop an understanding of how young women deemed as violent face formal and informal mechanisms of social control from police officers. The study challenges the apparent increase in violence among young women and instead argues that institutional controls have contributed to young women being labelled as violent. Changes in police practices and zero tolerance approaches towards violence have resulted in a net widening effect that has impacted on the number of young women (and men) being brought to the attention of the police for violent offences. It is argued that this mechanism of institutional control could be a contributing factor towards the rise in the number of young women being charged for violent offences. Police discretion on the basis of gender did have an influence on arrest practices for some of the officers, but there was insufficient evidence to suggest the police officers responded any harsher or more lenient towards women. However, what was apparent was that police officers believed women needed to be 'controlled'; they perceived them as more unmanageable than men and this defiance towards authority resulted in women being arrested. Women depicted as violent remain to be categorised on the basis of socially constructed gender norms and it is argued that this mechanism of discursive control continues to locate violence within the realm of masculinity. In conclusion, women who are depicted as violent are portrayed as unfeminine and in need of greater social control which is exercised through both formal and informal measures by police officers. Details: Stirling, UK: University of Stirling, 2011. 281p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 11, 2015 at: http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/3572#.VfMkgU9FDcs Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/handle/1893/3572#.VfMkgU9FDcs Shelf Number: 136723 Keywords: Female Offenders Gender-Related Violence Policing Violent Crime

Author: Paris, Jeffrey Jonathan Title: Crime, Contraband, and Property Rights: Explaining Variations in Violent Crime Rates Summary: Violent crime affects quality of life on an individual level and development on a national level (Kleiman, 2009), and could be the most important factor in determining whether many low and middle-income countries develop stable governments and implement effective economic policies. I propose a political and natural resource based explanation of the variation in crime rates in order to overcome the lack of connections between macro-level statistical data and causal mechanisms identified up to this point. My explanation involves the dynamics between state strength, property rights formation and enforcement, and the specific nature of criminal markets. When the state is weak crime rates usually increase due to the state's inability to enforce property rights, including the inability to control contraband markets (or adequately taxing legal markets), and the inability to effectively punish defectors. Property rights are established through a political bargaining process between actors that generally depends on the capacity for violence of interested parties (DeSoto, 2000; Umbeck, 1981). Well-defined and enforced property rights reduce transaction costs, and therefore reduce levels of violence (Anderson and Hill, 2003). The specific properties of markets, including the resources they are based on, can shape the market environment, including legality, and affect the resulting "institutions of extraction" (Snyder, 2006, 952). Lootable resources make property rights harder to enforce and interact with the state's ability to provide the rule of law, especially in the case of prohibitions. Illicit markets engender violence because normal business disputes are often settled with violence (Kleiman, 1993, 104-107, 115). My hypotheses examine the relationship between the production of lootable products, while controlling for other factors commonly attributed to crime. My analysis suggests that, all else being equal, the production of lootable resources increases crime rates, while the enforcement of property rights, whether by a state, non-state actor, or community, reduces violent crime rates. To test my hypotheses I use a mix of statistical analysis, case studies based on archival research, and structured interviews. Cross-national data was collected through archival research and existing databases, spanning over seventy countries and fifty years. Local level data comes from fieldwork in Colombia, and includes quantitative data for every municipality in Colombia over a span of nine years, and qualitative data for several regions critical to testing my hypotheses. Details: Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, 2012. 179p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/08t0s726 Year: 2012 Country: Colombia URL: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/08t0s726 Shelf Number: 136779 Keywords: Contraband Crime Rates Illicit Markets Looting Property Rights Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: White, Nicole Title: Violent Crime Against Youth, 1994-2010 Summary: Publication Violent Crime Against Youth, 1994-2010 Janet L. Lauritsen, Ph.D., Nicole White, Ph.D., University of Missouri December 20, 2012 NCJ 240106 This report presents patterns and trends in violent crime against youth ages 12 to 17 from 1994 to 2010. The report explores overall trends in violent crime against youth and examines patterns in serious violent crime and simple assault by the demographic characteristics of the victim, the location and time of the incident, weapon involvement and injury, the victim-offender relationship, and whether police were notified. Data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Highlights: In 2010, male (14.3 victimizations per 1,000) and female (13.7 per 1,000) youth were equally likely to experience serious violent crime�rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. In comparison, male youth (79.4 per 1,000) were nearly twice as likely as female youth (43.6 per 1,000) to experience serious violent crime in 1994. Among racial and ethnic groups, black youth experienced the highest rates of serious violent crime in 2010. From 2002 to 2010, rates of serious violent crime declined among white (down 26%) and Hispanic (down 65%) youth, but remained the same among black youth. From 1994 to 2010, youth living with an unmarried head of household were generally more likely than youth living with a married head of household to be victims of violent crime. During this period, the decline in serious violent crime was greater for youth in married households (down 86%) than the decline among youth in unmarried households (down 65%). Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2012. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2015 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vcay9410.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/vcay9410.pdf Shelf Number: 136807 Keywords: Crime Statistics Victimization Survey Victims of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: McLean, Fiona Title: Factors associated with serious or persistent violent offending: Findings from a rapid evidence assessment Summary: Identification of serially violent individuals by the police could allow forces to be aware of and, where possible develop strategies to manage the risk to the public. This paper presents findings from a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) designed to explore the evidence base on factors associated with, or predictive of, known serious or persistent violent offending excluding domestic or sexual violence. The REA is based on 53 studies from a systematic search of 7 databases using a strictly applied set of search and assessment criteria and recommended sources by academic experts. The factors identified and discussed in this report have been found by some research studies to be predictive of repeat violent behaviour. The characteristics identified are associated with an increased relative risk of repeat violent offending - that is that offenders with these characteristics are more likely to commit a further offence compared with other offenders. An increased relative risk does not mean that all offenders with that characteristic will go on to commit further offences. Key findings from the REA The range of factors identified by the evidence reviewed as being associated with persistent violent offending is presented in the full report. Those factors identified through studies graded with the highest quality and most likely to be of use to police analysts are listed below. The evidence on factors associated with serial violent offending in women is limited; therefore the factors primarily apply to male offenders: - An offending career that begins before the age of 14 is highly predictive of later violent offending and a longer criminal career (reported in 9 studies of which 4 were graded 1). - Individuals with a long criminal career are more likely to commit violent crimes (reported in 7 studies of which 5 were graded 1). - Individuals with a history of violence are more likely to commit further violent crimes (reported in 10 studies of which 5 were graded 1). There were also several other factors where there is some evidence that suggests it may be associated with violent reoffending but that evidence is not as strong. These may be worth considering when refining the prioritisation of those identified as high risk. These factors include drug use in adolescence (4 studies), gang membership (5 studies) and antisocial behaviour at a young age or anti-social personality traits in adults (4 studies). In addition, there is some limited evidence that previous convictions for certain specific offences such as kidnapping and blackmail are associated with an increased relative risk of committing further serious offences such as homicide and rape (3 studies). A number of 'protective factors' were identified which could be used to filter any high risk population identified. These factors include: marriage, particularly a cohesive or 'good' marriage before the age of 25 (6 studies) and employment (5 studies). The REA also identified literature on many existing violent risk assessment tools that have been developed to try and predict the risk of reoffending, typically in prisons or forensic psychiatric units. Most of the tools identified use a combination of clinical and actuarial measures. Clinical data such as the offender's response to questionnaires and behavioural indicators would not be readily available to the police and so such tools have been excluded from the REA. Where the tools use actuarial data - such as age - that would be available, the factors included in the tools have been examined and found to be largely consistent with those identified separately in the REA. These tools have been discussed within the report. Details: National Policing Improvement Agency, 2012. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2015 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/REA_violent_reoffending.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/REA_violent_reoffending.pdf Shelf Number: 136853 Keywords: Evidence-Based Practices Sexual Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: National Crime Research Centre (Kenya) Title: A Study of Organized Criminal Gangs in Kenya Summary: The aim of the study was to identify the nature of organized criminal gangs that operate in Kenya, the types of crimes they commit, their modus operandi including the command structure and networks, and to provide a rapid assessment of the public perception of organized criminal gangs and the effect of their activities on Kenyans. The study further sought to establish the extent to which organized criminal gangs have infiltrated the public/security sector. The scope of the work included; a review of literature on theories of crime and organized criminal gangs in Kenya and based on the study findings purpose practical solutions on how to address the problem of organized crime in Kenya. UNODC (2002) adopted the Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Convention, Article 2(a) definition which states an organized criminal group as a structured group of three or more persons existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences in order to obtain directly or indirectly a financial or other material benefit. The UNODC (2002) further provided a useful framework for understanding organized criminal groups as comprising of: structure, size, activities, identity, level of violence, use of corruption, political influence, penetration into the legitimate economy and so on. In the context of methodology, the study had three major components; a survey of community perceptions of organized criminal gangs, key informant interviews development of case studies and secondary statistics. A total of 1343 respondents proportionately sampled across the eight regions of the country were interviewed using a survey questionnaire. Focus Group Discussions involving members of the public and key informant interviews involving senior officers from the provincial administration, police, CID, prisons, judiciary, business and civil society were interviewed. Other respondents were active, inactive and convicted members of organized criminal gangs, their relatives, friends and victims. The following case studies of organized criminal gangs were selected for in-depth analysis; The 42 Brothers, Mombasa Republican Council, Angola-Musumbiji, Sungu Sungu, Mungiki and Al Shaabab. However, two challenges became apparent in the conduct of the study: the sensitivity of the topic made many members of the public decline interviews or otherwise provide information for fear of reprisals and the lack of cooperation by some government officers especially in Western, Eastern and Coast regions. Literature on crime and deviance presents a consensus that there does not exist one vision about them but many. Each theory has its own history and supported by a distinct body of knowledge. Wilson (1975) was most pessimistic of all theories that made no manifest contribution on how to control crime yet crime is distressing and disruptive to the social order, it inflicts pain, subverts trust and community. Durkheim (1965) in anomic theory argues that, the source of high crime rate in organic societies lay in normlessness, modernization and urbanization. Neo-classical explanations of crime emphasize the free-will and rationalistic hedonism and it emerged as a protest against spiritual explanation of crime as initially formulated by the theologist St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). Social contract theorist's position constructed ideas that included a purposive approach, natural and rational basis for explaining crime and the state's response (Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire and Rousseau). Beccarias contributions to the study of criminology and punishment is largely summarised in the following prescriptions; seriousness of crime in terms of harm it inflicts on society; proportionate punishment in terms of crime committed, severity of punishment vis a vis the crime committed, promptness of punishment following commission of crime and the certainty of punishment. Biological theories of crime causation focus on the genetic make up of criminals (Goring, 1913). However Sharh and Roth (1974) favoured environmental factors in crime causation. Merton (1968) in strain theory showed that social conditions in which individuals find themselves force them to commit crime as it limits the appetites of those individuals to satisfy them using legitimate means. Crime then becomes a rational response to overcome the limitations. It is closely associated with anomic theory which explains urban, lower class and male gang delinquency behaviour. Learning theories imply that habits and knowledge develop as a result of the experiences of the individual learning (Bower and Hilgard, 1981). Learnt behaviour can be reinforced or not through punishment as in operant conditioning. Tarde (1943-1904) in the law of imitation showed that crime is a normal learnt behaviour (Vine, 1972). Sutherland (1924) in differential association theory posits that associative interaction generates criminality. In October 2010 the Prevention of Organized Crime Act was enacted and subsequently a Gazette Notice banning 33 organized criminal groups on October 18, 2010 issued. The selected case studies are part of the 33 criminal gangs banned by the Kenya government. The main findings of the study are: most Kenyans (55.2%) were aware of the existence of an organized criminal gang in the area where they live or elsewhere. Again 38.9% knew the organized criminal gangs by name. However 59.0% were too afraid to mention the organized criminal gang by name for fear of reprisals. Countrywide, a total 46 organized criminal gangs were identified by the public. In terms of government commitment to fight organized crime 58.0% were of the view that the government was not doing enough because many members of such gangs are known to the public but they are not arrested. There is also alleged collusion by some government officers with members of organized criminal gangs and that police frequently release them even when there is overwhelming evidence. There is a clear gender division of labour in organized criminal gangs between male and female members. While men undertake execution of tasks, women provide support services including sex, identification of clients/victims, food, spying and storing stolen property. Children play an active spying role as well as opening doors while the elderly specialize in oathing, recruitment, resolution of disputes, spying, and so on. In order to survive 39.7% respondents indicated that organized criminal gangs obtain support of its ethnic group and that ethnic support is crucial for their survival. The support of the ethnic group is either voluntary (23.3%) or involuntary (21.1%), according to the public. Ethnic members conceal the identity of the members. The intra-gang support exists in form of financial, advisory, protection and shelter, bailing out of court, payment of cash court fines, hiring of lawyers and so on. In terms of law enforcement, 49.1% of the respondents were not aware of any arrests of members of organized criminal gangs in the previous three years even when serious crimes had been committed by them. Corruption of the police, judiciary, political influence, lack of police cooperation, difficulties in identifying the members, delayed arrival of police, fear of reporting were identified as factors that energize organized criminal gangs. The use of violence by members of organized criminal gangs against their targets was confirmed by 68.3% of the respondents but intra-group violence does occur against its members too. A total of 30.7% reported that there is inter-group conflict usually over control or sharing of booty or lucrative business. Organized criminal gangs have infiltrated legitimate formal and informal business and scrap metal. Extortion from the public (34.3%) and theft (19.4%) and politicians especially public transport, car wash, motorcycle, rental houses, exhibition shops were the main sources of funds for their operations. Illicit drug trafficking, counterfeiting, armed robbery, vehicle theft, kidnap for ransom, extortion, livestock theft, firearms smuggling were identified as the other sources of funds for organized criminal gangs. According to 29.6% of the respondent's business people support and benefit from organized criminal gangs in terms of protection. A total of 25.8% strongly agreed, 21.7% agreed and 36.1% disagreed to the allegation that politicians channel funds to members of organized criminal gangs for support and campaign. In this regard 14.3% strongly agreed, 20.8% agreed and 48.3% disagreed to the claim that supporters of organized criminal gangs had been elected to parliament during the 2007 parliamentary elections. Organized criminal gangs in Kenya are more focused on crimes that do not require technological applications. In terms of effect of organized crime in society, (75.1%) respondents expressed more fear than before, (76.1%) do not feel secure, (66.9%) are more restless and 18.2% reported a close relative or another close person known to them had been murdered by members of organized criminal gangs and up to 16.8% indicated they had been forced to change residence and 36.0% now carry a weapon for self-defence at all times than before. There is also observed change in behaviour patterns for example, consumers of alcohol stop drinking much earlier than before, for business people they close much earlier. A total of 43.9% respondents were forced to change or review their travel patterns and 49.1% no longer go to certain places they frequented before. To business people the cost of doing business has increased and ordinary people have been forced to install security apparatus/services that were not necessary before. All the organized criminal gangs in this study had a clear organizational/command structure across the areas they operate including specialization of tasks. Idleness occasioned by lack of employment after school was a principal factor in the ease with which recruitment of new members is done. The study recommended the following: the policy makers in public and private sector need to devise ways that create employment to the youth to lower their vulnerability to join organized criminal gangs; the government at national and county levels need to channel enough resources to the police to be effective in crime prevention; since there is alleged or suspected collusion between some police and members of organized criminal gangs there is need for verification of such claims and those found punished; the media needs to play an active role by highlighting arrests and convictions of members of organized criminal gangs and the public needs to play a more active role by providing information to relevant government authorities for action. At community level there is need for institutions including educational and religious to educate the youth to live positively. In conclusion the increase in number of organized criminal gangs has serious implications for national security. Details: Nairobi, Kenya: National Crime Research Centre, 2012. 152p., ex. summary Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 1, 2015 at: http://ncia.or.ke/ncrc/phocadownload/ncrc%20-%20organized%20criminal%20gangs%20in%20kenya.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Kenya URL: http://ncia.or.ke/ncrc/phocadownload/ncrc%20-%20organized%20criminal%20gangs%20in%20kenya.pdf Shelf Number: 136931 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) Title: Crime Prevention and Community Safety: Trends and Perspectives. 4th International Report Summary: The fourth edition of the International Report is concerned with the overarching theme of the movement of people and how cities, their new arrivals, and existing residents are adapting to this increasingly pressing global phenomenon. As always, the Report begins with a review of trends in crime and violence internationally, and in the practice of crime prevention. Four separate chapters look in more detail at issues which have significant impacts especially at the local level in all parts of the world, and at how cities in particular are responding. They examine the rapidly expanding migration of people - across borders and regions, and within countries - to cities and urban areas; the migration of indigenous peoples to urban areas; the continuing issue of human trafficking and its prevention; and the persistent and troubling problem of intimate partner violence against women. Migration and trafficking are all global problems with strong local impacts, and often closely linked. The International Report provides information and tools to help governments, local authorities, international organizations and other actors implement successful crime prevention policies in their countries, cities and communities. Details: Montreal: ICPC, 2014. 200p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: http://www.crime-prevention-intl.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/2014/ICPC_report_4.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.crime-prevention-intl.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/2014/ICPC_report_4.pdf Shelf Number: 136949 Keywords: Crime Prevention Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Ley, Sandra Title: Violence and Citizen Participation in Mexico: From the Polls to the Streets Summary: How do citizens cope politically with violence? In the face of rising insecurity, Mexican citizens, particularly victims, have poured into the streets to demand an end to violence and ask for peace and justice. However, as organized crime groups attempt to influence local elections and target political candidates and public officials, citizens have not felt equally encouraged to cast ballots on election day. Elections in Mexico, as well as in other Latin American countries such as Brazil and Guatemala, have been marked by criminal violence. Voters, public officials, and candidates alike have been threatened or attacked by organized crime groups. It is, therefore, important to examine how violence shapes various forms of participation. This paper seeks to provide a broad view of political participation in the midst of Mexico's current security crisis, with the goal of understanding the effects of violence on civic activism. Overall, the paper shows that violence, particularly that directed against party candidates and public officials, threatens the electorate and depresses voter turnout. At the same time, violence has stimulated non-electoral forms of participation that attempt to bring the issue of crime and insecurity onto the political agenda and to hopefully achieve peace and justice. Such demands, however, have not been met yet and much remains to be done. In addition, citizens who take part of these efforts are further exposed to violence and retaliation by criminals and colluded officials. In preparation for the upcoming Mexican midterm elections, this paper also examines the prospects for Mexico's 2015 midterm elections in view of the recent trends in violence and civic protests. Out of the seventeen states that will hold local elections in 2015, six have a particularly alarming violent profile. Guerrero and Michoacan have homicide rates well above the national average. Politicians in both states have also been direct targets of criminal violence. Similarly, in Nuevo Leon, Jalisco, the State of Mexico, and Morelos, criminal groups have made an explicit attempt to influence politics and elections in recent years. Special attention must be paid to these regions. Political authorities must begin developing effective solutions that can effectively keep voters safe and encouraged. The conclusion outlines some policy recommendations on how to generate the necessary conditions for citizens to exercise their right to vote freely. Finally, as a result of the disappearance of the 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero, massive mobilizations have taken place across and outside of Mexico. In the face of the upcoming elections and given the prevailing weaknesses of the instruments so far created for the attention of victims - the General Law of Victims and Provictima - it will be important for these new citizen mobilization efforts to demand the commitment of political candidates and future elected authorities to increase financial and human resources for the effective operation of these institutions, and most important, the fair resolution of their cases. Civil society is a fundamental element for the achievement of political accountability, particularly in a violent context such as the one many Mexican citizens currently live under. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute; San Diego: University of San Diego, Justice in Mexico Project, 2015. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper Series: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_Ley_Violence-and-Citizen-Participation-in-Mexico.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_Ley_Violence-and-Citizen-Participation-in-Mexico.pdf Shelf Number: 136951 Keywords: Homicides Political Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Heinle, Kimberly Title: Citizen Security in Michoacan Summary: Arguably the most intractable security issue facing the administration of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has been the dynamic and dangerous situation in the state of Michoacan, located on the Pacific in the southwestern portion of the country. During Pena Nieto's first two years in office, the state has seen a significant increase in violence and criminal activities; the emergence, evolution, and internal struggles of armed "self-defense" groups (grupos de autodefensa, commonly referred to as autodefensas); and concerted federal government efforts to gain control and restore order in certain parts of the state, particularly in the state's western Tierra Caliente region. While certain crime indicators - notably homicide - have fallen significantly throughout much of Mexico since 2011, Michoacan is one of the states where problems of crime and violence have been most intractable. It is also one of the places where citizen mobilization has manifested most visibly through self-defense forces and vigilantism, with entire communities rising up to take the law into their own hands because of the real or perceived inability of authorities to address the problem of organized crime. Over the course of 2014, the worsening situation in Michoacan led the Mexican government to intervene heavily and try to regain the trust of the citizenry. The federal government must be exceedingly careful and deliberate in its strategy for intervening in state and local security matters, its approach to dealing with armed citizens taking the law into their own hands, its efforts to empower state and local authorities to pick up the reigns, and its efforts to rebuild civic engagement and social trust. The authors offer three guiding recommendations: First, since achieving success will require that the Mexican government have clear targets focused on outcomes and performance for social development programs aimed at strengthening community resilience (e.g., the relationship between farm subsidies and poppy cultivation, the relationship between the number of student scholarships and gang membership, etc.), the authors recommend that the Pena Nieto administration should conduct and present regular evaluation and assessment of the outcomes of its programs using precise, program-specific performance metrics. Second, a core challenge in Michoacan, as elsewhere in Mexico, is the lack of institutional integrity, which has contributed to often visible corruption of local officials and widespread support for vigilantism. Unfortunately, recent developments have delayed implementation of Michoacan's judicial reform, which was due for implementation in February 2014, pushing back urgently needed reforms to introduce greater transparency and accountability into the state's criminal justice system. Given the state's complex security situation, it is critically important that operators of the criminal justice system - particularly prosecutors, public defenders, and court personnel - be adequately trained and prepared for the transition. Third, the Pena Nieto administration's intervention in Michoacan positions the federal government to help resolve these problems, but it also runs the risk of unwittingly stifling civic engagement. The federal government's liaison should work intently to create spaces and regular opportunities for dialogue and collaboration among citizens and civic organizations, and should particularly empower the state and local citizen security counsels to provide consistent communication and constructive feedback on the progress of security measures. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute; San Diego: University of San Diego, Justice in Mexico Project, 2015. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper Series: Accessed October 5, 2015 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_Heilnle-Molzahn-Shirk_Citizen-Security-in-Michoacan.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015_Heilnle-Molzahn-Shirk_Citizen-Security-in-Michoac�n.pdf Shelf Number: 136952 Keywords: Homicides Political Violence Vigilantes Violence Violent Crime

Author: World Health Organization Title: Preventing Youth Violence: An Overview of the Evidence Summary: Each year an estimated 200 000 young people aged 10-29 years are murdered, making homicide the fourth leading cause of death for this age group. Millions more sustain violence-related injuries that require emergency medical treatment, and countless others go on to develop mental health problems and adopt high-risk behaviours such as smoking and alcohol and drug abuse as a result the violence they experience. Produced with the financial support of the Jacobs Foundation, German International Cooperation, and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing youth violence: an overview of the evidence aims to help policy-makers and planners - particularly in settings with limited human and financial resources - to address youth violence using an evidence-informed approach. Twenty-one strategies to prevent youth violence are reviewed, including programmes relating to parenting, early childhood development, and social skills development, as well as policies related to the harmful use of alcohol, problem oriented policing, and urban upgrading. Details: Geneva, SWIT: World Health Organization, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/181008/1/9789241509251_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/181008/1/9789241509251_eng.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 Shelf Number: 137011 Keywords: Evidence-Based Practices Family Interventions Juvenile Delinquency Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Young Adult Offenders

Author: Human Impact Partners Title: Dignified & Just Policing: Health Impact Assessment of the Townsend Street Gang Injunction in Santa Ana, California Summary: A gang injunction is a controversial policing practice that essentially acts as a group restraining order against alleged gang members within a safety zone, a specific geographic area thought to be "controlled" by a gang. Since the 1980's, over 60 gang injunctions have been imposed in California in an attempt to curtail a historic spike in violent crime in the state (and in the nation) during the late 1980's and early 1990's, a topic we tackled in a previous blog post. The injunction in Santa Ana, the city's second, would prevent alleged gang members from associating with each other or carrying out certain illegal and legal activities within the safety zone. The injunction has stirred up heated debate in Santa Ana since June 2014, when it was first implemented, and has been a flashpoint for controversy more recently amidst allegations of police brutality. Supporters of the injunction say it will lead to decreased crime and violence for all residents, while opponents say the injunction fails to address the root causes of crime and may lead to increased police mistreatment of local youth. The HIA, which worked locally with SABHC, Chicanos Unidos de Orange County, KidWorks, Santa Ana Boys & Men of Color, Latino Health Access, UC Irvine's Community Knowledge and Community & Labor projects, and the Urban Peace Institute, examined the impact the gang injunction would have on crime, safety, community-police relationships, education and employment, and collected data on community safety through surveys, interviews and focus groups. The HIA focused on populations that may be disproportionately affected by the gang injunction, including youth, undocumented immigrants, transgender or queer-identified people, the homeless, and those with physical and mental disabilities. Members of these groups fear that increased police presence in the neighborhood will exacerbate the potential for profiling and discrimination. The HIA concluded that the injunction is unlikely to bring about significant and lasting reduction of serious crime, based on the outcomes of other gang injunctions and input gathered from residents, city officials, community organizations and police. On the contrary, the injunction could have negative effects on public safety, public health and public trust. The HIA found that: The evidence is insufficient that a gang injunction will reduce violent crime, gang activity or gang membership, or that it will improve community-police relationships. An injunction could make some in the community, particularly parents, feel more safe, but members of marginalized groups may, in contrast, feel more threatened by increased police presence. An injunction could lead to significant disruptions to education and employment opportunities for those named in the gang injunction, with immediate harm to their health and well-being and long-term harm to their chances in life. Young black and Latino men who experience repeated, unsubstantiated searches and other forms of suppression-based policing may experience higher levels of anxiety and depression than their peers. An injunction could divert funding from community programs that address the economic and social problems that are the root causes of much crime and a detriment to public health and well-being. In contrast to the mixed evidence on the effects of policing strategies on crime, there is solid evidence that correlates reductions in crime with environmental, educational and economic factors. Our findings led us to make specific recommendations for the police and other law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, city officials and community organizations. Our partners plan to use the data from the HIA in their campaigns on healthy policing practices and in upcoming court proceedings to determine whether the gang injunction will be upheld or reversed. Details: Oakland, CA: Human Impact Partners, 2015. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: HealthImpactAssessmentoftheTownsendStreetGangInjunctioninSantaAna,California+ Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: HealthImpactAssessmentoftheTownsendStreetGangInjunctioninSantaAna,California+ Shelf Number: 137017 Keywords: Gang Prevention Gang Violence Gangs Injunctions Street Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Rozo, Sandra Title: How much Happiness is Caused by Lower Violence? Measuring Local Market Eects of Homicide Rates Summary: This paper estimates the effects of violence on worker's and firm's welfare. My analysis proceeds in three steps. First, I estimate empirically the elasticity of violence on non-housing good prices, wages, and firm's profits, to then, combine them with a theoretical model, and quantify the welfare effects. This allows disentangling the effects of violence into its direct disutility effects and its indirect effects through changes in market prices. I use unique panel data at the firm level for Colombia throughout 1995 and 2010, when the country faced a 48% reduction on homicide rates, from 65.8 to 33.9, respectively. Using these data I exploit the geographical and annual variation of homicide rates to identify the effects of violence. I instrument violence with the interaction of U.S. international antidrug expenditures{ which contributed to improve security conditions in Colombia{and a political competition index for 1946. The political competition index measures the intensity of a past violent episode known as La Violencia which historians point as the origin of the current violence spell in Colombia. I find that when homicide rates increase by 1% worker's welfare falls by 0.46%, and firm's profits decrease by 0.18%. Moreover, 96% of the effects of violence on worker's welfare are explained by changes on market prices, mainly driven by changes on non-housing living costs. My estimates suggest that the 48% drop in homicide rates that occurred in Colombia between 1995 and 2010 increased firm's profits by 8.64%, and blue and white-collars worker's welfare by 13.74% and 30.35%, respectively. Details: Los Angeles: California Center for Population Research, 2014. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2015 at: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2014-007/PWP-CCPR-2014-007.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2014-007/PWP-CCPR-2014-007.pdf Shelf Number: 137020 Keywords: Economics of Crime Homicide Violence Violent Crime

Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: New humanitarian frontiers: Addressing criminal violence in Mexico and Central America Summary: Parts of Central America and Mexico are suffering a humanitarian crisis which stems directly from expanding criminal violence. In vulnerable communities in the region there are mass casualties on a par with conflicts elsewhere in the world - rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, forced displacement (both internally and across borders), migration of unaccompanied minors from crime-ravaged communities and exploitation and murder. The report pinpoints three structural challenges to a stronger humanitarian agenda in response to criminal violence in the region: the features and characteristics of criminal violence, the presence of self-sustaining regional mixed migration and the flow of narcotics and the extremely fragile nature of Central American states. The case for a reinvigorated humanitarian approach to criminal violence is stronger than ever. There are notable opportunities. This report argues that the existing strengths of humanitarian organisations in addressing criminal violence could be responsibly enhanced. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 2015. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 27, 2015 at: http://www.internal-displacement.org/assets/publications/2015/201510-am-central-americas-violence-en.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Central America URL: http://www.internal-displacement.org/assets/publications/2015/201510-am-central-americas-violence-en.pdf Shelf Number: 137158 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence Extortion Homicides Human Trafficking Kidnapping Violence Violent Crime

Author: James, Nathan Title: Is Violent Crime in the United States Increasing? Summary: On August 31, 2015, the New York Times ran an article with the headline "Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities." The story highlighted double-digit percentage increases in homicide rates in several cities, and came on the heels of reports from other media outlets of recent spikes in violent crime in cities across the country. Accounts of rising violent crime rates in some cities have generated speculation about whether the United States is in the midst of a new crime wave. Overall, homicide and violent crime rates have been trending downward for more than two decades, and both rates are at historic lows. An analysis comparing 2014 and 2015 homicide data from the nation's 60 most populous cities suggests that violent crime is not increasing. Overall, reported homicides were up 16% in 2015, but a majority of cities (44 of 60) have not seen a statistically significant increase in homicides. The general consensus is that it is too early to draw any conclusions about the reversal of long-term trends. Also, even if homicide and violent crime rates do increase this year, it may not portend a break in the long-term trend. Even though both rates have been on a downward trend since 1990, there were years where either the homicide rate or violent crime rate increased. There are several short-term factors that might help explain some of the reported upticks in violent crime across the country. - Year-to-year changes in crime rates can be subject to random fluctuations. - Crime rates are subject to seasonal effects. - Many cities are experiencing increases from historically low levels of crime. - Percentage change in reported crimes is a relative measure and is sensitive to magnitude. While it might be too early to make any definitive conclusions about whether violent crime is on the rise, several commentators have speculated as to why some cities are experiencing spikes in violent crimes. Suggested explanations include the following: - The "Ferguson effect" (i.e., in the wake of a spate of high-profile officer-involved deaths, police have become reluctant to engage in proactive policing, thereby emboldening criminals). - Law enforcement is facing a legitimacy problem in some communities where residents feel that they are not treated fairly by the police, and this may mean that people are more likely to take matters into their own hands when conflicts arise. - The increase in violence can be attributed to battles between gangs for control of drug turf or released violent offenders committing new crimes. The recent discussion about the increases in violent crime in some cities might raise the question of whether there is a need for more "real time" nationwide crime statistics. More frequent and consistent crime data might be able to provide greater insight into crime trends. However, there are logistical issues involved with collecting and reporting timely and accurate crime statistics from the nation's approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2015. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: R44259: Accessed November 6, 2015 at: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44259.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44259.pdf Shelf Number: 137211 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics Violent Crime

Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: A violent compound: competition, crime and modern conflict Summary: A notable characteristic of several of the most intractable conflicts in the world today is the presence of more than one sort of violence. In cases such as Syria, Mali and Libya the lines between armed conflict and other forms of organised violence have blurred. Conflicts that originated in political divisions have assumed criminal dimensions. At the same time highly criminalised parts of Central America and Mexico have witnessed the coercion of the state and society by groups whose methods resemble the military strategies of an insurgency. "Non-conventional armed violence" is the term used to describe forms of organised violence that do not fit the formal classification of armed conflict as a "contested incompatibility" between two or more parties. However, violence without a clear political or ideological goal is no soft alternative to old-fashioned war. It can be as lethal as conflict, and is a notorious presence in protracted wars where both multiple factions and the state are fighting. The search for new streams of illicit revenue, connections to transnational crime, volatile ties to local communities, the collapse of vertical chains of military authority, and a certain ambivalence to official state and security institutions when these can partly be captured for shared material gain are the hallmarks of this violence wherever it flourishes. Drawing on a series of 12 NOREF reports studying six countries affected by non-conventional armed violence, as well as core areas for policy responses, this synthesis report points to the importance of understanding and addressing this violence due to the critical role it plays in perpetuating insecurity, blocking peace and causing complex emergencies. Among its recommendations, the synthesis report calls for more flexible forms of mediation and reintegration for non-conventional armed groups, the redesign of humanitarian responses, and the implementation of novel controls over illicit flows connected to violent groups. Details: Oslo: Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF); The Hague: the Clingendael Institute, 2015. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 11, 2015 at: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/A%20violent%20compound.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://www.clingendael.nl/sites/default/files/A%20violent%20compound.pdf Shelf Number: 137236 Keywords: Conflict Related Violence Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Jakiela, Pamela Title: The Impact of Violence on Individual Risk Preferences: Evidence from a Natural Experiment Summary: We estimate the impact of Kenya's post-election violence on individual risk preferences. Because the crisis interrupted a longitudinal survey of more than five thousand Kenyan youth, this timing creates plausibly exogenous variation in exposure to civil conflict by the time of the survey. We measure individual risk preferences using hypothetical lottery choice questions which we validate by showing that they predict migration and entrepreneurship in the cross-section. Our results indicate that the post-election violence increased individual risk aversion significantly. Findings remain robust when we use an IV estimation strategy that exploits random assignment of respondents to waves of surveying. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Working Paper 7440: Accessed November 11, 2015 at: http://pamjakiela.com/JakielaOzier-2015-09-16.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Kenya URL: http://pamjakiela.com/JakielaOzier-2015-09-16.pdf Shelf Number: 137238 Keywords: Conflict-Related Violence Violence Violent crime

Author: Langley, Marty Title: Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2013 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24 Summary: Homicide is the second leading cause of death for California youth and young adults ages 10 to 24 years old. In 2013, the most recent year for which complete data is available from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), homicides in California were outpaced only by unintentional injuries-the majority of which were motor vehicle fatalities-as the leading cause of death for this age group. Of the 613 homicides reported, 86 percent were committed with firearms. Nationally in 2013, California had the 17th highest homicide rate for youth and young adults ages 10 to 24. Broken out by gender, homicide retains its number-two ranking for males and drops to number four for females for this age group in California. For males, of the 553 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 87 percent of the killings. For females, of the 60 homicides reported, firearms were the weapon used in 72 percent of the killings. When analyzed by race and ethnicity, however, the rankings become less uniform and the severe effects of homicide on specific segments of this age group increasingly stark. For blacks ages 10 to 24 in California in 2013, homicide was the leading cause of death. For Hispanics it was the second leading cause of death. For American Indian and Alaskan Natives it was the third leading cause of death. For whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders it was the fourth leading cause of death. Details: Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137332 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gang Violence Homicides Murders Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Fontes, Anthony Wayne, IV Title: Of Maras and Mortal Doubt: Violence, Order, and Uncertainty in Guatemala City Summary: Everyday brutality in Guatemala City shocks and numbs a society that has suffered generations of war and bloodshed. Much of this violence is blamed on maras, gangs bearing transnational signs and symbols, that operate in prisons an poor urban communities. I will explore how the maras' evolution in post-war Guatemala has made them what they are today: victim-perpetrators of massive and horrifying violence, useful targets of societal rage, pivotal figures in a politics of death reigning over post-war society. However, while maras and mareros play starring roles in this account of extreme peacetime violence, they are not the problem. They are a hyper-visible expression of a problem no one can name, a deafening scream, a smokescreen obscuring innumerable and diffuse sources of everyday brutality. The maras will be my entry-point into a world defined by mortal doubt, and my guides as I navigate the rumors, fantasies, fears, and trauma swirling about criminal violence in post-war Guatemala City. The specter of violence has become so utterly entwined with the making of lived and symbolic landscapes that it cannot be extricated from the very fibers of everyday life. I will illuminate the myriad of spaces this violence infiltrates and reorders to expose the existential uncertainty haunting efforts to confront, contain, and overcome violence. In the process, I provide an alternative, intimate understanding of the violence and suffering for which maras speak, or are made to speak, and the ways this violence and suffering affects individual consciousness and communal life, orders urban space, and circulates in public discourse. Thus, I have arranged my arguments and stories in such a way as to capture the destabilizing psychological, affective, and visceral impact the conditions of extreme violation at work in post-war Guatemala City have on knowledge- and meaning-making. The veins of uncertainty fracturing this account are meant to rupture the pretense of knowing, and so break through into the treacherous and largely unmapped territory that is life lived in the shadow of constant violence. Details: Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley, 2015. 223p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed December, 2015 at: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/16c477pk Year: 2015 Country: Guatemala URL: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/16c477pk Shelf Number: 137426 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs Maras Violence Violent Crime

Author: Bese, Ertan Title: Sociological Analysis of Organised Criminality in Turkey Summary: This thesis argues that organized crime is a sociological phenomenon with criminological dimensions that constitutes a threat to public security and order, economic development, social integrity, democracy and peace in Turkey, and consequently to the national security of the country. Sociological and political causes of organized criminality will be assessed through a multidimensional approach based on the identification of different conceptual areas and related indicators that characterize organized crime groups. Details: Ankara, Turkey: Middle East Technical University, 2005. 204p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 3, 2015 at: https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12605960/index.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Turkey URL: https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12605960/index.pdf Shelf Number: 137430 Keywords: Criminal Networks Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Gun Violence: Regional Problems, Partnerships, and Solutions. Findings and Recommendations from Four Regional Summits and a Survey of Police Executives Summary: To better understand regional issues and perspectives about gun crime and violence, the Police Executive Research Forum, with support from the Joyce Foundation, held four regional summits and surveyed law enforcement leaders on gun violence reduction strategies. The summits were held in Minneapolis, MN; Portland, OR; Las Vegas, NV; and Milwaukee, WI in 2013 and 2014. The survey of PERF's member police executives from around the nation was conducted from December 2014 to February 2015. Throughout the four summits, one message came through especially clearly: We must find a way to "de-politicize" gun crime issues and generate a national conversation about gun crime as a public health issue, not an issue of violating anyone's Second Amendment rights. Some of the information offered by the summit participants is shocking - such as a neighborhood in Milwaukee where residents were not even calling police to report hearing shots fired 86 percent of the time, because it was such a common occurrence. Even more frustrating, as Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn noted, misdemeanor gun crimes in Wisconsin never result in an individual being prohibited from buying or owning a gun. So even a criminal with 20 or more misdemeanor firearms convictions could legally purchase and own a gun in Wisconsin. Some of the information is illuminating, such as the Minneapolis Police Department's successful efforts, recounted by former Chief Tim Dolan, to reduce bank robberies and street robberies by deploying surveillance cameras and gunshot detection technology in downtown areas. The discussions also provided hope by demonstrating that criminal justice professionals, working with elected officials, can bring about reasonable changes in gun laws that do reduce gun crime in their jurisdictions. All of the presentations and conversations were of value - helping us clarify what works, what could work, and what legislators, elected officials, criminal justice professionals, and community leaders can do to reduce gun crimes, make neighborhoods and regions safer, and provide opportunity and hope to the next generation of community members. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2015. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 11, 2016 at: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/gunpolicyreport2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policeforum.org/assets/gunpolicyreport2015.pdf Shelf Number: 137448 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Guns Violent Crime

Author: Anti-Defamation League Title: Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2015 Summary: When it came to domestic terrorism and extremism, the year 2015 was a grisly one for the United States. In the past twelve months, the names of a number of American cities became unwelcome shorthand for the carnage that extremist killers wreaked in them: Charleston, Chattanooga, Colorado Springs, San Bernardino. Each of these cities became scenes of tragedy and death, thanks to the cold-hearted ideological motivations of angry killers. It is thus no surprise that these and other domestic extremist killers have collectively amassed a higher number of victims in 2015 than in any previous year since 1995, the year of the Oklahoma City bombing. Preliminary tallies by the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism indicate that a minimum of 52 people in the United States were killed by adherents of domestic extremist movement in the past 12 months. This number is bound to grow further still, as extremist connections to some murders often take years to be revealed - and there are likely still other murders whose extremist connections may never see the light of day. Still, the 52 people known to have died at the hands of domestic extremists are disturbing enough, more than the numbers killed in 2013 and 2014 put together. The victims included police officers, government workers, service members, and civilians from all walks of life. Key Findings of Report - In 2015, the 52 deaths came at the hands of adherents of four domestic extremist movements: white supremacists, anti-government extremists, domestic Islamic extremists, and anti-abortion extremists. - As has been the case every year since 1995, white supremacists have been responsible for the largest number of deaths, at 20. One incident, the June 17 mass shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, which killed nine, was responsible for almost half of these deaths. - Usually, right-wing anti-government extremists account for the next highest number of murders each year, but in 2015, in a disturbing development, domestic Islamic extremists were responsible for 19 deaths, virtually the same as white supremacists. All of these deaths stemmed from two shooting rampages: the July 16 attacks by Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez on military targets in Chattanooga and the December 2 rampage by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. - The 52 murders occurred in 17 separate incidents, with nine of the incidents involving multiple murders. This is unusual, in that most extremist-related examples of murder involve a single victim. - Ideology played a primary or substantial role in 10 of the 17 incidents in 2015, accounting for 34 of the 52 victims. Non-ideological killings by extremists, which accounted for the remainder, tend to involve group-related killings (such as killing a suspected informant or a rival gang member) or traditional criminal violent activity (in which extremists also often engage). - Overwhelmingly the extremist weapon of choice in 2015 - as in virtually every year - was firearms. In fact, 48 of the 52 victims were killed by firearms. The other four victims were killed by a variety of means, including two stabbings, a blunt instrument killing, and a motor vehicle incident. All of the multiple murder incidents involved the use of one or more firearms. Details: New York: Anti-Defamation League, 2015. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 11, 2016 at: http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Murder-and-Extremism-in-the-United-States-in-2015-web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/combating-hate/Murder-and-Extremism-in-the-United-States-in-2015-web.pdf Shelf Number: 137452 Keywords: Domestic Terrorism Extremist Groups Gun Violence Homicides Radical Groups Terrorism Terrorists Violent Crime

Author: Herrnstadt, Evan Title: Air Pollution and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Chicago Microdata Summary: A large and growing literature documents the adverse impacts of pollution on health, productivity, educational attainment and socioeconomic outcomes. This paper provides the first quasi-experimental evidence that air pollution causally affects criminal activity. We exploit detailed location data on over two million serious crimes reported to the Chicago police department over a twelve-year period. We identify the causal effect of pollution on criminal activity by comparing crime on opposite sides of major interstates on days when the wind blows orthogonally the direction of the interstate and find that violent crime is 2.2 percent higher on the downwind side. Consistent with evidence from psychology on the relationship between pollution and aggression, the effect is unique to violent crimes - we find no effect of pollution on the commission of property crime. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper 21787: Accessed January 13, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w21787.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w21787.pdf Shelf Number: 137561 Keywords: Air Pollution Violent Crime Weather

Author: Lohmuller, Michael Title: El Salvador's Gangs & Prevailing Gang Paradigms in a Post-Truce Context Summary: This paper examines the relevance of prevailing gang paradigms as it relates to the case of El Salvador. It is particularly concerned with the concept of 'Third Generation Gangs,' which holds that Salvadoran street gangs are becoming sophisticated political actors seeking to maintain an international reach, and are increasingly capable of confronting the state. El Salvador is in the midst of a violent upheaval. In 2012, El Salvador's two main street gangs signed a truce, which was tacitly endorsed and facilitated by the government. However, following the breakdown of the truce, violence in El Salvador has rapidly escalated, with the gangs increasingly targeting security forces. This paper discusses whether this rising violence is indicative of the gangs' collective maturation process into a 'Third Generation Gang,' or, alternatively, if autonomous spasms of violence by individual gang factions as a means of self-preservation are being misinterpreted as a collective maturation process. Details: Washington, DC: Security Studies Program, George Washington University(?), 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2016 at: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2015/LohmullerElSalGangs.pdf Year: 2015 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2015/LohmullerElSalGangs.pdf Shelf Number: 137568 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Street Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Police Foundation Title: Police Under Attack: Southern California Law Enforcement Response to the Attacks by Christopher Dorner Summary: For nine days in early February 2013, like millions of Americans, was glued to news reports of a former police and naval officer who was targeting police officers and their families. It was one of the most bizarre and violent acts of vengeance against law enforcement officers this country has experienced. By the time he was finally stopped, Christopher Dorner had murdered four people and wounded several others. His threats and actions put Southern California policing agencies in an unprecedented collective state of alert - one in which both excellent and heroic police work was done and some regrettable decisions were made. This incident represents a sentinel event in American policing - one that serves as a warning of needed changes in parts of our public safety system. For the first time, a trained former police officer was hunting cops and their families, exploiting jurisdictional boundaries and using legally-acquired sophisticated, high-powered weaponry. And he did this in a highly public way that provided a template for others who may seek to terrorize this great country and target the people charged with protecting its citizens. The challenges confronting the principal law enforcement agencies in this incident were immense. It took place over a wide expanse of Southern California where more than 20 million people live, work and play. It encompassed urban, suburban and mountainous geography. It was worked in balmy weather and a freezing blizzard. It required the coordination of thousands of hard-charging police officers, sheriff's deputies, highway patrol officers and state and federal special agents. And they engaged the incident with different policies and practices, from differing organizational cultures and utilizing frequently incompatible communications systems. Bringing new advances to policing is the core of the Police Foundation's mission. Central to our research and work with police agencies is the idea that new learning - and therefore advancements - can be acquired through examining policing-involved critical incidents. This is certainly true of this incident. Reviews of incidents like this are intended to transform "lessons learned" to "lessons applied" in the hopes of enhancing the safety of officers and the public. In emphasizing this, we affix no blame to those who tried desperately to apprehend Dorner and save lives. To do so dishonors their sacrifices and diverts attention from increasing our understanding about protecting society and keeping cops safe. Covering every aspect of this very complicated incident would result in a book-length document. To keep the project manageable, we focused on the most important "lessons learned" that can be generalized to a wide range of circumstances and jurisdictions. Accordingly, we have tried to accomplish three broad goals: 1) Present the facts and our recommendations in an objective manner that respects the professionalism, dedication and heroism of the law enforcement officers involved in this incident, and honors the sacrifice of those whose lives were lost by helping prevent the injury and death of other officers or civilians in the future; 2) Highlight this as a sentinel event in which we identify underlying weaknesses in the regional public safety system, preventable errors and recommendations for avoiding similar tragic outcomes; 3) Use multi-media to provide an immersive experience to a wide breadth of readers that gives them a better understanding of the complicated nature of such events and how dangerous they are to the peace officers trying to stop highly motivated criminals. Our examination of this incident begins with the murders of Monica Quan and Keith Lawrence in Irvine, CA and concludes with the murder of Deputy Jeremiah MacKay, the wounding of Deputy Alex Collins and Dorner's suicide in the mountains of San Bernardino County. In our quest to tease out lessons which we can generalize across the nation, we did not examine every aspect of the incident. Our observations and recommendations are based on our understanding of both the many successes and the relatively few errors that occurred throughout the course of it. They are not intended for the sole use of the involved agencies, as they have each conducted their own internal reviews. Rather, they are aimed at improving American policing's response to similar critical incidents through changes in policy, practice, organizational culture and an increased understanding of the nature of preventable error. Details: Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2015. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 15, 2016 at: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Police-Under-Attack.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Police-Under-Attack.pdf Shelf Number: 137579 Keywords: Criminal Investigation Homicides Law Enforcement Response Police Officers Police Response Violent Crime

Author: Cannon, Ashley Title: Responding to Social Media Norms: Development a Comprehensive Strategy to Promote Digital Citizenship Summary: Social media has become a part of everyday life. All types of real-world behavior are now showcased online-including criminal behavior, bullying, threats and the glorification of violence. Increasingly, youth associated with antisocial peer groups-such as neighborhood-based "crews" engaging in violent rivalries-use social media as a tool to create criminal opportunities and amplify conflicts. Unfortunately, in many cases, this type of social media usage can lead to real-life violence or other serious ramifications, such as arrest. The Crime Commission is engaged in several initiatives that seek to provide social media users with tools and information to help them stay safe both on- and off-line, including the development of an innovative new program that trains antiviolence professionals as "E-Responders" to intervene and deescalate violence provoked on social media. As part of this work, this series, "Social Media & Real-World Consequences", provides readers with an overview of the ways youth are communicating on social media, the associated risks of these communications turning into real-world violence, and the range of legal, educational and professional consequences youth may face in the real-world. High-risk youth engage in numerous types of dangerous communication on social media, including threatening and taunting others (often those from rival crews), promoting their self-image and crew, mobilizing others for disorderly or criminal activity, and recruiting other youth to join their crew. These types of communication are highly visible and exist beyond private messages and chats. Status updates, comments, photos, and videos often contain content prohibited by platform providers; however, they remain on the sites, fueling conflict. Moreover, youth often use social media to acquire weapons for attacks and protection. These dangerous communications have an extremely high risk of going from virtual to violent, and often result in very serious consequences in the real-world. When these consequences include violence, such as fights and shootings, they are often immediately documented and discussed online, increasing the likelihood of retaliation and further perpetuating the cycle of street violence. Taunts, threats, and intimidation on social media often lead to in-person fights, which can have deadly consequences. Youth often post continuous information about their ongoing conflicts, including violent intentions prior to carrying out shootings. This was the case in the Bryant Park skating rink shooting in November 2013, as well as in a shooting that occurred at a house party in Brownsville in January 2014, in which a 16-year-old was killed. The Bedford-Stuyvesant bus shooting in March 2014, which led to the death of a straphanger, was instigated by months of taunting on social media between two rival crews. Beyond violence and victimization, these harmful behaviors can lead to a wide range of legal, educational and professional consequences in the real-world. For example, police use social media to help identify, track, and build cases against individuals, culminating in indictments, such as the June 2014 takedown of 103 youth in West Harlem. Schools, financial aid providers, and employers also use social media profiles as a form of background check when considering an individual for admission, scholarship, or employment, and to inform disciplinary actions-something many people are not aware of when they post recklessly on social media. Details: New York: Citizens Crime Commission on New York City, 2015. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Social Media & Real World Consequences, Volume II: Accessed January 25, 2016 at: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Social-Media-Vol2-Responding-To-Norms.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Social-Media-Vol2-Responding-To-Norms.pdf Shelf Number: 137653 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Delinquency Prevention Online Communications Online Victimization Social Media Violence Violence-Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Ueberall, Stephanie Title: Assessing New York City's Youth Gun Violence Crisis: Crews. Volume 1: Defining the Problem Summary: The success or failure of community strategies to address the youth gun violence crisis is often attributed in part to how well the problem is understood and diagnosed. With support from The New York Community Trust, the Crime Commission has undertaken an analysis of youth gun violence and crew activity - violent turf rivalries among less-organized, smaller and normally younger groups than traditional gangs - in select New York City communities. Our initial findings from available data, existing research, and interviews with stakeholders are presented in a series of papers titled, "Assessing New York City's Youth Gun Violence Crisis: Crews". This research and fieldwork demonstrated that crews - and not traditional, hierarchical gangs - are a major part of violent crime statistics and analysis. Crews actually account for a great deal of youth criminal activity, especially violent crime - and without proper interventions for this type of activity, we will not be able to adequately address what has been a persistent public safety and criminal justice issue for New York City. In order to develop more effective responses to crews it is essential for stakeholders to acknowledge the victimization of those involved, understand their underlying needs, and identify the neighborhood conditions that impact them. New York City has famously experienced unprecedented, sustained reductions in crime over the last 25 years. Areas once so dangerous that they resembled foreign war zones now are home to some of the most desirable real estate in the country. We proudly and rightfully point to our success, calling ourselves the "safest big city in America". But there are places and people that have been left behind. There are areas which have not seen violent crime rates drop to nearly zero - as others have - or anywhere close. Certain races and age groups are also still far more likely to become victims and be responsible for violent crime than others. The root causes of violent crime have not changed either - and the circumstances under which crime is committed sound eerily familiar to the high-crime New York of 25 years ago that we now refer to as the "bad old days". Therefore, in order to make real strides in improving the quality of life amongst these persistently hardest-hit groups, we must address the root causes of why youth become involved in gun violence and crews. The NYPD publically acknowledged that youth "gangs" are becoming more organized and more violent, finding that more than a third of all shootings in New York City now involve what the NYPD calls "crews". In order to truly identify how youth are involved in organized activity (gangs, crews, etc.) and gun violence, the Crime Commission researched legal and intelligence definitions and conducted fieldwork with community residents, service providers, and policymakers which revealed three broad categories of organization: traditional gangs, crews, and groups. This research and fieldwork demonstrated that crews - (Fluid groups formed based on where members live, such as a building or block, creating violent turf rivalries. Crews generally do not have clear hierarchy, structure, or rules, and are usually not profit-motivated)- and not traditional, hierarchical gangs - are a major part of violent crime statistics and analysis. Crews actually account for a great deal of youth criminal activity, especially violent crime - and without proper interventions for this type of activity, we will not be able to adequately address what has been a persistent public safety and criminal justice issue for New York City. Details: New York: Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, 2015. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol1-DefiningTheProblem.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol1-DefiningTheProblem.pdf Shelf Number: 137681 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Ueberall, Stephanie Title: Assessing New York City's Youth Gun Violence Crisis: Crews. Volume 2: CompStat for Violence Prevention Programs Summary: Although there have been significant recent investments by policymakers and funders - ranging from organizing task forces and work groups, to deploying new law enforcement strategies, to implementing programmatic interventions - New York City's ability to fully understand and diagnose its crew problem is hindered by a lack of data and coordination. While the NYPD collects data on crew members and related criminal activity, law enforcement data are typically insufficient to inform comprehensive responses because it is collected for the purpose of informing suppression and investigation strategies. At the same time, community-based organizations collect a range of data about the underlying needs of the individuals involved, but often lack the capacity to analyze and communicate these data to inform policy and programming decisions. Further, the City lacks a collaborative effort among stakeholders dedicated to addressing this problem. Preventing crew violence cannot be accomplished by a single agency or organization. Effective solutions require the combination of insight, hard work, and dedication from a wide variety of organizations and stakeholders. New York City should immediately mobilize stakeholders to take steps toward developing a comprehensive strategy to address the city's crew violence problem. Details: New York: Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, 2015. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol2-Compstat.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol2-Compstat.pdf Shelf Number: 137682 Keywords: Compstat Crime Analysis Gang Violence Gangs Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Violence Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Ueberall, Stephanie Title: Assessing New York City's Youth Gun Violence Crisis: Crews. Volume 3: Responding to the Problem Summary: The success or failure of community strategies to address the youth gun violence crisis is often attributed in part to how well the problem is understood and diagnosed. With support from The New York Community Trust, the Crime Commission has undertaken an analysis of youth gun violence and crew activity - violent turf rivalries among less-organized, smaller and normally younger groups than traditional gangs - in select New York City communities. Our initial findings from available data, existing research, and interviews with stakeholders are presented in a series of papers titled, "Assessing New York City's Youth Gun Violence Crisis: Crews". This research and fieldwork demonstrated that crews - and not traditional, hierarchical gangs - are a major part of violent crime statistics and analysis. Crews actually account for a great deal of youth criminal activity, especially violent crime - and without proper interventions for this type of activity, we will not be able to adequately address what has been a persistent public safety and criminal justice issue for New York City. In order to develop more effective responses to crews it is essential for stakeholders to acknowledge the victimization of those involved, understand their underlying needs, and identify the neighborhood conditions that impact them. Executive Summary New York City has famously experienced unprecedented, sustained reductions in crime over the last 25 years. Areas once so dangerous that they resembled foreign war zones now are home to some of the most desirable real estate in the country. We proudly and rightfully point to our success, calling ourselves the "safest big city in America". But there are places and people that have been left behind. There are areas which have not seen violent crime rates drop to nearly zero - as others have - or anywhere close. Certain races and age groups are also still far more likely to become victims and be responsible for violent crime than others. The root causes of violent crime have not changed either - and the circumstances under which crime is committed sound eerily familiar to the high-crime New York of 25 years ago that we now refer to as the "bad old days". Therefore, in order to make real strides in improving the quality of life amongst these persistently hardest-hit groups, we must address the root causes of why youth become involved in gun violence and crews. The NYPD publically acknowledged that youth "gangs" are becoming more organized and more violent, finding that more than a third of all shootings in New York City now involve what the NYPD calls "crews". In order to truly identify how youth are involved in organized activity (gangs, crews, etc.) and gun violence, the Crime Commission researched legal and intelligence definitions and conducted fieldwork with community residents, service providers, and policymakers. Although there have been significant recent investments by policymakers and funders - ranging from organizing task forces and work groups, to deploying new law enforcement strategies, to implementing programmatic interventions - New York City's ability to fully understand and diagnose its crew problem is hindered by a lack of data and coordination. While the NYPD collects data on crew members and related criminal activity, law enforcement data are typically insufficient to inform comprehensive responses because it is collected for the purpose of informing suppression and investigation strategies. At the same time, community-based organizations collect a range of data about the underlying needs of the individuals involved, but often lack the capacity to analyze and communicate these data to inform policy and programming decisions. Further, the City lacks a collaborative effort among stakeholders dedicated to addressing this problem. Preventing crew violence cannot be accomplished by a single agency or organization. Effective solutions require the combination of insight, hard work, and dedication from a wide variety of organizations and stakeholders. New York City should immediately mobilize stakeholders to take steps toward developing a comprehensive strategy to address the city's crew violence problem. The Crime Commission's Assessment offers the following recommendation: 1. Implement a cooperative approach 2. Better collect and share data 3. Coordinate a continuum of interventions Details: New York: Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, 2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol3-RespondingToTheProblem.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nycrimecommission.org/pdfs/CCC-Crews-Vol3-RespondingToTheProblem.pdf Shelf Number: 137683 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Ahmed, Noman Title: Public and private control and contestation of public space amid violent conflict in Karachi Summary: Few cities in South Asia have been affected by violence more than Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and economic centre. This working paper examines the impacts of the city's declining security situation on the control and contestation of public space. It focuses specifically on the efforts of public and private actors to protect themselves through the widespread use of physical barriers as a form of conflict infrastructure. To help provide a way forward, recommendations are presented for planning and managing barriers more effectively and equitably, and for supporting alternative means of security for the poorest and most insecure groups. Particular attention is paid to the city's ethnic and religious/sectarian politics and the limited capacity of the authorities, and their difficulties in maintaining neutrality in attempting to intervene. Details: London: International Institute for Environment and Development, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: IIED Working Paper: Accessed January 28, 2016 at: http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/10752IIED.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Pakistan URL: http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/10752IIED.pdf Shelf Number: 137701 Keywords: Public Safety Public Space Urban Areas Urban Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Novak, Kenneth J. Title: Kansas City, Missouri Smart Policing Initiative: From Foot Patrol to Focused Deterrence Summary: Kansas City, Missouri has experienced a persistent violent crime problem throughout much of the last decade. From 2010 through 2013, Kansas City ranked among the worst of the 50 largest cities in the United States for homicide, averaging more than 100 per year - for a rate of 22 per 100,000 residents. Kansas City's violent crime rate in 2012 was equally dismal, with nearly 2,500 aggravated assaults and 1,645 robberies. Violent crime in Kansas City is geographically concentrated in three of the department's six patrol divisions. In addition, violence disproportionately involves firearms. From 2010 to 2014, 90 percent of homicides and 42 percent of all aggravated assaults were gun-related. In 2011, the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) received a grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) to team with researchers and develop innovative interventions to reduce violent crime. Over the next four years, KCPD and their research partners at the University of Missouri-Kansas City implemented a multi-pronged effort to address violent crime through evidence-based strategies. In 2011 and 2012, the Kansas City SPI team planned, implemented, and evaluated a replication of the evidence-based Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment. For 90 days, pairs of rookie officers worked foot patrol shifts in four violent crime micro-hot spot areas. Results showed that foot patrol areas witnessed a 26-percent reduction in aggravated assaults and robberies during the 90-day period, and a 55-percent reduction during the first six weeks of the study. No reductions were reported in control areas or in catchment areas surrounding the foot patrol areas. Crime did increase in the target areas during the last seven weeks of the study and returned to pre-treatment levels after the foot patrol treatment ended. In 2013 and 2014, the Kansas City SPI team planned and implemented a comprehensive focused deterrence pulling levers strategy, called the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA). KC NoVA is an offender-focused strategy designed to reduce violent crime by building on the earlier success of the foot patrol project. During 2014, KC NoVA identified 64 groups composed of 884 violent offenders. The team held four call-ins with 149 attendees. As a result of the focused deterrence strategy, 601 offenders met with social service providers, and 142 offenders received a social service assessment. The SPI team conducted interrupted time series analysis to assess impact and found that the focused deterrence strategy produced statistically significant decreases in homicide (40 percent) and gun-related aggravated assaults (19 percent). The crime decline effects were largest immediately after implementation and weakened over time. The Kansas City SPI produced a number of lessons learned for law enforcement leaders and line officers. For leaders, the Kansas City SPI demonstrated the importance of keeping focus on Smart Policing principles in the wake of leadership change, and of effective communication to both internal and external stakeholders. The Kansas City SPI also provided insights regarding different deployment methods of foot patrol. For line officers, it highlighted the importance of determining what officers should actually do during foot patrol assignments, other than be present and visible. Finally, the Kansas City SPI underscores the importance of embracing the two key messages in a focused deterrence strategy: the threat of a law enforcement response to additional criminal activity, and the offer of help for those who want it. Details: Arlington, VA: CNA Analysis and Solutions, 2015. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Smart Policing Initiative: Spotlight Report: Accessed January 28, 2016 at: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/Kansas%20City%20SPI%20Spotlight%20FINAL%202015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/sites/all/files/Kansas%20City%20SPI%20Spotlight%20FINAL%202015.pdf Shelf Number: 137710 Keywords: Focused Deterrence Foot Patrol Gun-Related Violence Homicides Pulling Levers Smart Policing Violent Crime

Author: Kyle, Chris Title: Violence and Insecurity in Guerrero Summary: This paper is a continuation of the series Building Resilient Communities in Mexico: Civic Responses to Crime and Violence, a multiyear effort by the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego to analyze the obstacles to and opportunities for improving citizen security in Mexico. Insecurity and violence associated with organized criminal activity are pervasive in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero. The state's homicide rate is the highest in the country and extortion and kidnapping are commonplace. For perpetrators, there is near complete impunity. The state is divided into territories within which either drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) or community policing networks exercise control over local policing functions. Local, state, or federal authorities occasionally join this competition, but for the most part policing powers are held by others. In rural areas competition between groups of traffickers over the state's prodigious narcotics output has created violent no-man's-lands in buffer zones between territories controlled by rival groups. In cities violence is mostly a byproduct of efforts to establish and preserve monopolies in extortion, kidnapping, and retail contraband markets. Despite claims to the contrary by state and federal authorities, there has been no discernible improvement in public security in recent months or years. Restraining the violence in Guerrero will require that state authorities make a systematic effort to address two existing realities that sustain the criminal activities producing violence. Thus, this paper examines the security situation in the state of Guerrero, including the operation of drug trafficking organizations, and proposes possible solutions to the security crisis. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Mexico Institute, 2015. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Building Resilient Communities in Mexico: Civic Responses to Crime and Violence Briefing Paper Series: accessed February 17, 2016 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Violence%20and%20Insecurity%20in%20Guerrero.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Violence%20and%20Insecurity%20in%20Guerrero.pdf Shelf Number: 137864 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Extortion Homicides Kidnappings Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Great Britain. Office for National Statistics Title: Crime Statistics: Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, year ending march 2015 Summary: This release is a collaboration between ONS and Home Office analysts. It explores a variety of official statistics on violent crime and is based on interviews carried out on the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) in the year to March 2014 and crimes recorded by the police period over the same period. Trend analysis from both sources is included. This release is split into five chapters, each covering a different aspect of violent crime. The first chapter provides an overview of violent crime, summarising the extent and range of violent crime together with an analysis of long term trends. It also explores information such as the characteristics of the victim and the offender, as well as where and when incidents took place. The second chapter presents analyses of data gathered from the Home Office Homicide Index which includes murder, manslaughter and infanticide. The chapter discusses trends in homicide and puts the latest figures in the context of international comparisons. It also provides details on the characteristics of victims and suspects. The third chapter presents findings on the use of weapons in selected offences recorded by the police including firearms, knives and sharp instruments. It includes information on how they are used, and the injuries caused, as well as describing the geographical distribution of these offences. The fourth chapter uses data from a self-completion section on the 2013/14 CSEW which asks about experience of sexual and domestic violence. It describes offences occurring in the 12 months before the interview as well as those taking place since age 16. The chapter explores aspects of serious sexual assault and attitudes to sexual violence. The final chapter presents findings from the 2013/14 CSEW on violent incidents where alcohol has been a factor. Additional analysis on the nature of alcohol-related violence is also provided from the combined datasets of the 2012/13 and 2013/14 CSEW. This chapter also presents some information on alcohol-related violent crime recorded by the police. Key points - The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) continues to show steady declines in violent crime over the last 20 years. Between the 1995 and the 2013/14 surveys, the number of violent crime incidents has fallen from 3.8 million in 1995 to 1.3 million in 2013/14. - Violent crime victimisation rates have fallen by more than half since peak levels of crime in the mid-1990s. In 1995 4.8% of adults aged 16 and over were a victim of violent crime in the previous year, compared with 1.8% in the 2013/14 survey. - Homicide has also shown a general downward trend since 2002/03. The number of currently recorded homicides for 2013/14 (526) and 2011/12 (528) were the lowest since 1989 (521). The number of homicides in 2013/14 was equivalent to 9.2 offences per million population. - As in previous years, children under one year old had the highest rate of homicide (23.9 offences per million population) compared with other age groups. With the exception of those aged under one year, adults generally had higher incidence rates of being a victim of homicide than children. - The numbers of sexual offences (64,205) in 2013/14 was the highest recorded by the police since 2002/03. As well as improvements in recording, this is thought to reflect a greater willingness of victims to come forward to report such crimes. The CSEW has not seen a rise in the prevalence of sexual assault. The latest estimates show a small fall in sexual assault victimisation rates compared with the previous year. - In 2013/14, there were 7,709 offences in which firearms were involved, a 5% decrease compared with 2012/13. Offences involving knives or sharp instruments fell by 2% between 2012/13 and 2013/14 (to 25,972). These falls follow a sustained downward trend over a number of years. - The profile of victims of violent crime and sexual violence varied according to the type of offence. The CSEW showed that young men were most likely to be the victims of violence, while in contrast young women were more likely to have experienced sexual assault (including attempts). - Women were also more likely to be a victim of domestic abuse, with 8.5% of women and 4.5% of men having experienced domestic abuse in the last year, equivalent to an estimated 1.4 million female victims and 700,000 male victims. - In 2013/14, as in previous years, around two-thirds of homicide victims (65%) were male. In contrast, victims killed by a partner or ex-partner were more likely to be women. - Victims perceived the offender(s) to be under the influence of alcohol in 53% of violent incidents. This is equivalent to an estimated 704,000 'alcohol-related' violent incidents. While the volume of violent incidents that were 'alcohol-related' has fallen over time the proportion has remained relatively steady over the last ten years. Alcohol was a particularly prevalent factor in violent incidents between strangers, 64% of which were perceived to be alcohol-related. Details: London: Office of National Statistics, 2016. various pagings Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2016 at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Crime+and+Justice#tab-sum-pub Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Crime+and+Justice#tab-sum-pub Shelf Number: 137883 Keywords: Alcohol-Related Crime Crime Statistics Crime Surveys Domestic Violence Firearms Gun-Related Violence Homicides Sexual Assault Sexual Offenses Sexual Violence Victimization Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Cold-Ravnkilde, Signe Title: Boko Haram: From local grievances to violent insurgency Summary: It is estimated that Boko Haram has killed more than twenty thousand people since 2009, making it the world's deadliest terror organisation that threatens to destabilise not only Nigeria, but the entire region of the Sahel. Since the inauguration of a regional multi-national joint task force heavily supported by western international security actors, attacks in the affected neighbouring countries has increased remarkably. This suggests that more international and regional military responses might in fact fuel more attacks by Boko Haram. Rather than rephrasing decontextualised discourses of trans-Saharan terrorism, this new DIIS report by Signe Cold-Ravnkilde and Sine Plambech suggests that international support to the fight against Boko Haram should be based on a careful understanding of the complex local and regional dynamics of conflict. The report provides an overview of the situation and the historic development as well as suggesting a number of policy recommendations. -There is a dire need to ensure that the current military operations do not repeat the mistakes of the Nigerian security forces in 2013: human rights violation and economic sanctions that may transform a jihadist uprising into a people's revolt. - Gender norms and how men and women are affected by and take part in the insurgency both as combatants and protesters against Boko Haram should be taking into account in policy makers' response to the insurgency. -Insecurity in Nigeria and the affected neighbouring countries requires a comprehensive approach including socio-economic perspectives on contending local incitements to engage in illicit economic and terrorist activities. Details: Copenhagen: DIIS - Danish Institute for International Studies, 2015. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 25, 2016 at: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/DIIS_Report_21_Boko_Haram_WEB.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/DIIS_Report_21_Boko_Haram_WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 137976 Keywords: Boko Haram Extremist Groups Violence Against Women, Girls Violent Crime

Author: Abt, Thomas Title: What Works in Reducing Community Violence: A Meta-Review and Field Study for the Northern Triangle Summary: This report was commissioned by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), a United States government effort primarily executed by both USAID and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). In preparation for this report, we performed a systematic meta-review of 43 reviews, including over 1,400 studies, to identify what works in reducing community violence. In addition, we supplemented our findings with fieldwork in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and the United States, visiting over 20 sites and conducting over 50 semi-structured interviews. We found that a few interventions, such as focused deterrence and cognitive behavioral therapy, exhibited moderate to strong effects on crime and violence and were supported by substantial evidence. A few others, such as scared straight and gun buyback programs, clearly demonstrated no or negative effects. The vast majority of programmatic interventions, however, exhibited weak or modest effects. We identified six "elements of effectiveness" shared by the most impactful interventions, including maintaining a specific focus on those most at risk for violence; proactive efforts to prevent violence before it occurs whenever possible; increasing the perceived and actual legitimacy of strategies and institutions; careful attention to program implementation and fidelity; a well-defined and understood theory of change; and active engagement and partnership with critical stakeholders. Given the modest effects of most interventions, that violence generally clusters around a small number of places, people, and behaviors, and that violence is not displaced from those clusters when they are targeted, we reach the simple yet powerful conclusion that it is advisable to concentrate and coordinate anti-violence efforts where they matter most. We further conclude that increased attention to program implementation and evaluation is necessary. We close with four recommendations to governmental and non-governmental funders with regard to community violence in the Northern Triangle and globally. Details: Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development, 2016. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 29, 2016 at: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/USAID-2016-What-Works-in-Reducing-Community-Violence-Final-Report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/USAID-2016-What-Works-in-Reducing-Community-Violence-Final-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 137993 Keywords: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Focused Deterrence Gang Violence Gun Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Reichert, Jessica Title: Male Survivors of Urban Violence and Trauma: A qualitative analysis of jail detainees Summary: Urban violence is a major public health concern and at epidemic levels in some neighborhoods, directly impacting the mental health of its residents (Morris, n.d.). The rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among urban populations is estimated to be around 31 percent, higher than the PTSD rate among returning Iraq war veterans of 17 percent (Donley et al., 2012; Hoge, Terhakopian, Castro, Messer, Engel, 2007). Research has found traumatic events in urban neighborhoods can be associated with later criminal activity and substance use (Breslau, Chilcoat, Kessler, & Davis, 1999; Breslau, Davis, & Andreski, 1995; Scott, 2010; Widom & Maxfield, 2001). An estimated 6.3 million people in the United States are in need of PTSD treatment, with higher proportions of sufferers concentrated in urban cities (Norris & Slone, 2013).The cost of gun violence is estimated at $174 billion including loss of work productivity, medical care, pain and suffering, insurance, and criminal justice expenses (Miller, 2012). Researchers from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (Authority) and WestCare Foundation Illinois documented self-reported characteristics, experiences, and backgrounds of male survivors of urban violence. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with six men receiving substance abuse treatment while in custody at Cook County jail. All showed symptoms of mental health issues, trauma histories, and/or PTSD. The interviews focused on the men's life stories, traumas they experienced, and their coping mechanisms. Some may assume these men were street savvy, immune to the continuous violence around them and to blame for their circumstances, but the research revealed the men were profoundly negatively affected by their experiences in their homes and neighborhoods. All men said their neighborhoods were dangerous growing up and that crime and gunfire were common. All had been shot at and physically assaulted. Most had been robbed at gunpoint and stabbed. Most had witnessed someone's murder or someone being seriously injured. Three experienced the sudden loss of a family member who was murdered; all thought at least once they would be killed or seriously injured. Trauma occurred early. By the age of five, half of those interviewed had already experienced a traumatic event. Domestic disruption and violence was common - three saw their fathers physically abuse their mothers as children and all were either separated from, or abandoned by, a parent. Half of the interviewees were sexually abused or experienced unwanted sexual contact. Half had periods of homelessness. Two interviewees had been diagnosed with a mental illness, one had attempted suicide, and one had serious physical health issues. Their reactions to traumatic experiences varied. All said they used alcohol or drugs as a way to cope. Five began using drugs and/or alcohol during early adolescence. Four reported nightmares and decreased intimacy or trust in others. Three suffered physical responses to stressful events, including anxiety, cold sweats, and difficulty concentrating. Two noticed impaired relationships with family or friends. Details: Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2015. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2016 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/MALE%20SURVIVORS%20OF%20URBAN%20VIOLENCE%20AND%20TRAUMA%20report%20FINAL.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/MALE%20SURVIVORS%20OF%20URBAN%20VIOLENCE%20AND%20TRAUMA%20report%20FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 138014 Keywords: Cycle of Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Crutch to Catalyst? The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala Summary: Guatemala - one of Latin America's most violent, unequal and impoverished countries - is enjoying a rare moment of opportunity. A new president, Jimmy Morales, bolstered by a landslide victory, has taken office promising to end corruption. The old political elite is in disarray. Emboldened citizens are pressing for reforms to make justice more effective and government more transparent. Behind these changes is a unique multilateral experiment, the UN-sponsored International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), whose investigators work with national prosecutors to dismantle criminal networks within the state. CICIG is not a permanent fix, however. Guatemala will lose its opportunity unless national leaders assume the fight against impunity as their own, approve stalled justice and security sector reforms and muster the financial resources to strengthen domestic institutions. CICIG began operations in 2007 to investigate clandestine security groups that continued to operate within the state following the 1996 accords that ended 36 years of intermittent armed conflict. Such groups still undermine the state, though their main goal now is economic power, not elimination of political opponents. International support and financing guarantee the commission's independence, though it operates under Guatemalan laws. Unlike traditional capacity-building efforts, it not only trains, but also works side by side with national prosecutors and police, providing them with the necessary technical expertise and political autonomy to hold powerful suspects accountable before the law. CICIG has promoted and helped implement legislation to create a witness protection program, tighten gun controls, establish rules for court-ordered wiretaps and asset forfeiture and institute high-risk courts for the trial of particularly dangerous defendants. At the same time, it has carried out complex, high-profile probes that resulted in charges against a former president for embezzlement, an ex-minister and other top security officials for extrajudicial executions and dozens of additional officials and suspected drug traffickers for fraud, illicit association and homicide. The commission has faced significant setbacks and limitations, however. Some high-profile cases have ended in acquittal. Key reforms, such as a judicial career law, have stalled in Congress. While it has helped strengthen certain specialised prosecutorial units, the public prosecutor's office remains overstretched, even absent, in much of the country. Other institutions essential for combatting impunity - notably the civilian police and judiciary - are still weak, vulnerable to corruption and largely unaccountable. The most dramatic blows it has delivered against impunity came in 2015 with the arrest of almost 200 officials for corruption, including a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud customs. Working with national prosecutors, CICIG collected and analysed massive amounts of evidence. The evidentiary trail, according to prosecutors, led to President Otto Perez Molina, who resigned (though denying any criminal activity) and now awaits trial in a military prison. Much of CICIG's recent success is due to the determination and persistence of its current commissioner, Ivan Velasquez, a jurist known for uncovering the links between politicians and paramilitary structures in his native Colombia. CICIG cannot function, however, without the close collaboration and support of Guatemalan prosecutors. Very different attorneys general - Claudia Paz y Paz, a former human rights activist, and Thelma Aldana, a veteran jurist - have shown the independence and courage to pursue complex, controversial cases against powerful suspects. A crucial ingredient is popular support. Both the commission and public prosecutors enjoy wide approval among citizens exhausted by violent crime and corruption. The investigations spawned a broad civic movement for justice reform and government transparency. In a country long polarised by ideological, economic and ethnic differences, the anti-corruption crusade has at least temporarily united groups ranging from business associations to labour unions, urban professionals to indigenous leaders. Anger over government fraud holds this movement together, rather than any clear agenda for change. Elected leaders should channel discontent into positive action by initiating a national debate on the reforms needed to strengthen justice and encourage accountability. Morales, a former television comedian, campaigned as the anti-politician. He has yet to put forward a clear reform program, including new legislation to guarantee the independence of judges and prosecutors, toughen campaign-financing laws and create honest, professional civilian police. Moreover, a weak, underfunded state needs to enact fiscal and tax reforms so that its justice institutions have the resources needed to pay good salaries, provide decent working conditions and extend their coverage across the country. CICIG's mandate ends in September 2017, though the president wisely has proposed extending it. International assistance cannot last indefinitely, however. The commission is Guatemala's best opportunity for genuine justice reform, and it should not be wasted, but the government must start planning for its departure by fortifying its own capacity to fight crime and corruption. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 56: Accessed March 2, 2016 at: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/Guatemala/056-crutch-to-catalyst-the-international-commission-against-impunity-in-guatemala Year: 2016 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/Guatemala/056-crutch-to-catalyst-the-international-commission-against-impunity-in-guatemala Shelf Number: 138031 Keywords: Corruption Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Souza Pinheiro, Alvaro de Title: Irregular Warfare: Brazil's Fight Against Criminal Urban Guerrillas Summary: This monograph by Major General Alvaro de Souza Pinheiro contributes to the discussion of urban guerrillas, their impact on society, and the role of the armed forces in countering criminal elements. The rise of urban guerrillas is a result of an evolution in command and control capabilities, weapons, and doctrine that has given them strong influence over the daily lives of citizens living in neighborhoods where government support and control is limited or absent. The favelas (ghettos, slums) of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are ready examples that provide the setting for General Alvaro's monograph. The urban guerrilla, however, is emblematic of a wider-felt problem, not limited to Brazil. What makes General Alvaro's monograph compelling is that this Brazilian story has universal application in many locales that are under-governed and under-supported by constituted authorities. Urban guerrillas flow from a witch's brew of ersatz political doctrine, readily available and powerful weapons, and criminal gangs that typically are financed by the drug trade. Criminal groups like the Red Command (Comando Vermelho-CV) and Third Command have been able to thrive in the favelas because of ineffective policing and lack of government interest. These Brazilian gangs have filled the void with their own form of governance. As General Alvaro indicates herein, criminal urban guerrillas have latched on to revolutionary doctrine, such as the Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla and the First Capital Command Statute, so as to give political legitimacy to their lawlessness. In fact, these are gangs that terrorize the residents of the favelas, holding them hostage to criminal exploits, while keeping government legitimacy and security in check. As in the United States, when the general welfare of civil society is at risk, the President may call upon the armed forces to aid the police or take control. Under the Brazilian Constitution the President can "intervene -- to put an end to serious jeopardy to public order --" through his power to "decree and enforce federal intervention." This is akin to the U.S. President's authorities for civil disturbances and other emergencies, but a notable difference is the expansive role that Brazilian armed forces can take. Under the Brazilian Constitution the armed forces "are intended for the defense of the Country, for the guarantee of the constitutional powers [legislative, executive, judicial], and, on the initiative of any of these, of law and order." Thus during the crisis to restore public order in Rio de Janeiro in November 1994 through January 1995, the military was put in charge as the lead agency, with operational control over federal and state police. With Presidential authorization, the Brazilian Minister of the Army designated the Eastern Military Commander as the General Commander of Operations. Operation Rio commenced with the goals of reducing urban violence and reestablishing government authority. Operations consisted of isolating lawless areas, conducting squad patrols and large sweeps, and on several occasions, attacking the urban guerrilla directly. The operation suppressed urban guerrilla activity-for a time. There was a decrease in bank robberies, car thefts, gang shootouts, drug trafficking and weapons smuggling, plus some 300 automatic rifles and 500 hand guns were confiscated. Yet as General Alvaro illustrates in this monograph, the problem persists today with similar public order crises in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and other cities. It is for good reason that General Alvaro includes in this monograph a translation of Carlos Marighella's Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla, since the man and his manual continue to inspire miscreants and would-be revolutionary groups. Much as psychiatrist-philosopher Frantz Fanon provided a rationale for African anticolonialists to kill the white interlopers, Marighella is a symbol for ideological activists who would resist authority, as well as for criminals who profit when government presence and legitimacy are wanting. The military planner and strategist should be familiar with the Minimanual and similar writings since they contribute to the development of the strategic environment as we find it, and it is against this backdrop that we plan for countering insurgencies and terrorism. The military will continue to play an important part in countering the urban guerrilla, whose goal is to separate the population from the government (typically by making government forces overreact) then supplanting it. This suggests that the military will need to conduct a range of irregular warfare activities in coordination with civilian agencies. Whatever the combination of direct and indirect actions that are applied to counter the urban guerrilla, the military planner will be well served to consider General Alvaro's insights about Brazil's Fight Against Criminal Urban Guerrillas. Details: Hurlburt Field, FL: Joint Special Operations University, 2009. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: JSOU Report 09-8: Accessed March 12, 2016 at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2009/0909_jsou-report-09-8.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2009/0909_jsou-report-09-8.pdf Shelf Number: 138195 Keywords: Criminal Networks Drug Trafficking Favelas Gangs Organized Crime Urban Guerrillas Urban Violence Violent Crime Weapons Smuggling

Author: Granath, Sven Title: Lethal violence in Sweden 1990-2014: A description of trends with a specific focus on firearm violence Summary: Lethal violence is a central type of offence in studies of crime trends in Sweden and in other countries. The rate of unreported cases, i.e. events which never come to the police's attention, is believed to be low for such offences and there is relatively consistent data over time. This report analyses all cases of completed murder, manslaughter, and assault with a lethal outcome of which the police were aware from 1990-2014. The purpose is to describe lethal violence in Sweden, both with a focus on the general trends and with a specific focus on lethal violence with firearms. The latter type of lethal violence has been given a great deal of attention during recent years, not the least in connection with reports of shootings in major cities while, at the same time, there has not yet been a detailed analysis of lethal firearm violence. In addition to information from the criminal justice system regarding cases of lethal violence (police investigations, sentences, etc.), the report also uses data from the National Board of Health and Welfare's cause of death register and patient register. Details: Stockholm: Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Bra), 2015. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: English summary of Bra report 2015:24: Accessed March 14, 2016 at: https://www.bra.se/download/18.47fa372d1520dfb2fc51b888/1452503671860/2015_Lethal_violence_in_Sweden_1990_2014.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Sweden URL: https://www.bra.se/download/18.47fa372d1520dfb2fc51b888/1452503671860/2015_Lethal_violence_in_Sweden_1990_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 138213 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime Crime Statistics Crime Trends Firearms Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Title: The Knife Crime Prevention Programme: Process Evaluation Summary: The Knife Crime Prevention Programme (KCPP) is an intervention which aims to reduce the prevalence of knife carrying and use by young people. Young people are referred to the programme if they are aged between 10 and 17 and have been convicted of an offence where a knife or the threat of a knife is a feature. The programme is based on a national delivery framework, with flexibility for local adaptation. It was rolled out as part of the Home Office "Tackling Knives Action Programme"(TKAP). Research objectives This process evaluation was commissioned to: - provide a picture of the implementation and delivery of KCPP - explore participants' knowledge, perceptions and attitudes to knife crime before and after the programme - explore staff attitudes to the programme. Methodology The methodology adopted was as follows: - an electronic survey of 67 youth offending teams (YOTs) delivering KCPP3 - a paper-based survey of 96 young people from 13 YOTs at entry to and exit from the programme - site visits to eight YOTs, where interviews were undertaken with 33 staff/partners and 12 young people, and one focus group was undertaken with seven young people. Key findings YOT staff who were surveyed reported that the majority of young people who started KCPP in their local area completed the programme. Non-completion was reportedly most often due to the young person being taken into custody (named by 24 of 67 YOTs), being disruptive in sessions, or failing to attend. KCPP respondents spoke highly of the use of personal accounts of the consequences of knife crime from victims, families, ex-offenders or professionals. However, YOTs found this challenging and resource-intensive to arrange and, in most YOTs, case studies and recorded media were used in place of personal delivery. Where achieved, some young people felt they had increased empathy for victims' families and health professionals as a result of the programme. By the end of the programme, the majority of those young people completing the survey upon entry and exit to the programme demonstrated a correct understanding of the law. YOT staff surveyed felt that the greatest learning points for young people from the programme were 'recognising the dangers of carrying a knife' and a perceived increase in 'understanding of the consequences of knife crime'. Group work provided challenges to staff in terms of risk management and appropriate grouping of young people. The importance of appropriately skilled facilitators was emphasised by YOT staff. Staff did feel, however, that the group setting provided an opportunity for positive social interaction between young people. The majority of YOT staff surveyed (40 out of 67) said that they believed KCPP was effective. The qualitative interviews indicated that YOT staff thought that the programme was more likely to be effective for young people with a low risk of reoffending. The need to carry a knife 'for protection' was considered by young people and staff to be a key reason why some young people would continue to carry a knife. The KCPP framework did not stipulate any formal follow-on activity for those who completed the programme. Only a few of the YOTs surveyed (six) provided organised follow-on activities, depending on local availability and funding, and even when follow-on activities did take place, they were not explicitly linked to knife crime. Details: London: Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, 2013. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395990/knife-crime-prevention-programme.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/395990/knife-crime-prevention-programme.pdf Shelf Number: 138308 Keywords: Crime Prevention Crime Reduction Homicide Knife Crime (U.K.) Knives Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Title: Preventing Multiple Forms of Violence: A Strategic Vision for Connecting the Dots Summary: The different forms of violence-child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, elder abuse, and suicidal behavior-are strongly connected to each other in many important ways. Understanding and addressing the interconnections among these forms of violence is the central tenet of this 5-year vision to prevent violence developed by the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP). This document describes this vision-articulating why a cross-cutting approach is important to achieving measureable reductions in violence; the areas where we will strategically focus our attention; and priorities for advancing practice, effectively reaching intended audiences, generating new knowledge, and monitoring and evaluating our progress. Details: Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2016 at: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/strategic_vision.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/strategic_vision.pdf Shelf Number: 138313 Keywords: Crime Prevention Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Alesina, Alberto Title: Organized Crime, Violence, and Politics Summary: We investigate how criminal organizations strategically use violence to influence elections and national politics in order to get captured politicians elected. The model offers novel testable implications about the level of electoral violence under different types of electoral systems and different degrees of electoral competition. We test these implications by exploiting data on homicide rates in Italy since 1887, and compare the extent of 'electoral-violence cycles' between areas with higher and lower presence of organized crime, under democratic and non-democratic regimes, and different types of electoral rules. We provide additional evidence on the influence of organized crime on politics using the parliamentary discourses of politician-selected in Sicily during the period 1945-2013. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 22093: Accessed March 21, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22093.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Italy URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22093.pdf Shelf Number: 138343 Keywords: Homicides Organized Crime Political Elections Violent Crime

Author: Jaitman, Laura Title: The Welfare Costs of Crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: The aim of this volume is to carry out a systematic and rigorous analysis of the costs of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on methodological and conceptual issues that are key to an exhaustive understanding of their economic and social dimensions. It presents an economic model of crime that conceptualizes the impact of violence on welfare. In addition, this volume is the first of its kind to provide estimates of the direct costs of crime and violence with the accounting method in a homogenous manner for a set of countries in the region (Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Furthermore, it presents applied analyses on the indirect and intangible economic and social costs of crime and violence, and discusses the need to improve statistical systems in the region for conducting evidence-based citizen security analyses and obtaining estimates of the welfare costs of crime. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2015. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 24, 2016 at: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7246 Year: 2015 Country: Latin America URL: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7246 Shelf Number: 138403 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Welfare Public Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Situation of Human Rights in Honduras Summary: The report "Situation of Human Rights in Honduras", addresses the situation of human rights violations which result of high rates of violence, citizen insecurity and impunity. The report also provides recommendations in order to assist the State in strengthening its efforts to protect and guarantee human rights. The report indicates that the homicide rate in Honduras remains one of the highest in the region and the world, although the State reported numbers that indicate a decline in 2014. These levels of violence are a result of several factors, including the increased presence of organized crime and drug traffickers, an inadequate judicial response that fuels impunity, corruption, and high levels of poverty and inequality. "Violence and insecurity are serious problems that Honduran society faces with a major impact on the enjoyment and effective exercise of human rights in the country," said Commissioner Francisco Eguiguren, IACHR Rapporteur for Honduras. The report indicates that the high levels of violence faced by Honduran society have a particular impact on human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, women, children, adolescents and youth, LGBT persons, migrants, campesinos from the Bajo Aguan, journalists and media workers, and justice operators. The report also analyzes those still considered to be among the most serious problems that the Honduran prison system is facing. Official figures released in 2013 indicate that 80% of murders committed in Honduras go unpunished due to a lack of capacity of investigative bodies. During the visit, civil society organizations claimed that the prevailing levels of impunity in Honduras are even higher. Details: Washington, DC: IACHR, 2015. 230p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2016 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Honduras-en-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Honduras-en-2015.pdf Shelf Number: 138417 Keywords: Crime Rates Criminal Justice Systems Homicide Human Rights Abuses Murders Violence Violent Crime

Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala: Siversity, Inequality and Exclusion Summary: The report "Situation of Human Rights in Guatemala: Diversity, Inequality and Exclusion," addresses structural challenges on public safety, access to justice and impunity, marginalization and discrimination that seriously affect the human rights of its inhabitants. The report particularly analyzes the system of administration of justice in Guatemala and the need for appropriate, efficient, independent and impartial, in order to respond to structural impunity for several past and present human rights violations. Also, the report especially addresses the situation of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala, whose rights to their ancestral lands and territories have been affected, and suffer exclusion, inequality and malnutrition as a result of racism and structural discrimination. The report analyzes the situation of human rights of human rights defenders, journalists, women, children and adolescents, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and intersex persons and migrants. "We have noticed changes in Guatemala in favor of a society that is more respectful of human rights," said the IACHR Rapporteur for Guatemala, Commissioner Enrique Gil Botero. "These advances have been promoted and triggered by the efforts of public officials committed to justice, as well as human rights defenders and social leaders. Their work, which often endangers their life and integrity, has been and continues to be essential. " Among the improvements, the IACHR highlights the reduction in the homicide rate and the September 2015 Constitutional Court's decision, which for the first time ordered the implementation of a prior and informed consultation with the indigenous communities affected by an investment project. Furthermore, also regarding administration of justice, the Commission highlights the efforts of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Public Ministry in their work dismantling criminal networks and fighting against corruption. The IACHR also appreciates the efforts taken by the State in order to create a program to protect journalists, prevent and combat human trafficking, as well as to register differentiated statistics on violence against women to feed the design of public policies, among others. The IACHR also applauds the decision taken by the government to extend the mandate of the CICIG in 2015, whose work has been crucial. Details: Washington, DC: IACHR, 2015. 221p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2016 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Guatemala2016-en.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Guatemala URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Guatemala2016-en.pdf Shelf Number: 138418 Keywords: Crime Rates Criminal Justice Systems Discrimination Homicides Human Rights Abuses Indigenous Peoples Public Safety Violence Violent Crime

Author: McMurtry, Roy Title: The Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Volume 1: Findings, Analysis and Conclusions Summary: Ontario is at a crossroads. While it is a safe place for most, our review identified deeply troubling trends in the nature of serious violent crime involving youth in Ontario and the impacts it is having on many communities. Those trends suggest that, unless the roots of this violence are identified and addressed in a coordinated, collaborative and sustained way, violence will get worse. More people will be killed, communities will become increasingly isolated and disadvantaged, an ever-accelerating downward cycle will ensue for far too many, and our social fabric as a province could be seriously damaged. To open the door for this kind of review required wisdom and foresight. We commend Premier Dalton McGuinty for asking the bold questions that led to these conclusions. In an era when many seek short-term political gain by simply calling for more law enforcement, despite chiefs of police stressing that "we cannot arrest our way out of this problem," the Premier took a different approach. He gave us a wide mandate and full independence to look at where the violence is coming from, and to identify ways to address its roots, in order to advance the health, safety and long-term prosperity of Ontario. This has been a most challenging assignment. Ontario is a large and diverse province. The issues are interconnected and controversial. Time was limited, and both the pressures and expectations have been high. We nonetheless thank the Premier for the opportunity he gave us to explore the deep and complex issues that lie behind the roots of violence involving youth. We describe in our report the process we followed to understand those issues. In a little over 10 months, we or our staff met with over 750 people, whether in their individual capacities or as representatives of organizations. We met with more than a dozen Ontario deputy ministers, several on more than one occasion. We met with Ontario's Poverty Reduction Committee and its political and public service staff, and separately with certain Cabinet ministers. And, as directed in our mandate, we established a strong working relationship with the City of Toronto and the United Way, whose leadership on these kinds of issues is well-known. We also commissioned a youth-led neighbourhood insight process to delve, as deeply as time permitted, into the issues facing eight neighbourhoods in the province. We engaged the Grassroots Youth Collaborative, a consortium of highly diverse youth-led organizations, to help us hear youth voices in Toronto that might otherwise not have come to our attention. We also engaged the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres to bring us the views of urban Aboriginal youth from across the province. As well, we commissioned five major research papers and two comprehensive literature reviews, obtained 11 background papers from Ontario ministries, provided provincewide access to our work via a website, an online survey and a 1-800 number, and travelled to England to better understand some particularly relevant approaches there. Nonetheless, we do not profess to have studied all that could have been studied, nor to have met with all who could have helped us with our task. We have almost certainly not done full justice to the work of all who shared their ideas and insights with us and may have failed to fully credit everyone whose ideas inspired us. In all of our work, we joined a conversation rather than started one. We have been encouraged by the large number of people, most certainly including youth, who are bringing expertise and energy to bear on the issue of violence in Ontario. They include people within all orders of government, in community agencies and organizations, and in communities themselves. We have also been encouraged by the commitment the Premier has shown to addressing some key aspects of this issue in recent initiatives such as full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds and the appointment of a Cabinet committee to develop "a focused poverty reduction strategy with measures, indicators and reasonable targets by the end of 2008." For reasons we discuss in our report, we focused on the most serious violence involving youth. We also address the other forms of violence that can be its precursors, but consider the heart of the matter to be those youth who are so alienated and disconnected from our society that they carry guns and often use them in impulsive ways, demonstrating indifference to the consequences and placing no value on human life. We inquired into the mindset of those youth and, from that analysis, we identified the immediate risk factors for their behaviour. This then led us to the roots of those factors and to actions to address those roots. We found the roots to be extensive and pervasive. They permeate society, but are intertwined and particularly virulent in certain neighbourhoods, and made worse everywhere when they include racism. Our core finding can be simply stated: neither the breadth nor the depth of the roots is taken into account in shaping public policy in Ontario. The initiatives underway to address various aspects of them are largely inadequate for the task, and there is no structure to give coherence to those initiatives. Overall, Ontario has not recognized how vital it is to the health of this province to put an aligned and sustained approach to the roots of violence involving youth at the heart of the government's agenda. In reaching these conclusions, we did not adopt a rigid definition of youth. The roots of the immediate risk factors can take hold even before birth and continue to pose threats all through a child's life. Similarly, there is no accepted upper limit on who should be considered a youth, and we do not propose to create one. Certainly, the definition should go beyond the age limit for the Youth Criminal Justice Act (18), up to some point in a youth's early to mid-20s, but there is no benefit in trying to be more precise than that in looking at violence involving youth and considering actions to address its roots. In approaching our work, we were asked not to reinvent the wheel. We found little need to do so. Good work and good ideas abound. To work with that metaphor, we found many excellent "wheels." The problem, however, is that they are not all connected to the same vehicle, and those that are on the same vehicle frequently have separate steering systems and often separate drivers with different ideas of what the destination is and how to get there. That is why we give the highest priority to governance, and otherwise tend to provide more advice than recommendations. What matters most is getting the wheels onto vehicles that are following an agreed-upon map to a shared destination. We are confident that the destination we describe in our report is the right one. It focuses on repairing a social context that is broken for many youth; strengthening neighbourhoods and community agencies; establishing clear outcome goals for initiatives for youth; providing youth with engagement, hope and opportunity; and aligning the provincial ministries to deliver a coordinated, collaborative agenda of change over the long term, including by working effectively with other orders of government and community residents. Having described that destination, we are largely content to leave the details to the planning process we describe in the balance of this report. We do not make a lot of detailed recommendations because so doing would suggest that there are neat, discrete solutions to problems that are deep and intertwined. In our view, only an integrated, collaborative and sustained approach to the roots will succeed. That is why we propose a body at the centre of government with the mandate and resources to consider our advice, situate it within the context of the balance of the government"s agenda, determine priorities, make linkages among ministries and with other governments, and manage a process of both building and being responsive to communities across the province. Only this kind of body and approach will be able to produce a coherent, long-range plan for the province, set agendas for ministries individually and collectively, establish overall and interim targets and monitor work towards them to ensure an aligned and sustained response. We are confident that, with this kind of strong coordination and leadership, we can rely upon Ontario's ministries and their partners to do the detailed planning required to respond to the advice we offer throughout our report. This need not be a lengthy exercise, but it will call for a major focus from many ministries. Given that focus and the leadership structure we propose, we believe that the planning exercise can be completed, and the plans made public, by May 2009. In the result, the recommendations we make to the Premier emphasize the need to recognize the breadth of the issues and to address them by creating significant new governance mechanisms to coordinate the energy and capacity that are waiting and eager to take on the work that must be done. Details: Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2008. 458p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2016 at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume1/chapter01_intro.aspx Year: 2008 Country: Canada URL: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume1/chapter01_intro.aspx Shelf Number: 138524 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquents Juvenile Offenders Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: National Network for Safe Communities Title: Group Violence Intervention: An Implementation Guide Summary: The National Network for Safe Communities supports communities around the country in implementing two field-tested crime reduction strategies: the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) first launched in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Drug Market Intervention (DMI) first launched in High Point, North Carolina. National Network membership includes law enforcement (e.g., police chiefs; sheriffs; state and federal prosecutors; and corrections, parole, and probation officials), community leaders, mayors, city managers, council members, service providers, street outreach workers, scholars, and others applying these strategies to reduce violent crime. The National Network's GVI has demonstrated that violent crime can be dramatically reduced when law enforcement, community members, and social service providers join together to engage directly with street groups to communicate the following: - A law enforcement message that any future violence will be met with clear, predictable, and certain consequences - A moral message from community representatives that violence will not be tolerated - An offer of help from social service providers for those who want it GVI is now a well-documented approach to reducing serious violence. The strategy is unusual, but it is based on common sense and practical experience. Embedded in empirical analysis of what drives serious violence, and in the schools of thought and practice known as "focused deterrence" and "procedural justice," the strategy follows a basic logic. Evidence and experience show that a small number of people in street groups, cliques, drug crews, and the like cause the majority of violence in troubled neighborhoods. The internal dynamics of the groups and the honor code of the street drive violence between those groups and individuals. The group members typically constitute less than 0.5 percent of a city's population but are consistently linked to 60 to 70 percent of the shootings and homicides. To implement GVI, a city assembles a partnership of law enforcement, community representatives (e.g., parents of murdered children, ministers, street outreach workers, ex-offenders, and other people with moral standing and credibility), and social service providers, all of whom are willing to provide a specific message to group members. A key communication tool of the strategy is the "call-in," a face-to-face meeting between group members and representatives of the GVI partnership. Together, the GVI partners deliver the strategy's antiviolence messages to representatives of street groups and then follow up on those messages. The call-in represents a central shift on the part of law enforcement. At the call-in, law enforcement gives the groups clear notice that it will meet future violence with swift and certain consequences and that it will direct consequences at the group as a whole rather than at individuals. As with ordinary law enforcement, when group members commit violent crimes, those individuals receive enforcement attention. Under GVI, however, law enforcement also holds the entire group accountable for violence. A group member's violent act triggers enforcement against other group members for outstanding warrants, probation and parole violations, open cases, and a variety of other criminal activity. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2013. 136p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 9, 2016 at: https://nnscommunities.org/old-site-files/Group_Violence_Intervention_-_An_Implementation_Guide.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://nnscommunities.org/old-site-files/Group_Violence_Intervention_-_An_Implementation_Guide.pdf Shelf Number: 135351 Keywords: Community Participation Focused Deterrence Group Violence Intervention Procedural Justice Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Altheimer, Irshad Title: Linking Research on Dispute Related Violence with Violence Reduction Strategies Summary: This paper is concerned with urban dispute-related violence. This paper has three objectives. First, to highlight the literature and research that should aid in the development violence-reduction strategies. Second, to address some of the challenges associated with drawing concrete policy implications from the extant research on dispute-related violence. Third, to identify the law enforcement strategies that can be utilized to reduce dispute-related violence. Details: Rochester, NY: Center for Public Safety Initiatives, Rochester Institute of Technology, 2014. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 11, 2016 at: https://www.rit.edu/cla/criminaljustice/sites/rit.edu.cla.criminaljustice/files/docs/WorkingPapers/2014/Linking%20Research%20on%20Dispute-Related%20Violence%20with%20Violence%20Reduction%20Strategies.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.rit.edu/cla/criminaljustice/sites/rit.edu.cla.criminaljustice/files/docs/WorkingPapers/2014/Linking%20Research%20on%20Dispute-Related%20Violence%20with%20Violence%20Reduction%20Strategies.pdf Shelf Number: 138621 Keywords: Disputes Retaliation Urban Areas Violent crime

Author: Preciado, Luis E. Title: State approaches toward reducing youth violence in Honduras and Nicaragua Summary: Nicaragua and Honduras are neighbor countries situated in one of the most violent regions of the world. As such, they share many similarities, including geopolitics, a history of political violence and insurgency, as well as a repressive authoritarian past. In spite of the two countries' similarities, their divergent policing and public security policies have led to equally divergent outcomes in crime and homicide rates. What factors explain this divergence? How effective are their respective policing and security policies in confronting the proliferation of violence among the youth of their nations? Analysis of these questions helps U.S. policy-makers gain greater understanding of the critical factors that are contributing to Central America's escalating youth violence. By way of a most-similar systems approach, this thesis analyzes the aspects that either enable or degrade state efforts to address their youth gang crisis. In sum, building strong and accountable criminal justice institutions as well as addressing the socioeconomic challenges that confront youth populations are necessary preconditions for reducing youth violence. To assist our regional partners in restoring security to their nations, U.S. policymakers need to promote programs that help strengthen institutional capacities and expand social programs that assist at-risk youth. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed April 11, 2016 at: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/47317/15Sep_Preciado_Luis.pdf?sequence=3 Year: 2015 Country: Central America URL: http://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/47317/15Sep_Preciado_Luis.pdf?sequence=3 Shelf Number: 138626 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Gang Violence Gangs Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youth Violence

Author: Carter, Rebecca L. Title: The Blessed Placemakers: Violent Crime, Moral Transformation, and Urban Redevelopment in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Summary: This doctoral dissertation is an ethnographic and social-geographic examination of peacemaking and placemaking in the urban delta. It traces the ways in which people dwell within unsettled and liminal places at the edge or margin of change, working to creatively remake their lives and worlds despite persistent conditions of vulnerability and loss. Based on two years of comparative fieldwork in New Orleans, it reveals the challenges, ways of being, and transformations that emerge in the aftermath of disaster, in the midst of recovery and redevelopment, and in response to ongoing social problems, particularly the impact of urban violence. While violent crime has long been a problem in New Orleans, it has particular significance in the post-disaster setting. People are asking: How do we stop the violence and reclaim our lives and city? And in particular, what are the values - moral, ethical, religious and other - that should carry us forward? The dissertation follows four local moral and religious communities who address these questions, immersed in active and embodied processes of healing and reform for self, community, city, and society. Case studies include a Catholic "peace prayer" group praying for an end to violence and the moral conversion of non-believers; practitioners of Haitian Vodou conducting "anticrime ceremonies" in targeted city neighborhoods; a Baptist church leading anti-violence and grief recovery ministries; and an Episcopal social justice ministry focused on the restoration of humanity for all victims of violence. Their rich narratives demonstrate that peacemaking and placemaking are driven by the acquisition, application, and promotion of distinct moral and religious bodies of knowledge. Expanding on existing investigations of moral geographies and forms of indigenous 'wisdom,' therefore, the research finds that it is through these site-specific forms of urban 'wisdom' that residents work to reconcile the past while refashioning the present and future. Local moralities extend through larger religious and other sheltering institutions to support the growth and promotion of moral and religious frameworks to guide urban redevelopment and reform. The efforts of these groups, including the obstacles they face, reveal the complexity of moral and religious civic engagement, in vulnerable urban settings. Details: Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2010. 403p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 13, 2016 at: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/78861/rlcart_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/78861/rlcart_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 138654 Keywords: Disasters Religion Urban Areas and Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Institute for Economics and Peace Title: Mexico Peace Index 2016. Mapping the Evolution of Peace and Its Drivers Summary: In 2015, Mexico's peace improved by 0.3 percent, which is the smallest improvement in peace in the last five years. The improvement is largely attributed to a 10 percent decline in the violent crime rate and an eight percent decline in the rate of organized crime related offenses. However, this was offset by deteriorations in detention without sentencing, weapons crime and the homicide rate. The latter increased by six percent. Furthermore, the gap between the most and least peaceful states widened slightly in 2015, reversing the trend observed in six of the seven prior years. An area of concern is the trend towards increased impunity, which deteriorated dramatically from 2007 onwards. In 2007, there were four convictions for every five cases of homicide, but by 2013 there was only one conviction for every five cases. This, combined with the increases in detention without sentencing, points to an overstretched judicial system, as is further supported by statistics on the over-crowding of prisons. It also highlights the challenges facing the justice system, whose 2015 federal expenditure was 78 billion pesos, below the 2012 level of expenditure. The longer term trends indicate a marked improvement in peacefulness since 2011, the year in which violence peaked in Mexico. The country has improved its peacefulness by 13 percent since that time. Violent crime, homicides and organized crime have all fallen by nearly 30 percent. These improvements mean that twenty-five out of the 32 states in Mexico have become more peaceful since 2011, including four of the five states that ranked at the bottom in that year. These improvements in peace have resulted in roughly 85 percent of The Mexico Peace Index (MPI), produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, provides a comprehensive measure of peacefulness in Mexico from 2003 to 2015, with new results for 2015. This report aims to deepen the understanding of the trends, patterns and drivers of peace in Mexico, while highlighting the important economic benefits that will flow from a more peaceful society. Details: Sydney, AUS: Institute for Economics and Peace, 2016. 120p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 13, 2016 at: http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Mexico-Peace-Index-2016_English.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Mexico-Peace-Index-2016_English.pdf Shelf Number: 138663 Keywords: Crime Rates Criminal Justice Systems Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: New Jersey. Commission on Violence Title: Report of the Study Commission on Violence Summary: The Study Commission on Violence discharged its duty to examine trends and sources of violence, the impact of violence on the community, identified funding opportunities that address violence, and the mental health system through the receipt of subject matter expert briefings, public hearings, and its own independent research. This report summarizes the Study Commission's findings and its recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor. Violence in our communities is a concern we heard expressed time and again in our public hearings and in examining data related to the frequency of violence in New Jersey. There is no one source of violence or a single impact on the communities where it occurs. Rather, violence is brought on by a host of socio-economic factors and individual decisions made by people who choose to perpetrate violent acts against others or themselves. While "violence" is an all-encompassing term, it can also be imprecise. Deaths due to violence are at a generational low; yet, violence remains stubbornly high in certain areas - in New Jersey, roughly 80 percent of all violent crime occurs in just 21 cities. It is not coincidental that these cities also have lower rates of high school graduation, higher rates of unemployment, lower rates of household income, and higher rates of school truancy. Violence does not occur in a vacuum; rather, it thrives in poor and disadvantaged communities where educational and economic opportunities are limited and residents have become accustomed to a certain level of lawlessness. In recent years, the challenges facing these communities have been compounded by economic turmoil that has resulted in reductions in law enforcement. Violence, however, is not confined to urban settings and occurs in suburban and rural communities as well. The issue of violence should be a concern to all New Jersey residents, to one degree or another. And while violent "street" crime is found disproportionately in a small number of places in New Jersey, certain crimes like domestic violence are more widespread. Still others, like elder abuse, are emerging as concerns in the community. At the same time, a consensus has begun to form around the manner in which those who are drug addicted, particularly those suffering from heroin addiction, are treated when they are arrested. Whereas public policy once focused exclusively on incarcerating individuals, even for low-level offenses, for significant periods of time, current policy has shifted toward diverting non-violent offenders away from incarceration and into treatment. Moreover, this trend has extended into how law enforcement treats juvenile delinquents. Through diversion programs that offer community-based oversight, some county youth detention facilities have closed because too few juveniles are being remanded to custody and the number of juveniles in Juvenile Justice Commission facilities has dropped by roughly half. Of course, violence is not limited to acts by one person against another. Self-directed violence in the form of suicide and attempted suicide is also prevalent in our country. Indeed, the number of suicides that occur nationally each year is more than twice the number of homicides that occur in our nation. The Study Commission took seriously its charge to examine the trends, sources, and impact of violence in the community, the availability of grant funding to combat violence, the implementation of expanded involuntary outpatient commitments, and whether and how defendants with identified mental health disabilities but who are charged with crimes, can be offered an alternative to incarceration in the form of a structured, case managed program of treatment and counseling. The Commission learned that there are a wide range of programs and services available to those with a diagnosed mental health disability or illness. Indeed, coverage for mental health treatment is now available to more individuals through the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. That said, issues still remain regarding access to that treatment due to limited resources and reimbursement for practitioners who treat these patients. With respect to at least one specific charge of the Commission - examining the involuntary outpatient commitment program and whether it should be extended statewide - the Commission determined that this has been mooted by legislation passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. Details: s.l.: The Commission, 2015. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2016 at: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2455899/study-commission-on-violence-report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2455899/study-commission-on-violence-report.pdf Shelf Number: 138801 Keywords: Gang Violence Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Mental Health Services Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Suicides Urban Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cockayne, James Title: Strengthening mediation to deal with criminal agendas Summary: A growing proportion of armed conflicts nowadays do not only involve political and ideological agendas but criminal ones. While armed conflict mediators have extensive experience of dealing with armed groups in various contexts of political and ideological conflicts, there is often a lack of attention towards addressing criminal agendas, making it a blind spot of mediation. In Strengthening mediation to deal with criminal agendas, James Cockayne takes an in-depth look at ways in which mediators have addressed, or not, criminal agendas, in peace processes, and the potentially spoiling effect that ignoring them may have had on those processes. Through the review of several peace processes in which criminal agendas have been directly tackled including gang truces in El Salvador and community violence reduction cases in Haiti and Brazil, Cockayne highlights how the practice of mediation can adjust to take criminal agendas into account. While mediation is by no means the only way to address and deal with such agendas, it can be a useful and complementary tool to do so. Cockayne also puts forward examples of peace processes in which criminal agendas were not taken into account and how this has contributed to spoiling those processes, for example through a return to conflict, or the empowerment of criminal agendas through disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration processes. Cockayne also offers recommendations on ways to ensure that the fundamentals of mediation, such as preparedness, inclusive ownership, legal frameworks and impartiality, are respected despite the presence of criminal agendas. Details: Oslo: Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, 2013. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Oslo Forum Papers: Accessed April 25, 2016 at: http://www.hdcentre.org/uploads/tx_news/Strengthening-mediation-to-deal-with-criminal-agendas.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.hdcentre.org/uploads/tx_news/Strengthening-mediation-to-deal-with-criminal-agendas.pdf Shelf Number: 138803 Keywords: Armed Conflict Gangs Mediation Violence Violent Crime

Author: Goh, Derek Title: An update of long-term trends in violent and property crime in New South Wales: 1990-2015 Summary: Aim: The aim of this paper is to analyse the trends in the rates of annual recorded incidents of 10 categories of property and violent crime for the period 1990 to 2015 in New South Wales (NSW). Method: Offence rates were calculated using criminal incident data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) for the period 1995 to 2015, and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research's recorded crime statistics report series for the period 1990 to 1994. Kendall's trend test was run on the 26 annual rates for each of the 10 offence categories. Results: Some categories of crime in NSW are now at the lowest recorded levels they have been for over 25 years. Comparing per capita rates of crime in 2015 with per capita rates in 1990, lower rates were found for: robbery with a firearm (86% lower); motor vehicle theft (80% lower); break and enter non-dwelling (75% lower); robbery without a weapon (60% lower); break and enter dwelling (58% lower); murder (56% lower) and robbery with a weapon not a firearm (53% lower). Three of the ten offence types analysed in this report were found to have recorded rates higher in 2015 than in 1990: sexual assault (131% higher); other sexual offences (102% higher) and assault (62% higher). Conclusion: In the period since 1990, assault and sexual assault rates recorded significant long term upward trends whilst the other eight offences analysed in this report were trending down or stable. The 2015 recorded sexual assault rate was slightly below the highest in that series (occurring in 2012) and the rate since 2000 has recorded a significant uptrend. Apart from sexual assault and other sexual offences, the remaining eight offence types recorded significant downtrends in recorded rates since 2000. The three robbery and three property crime series all recorded falls of more than 65 per cent since 2000. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2016. 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Paper no. 115: Accessed April 28, 2016 at: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/report-an-update-of-long-term-trends-in-violent-and-property-crime-in-nsw-bb115.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/report-an-update-of-long-term-trends-in-violent-and-property-crime-in-nsw-bb115.pdf Shelf Number: 138833 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics (Australia) Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Finkelhor, David Title: Children's Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update Summary: This bulletin discusses the second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV II), which was conducted in 2011 as a followup to the original NatSCEV I survey conducted in 2008. OJJDP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sponsored both surveys. The NatSCEV II survey confirmed NatSCEV I's finding that children's exposure to violence is common; nearly 60 percent of the sample (57.7 percent) had been exposed to violence in the past year, and more than 1 in 10 reported 5 or more exposures. This exposure occurs across all age ranges of childhood and for both genders. Details: Internet Resource: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2015. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence: Accessed April 29, 2016 at: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248547.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248547.pdf Shelf Number: 138844 Keywords: Abused Children Bullying Child Maltreatment Child Sexual Abuse Children, Crimes Against Domestic Violence Violent Crime

Author: McMurtry, Roy Title: The Review of the Roots of Youth Violence: Volume 2: Executive Summary Summary: When Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty asked us to undertake this review in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a high school student at school, he had the wisdom not to simply ask for short-term ideas about how to deploy yet more law enforcement resources to try to suppress this kind of violence. Instead, he asked us to spend a year seeking to find out where it is coming from - its roots - and what might be done to address them to make Ontario safer in the long term. This turned out to be a most challenging assignment. Ontario is a large and diverse province. The issues are complex and controversial. Time was limited, and both the pressures and expectations have been high. We nonetheless thank the Premier for this opportunity and commend him for the initiative he took in placing the focus on the long-term well-being of Ontario and its residents. In undertaking this work, we joined a conversation rather than starting one. Our work, although focusing on a more fundamental analysis than has often been the case, did not begin in a vacuum. In provincial and other governments and, perhaps most importantly, in communities across this province, many individuals have combined compassion with passion to help address the violence in our society. However, we found no overall policy in place to guide this work and no structures to coordinate the efforts of those doing it. We found a focus on problems rather than on the roots of problems, and on interventions once the roots had taken hold rather than on actions to prevent that happening. Overall, our analysis brought to light a number of underlying issues that call for attention in a structured and sustained way. While this "roots" analysis has by definition caused us to focus on often very deep and sometimes divisive problems and has perhaps in some areas given our report a negative tone, we believe that our plan for the future is positive. With good communications and sustained and visible commitment, it will earn and receive significant public support. Details: Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2008. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2016 at: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/english/documents/topics/youthandthelaw/rootsofyouthviolence-vol2.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Canada URL: http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/english/documents/topics/youthandthelaw/rootsofyouthviolence-vol2.pdf Shelf Number: 138926 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquents Juvenile Offenders Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Everytown for Gun Safety Title: Beyond Gridlock: How White House Action on Gun Violence Can Save Lives Summary: In the wake of the horrific shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon - the 18th mass shooting of 20151 - President Obama spoke to the nation, lamenting that gun violence has grown so routine in America and deploring Congressional inaction. But the President also issued a powerful call to action, and recommitted his administration to exploring its authority to take executive action and enforce the laws already in place. He asked whether there were steps his administration could take to prevent these "tragic deaths from taking place." This report answers the President's call, and offers five life-saving measures that the Administration could advance - today - to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. These five critical - and simple - steps would: keep dangerous people with guns out of our schools; crack down on gun trafficking and curb the sale of guns without background checks; ensure that law enforcement identifies and prosecutes the most dangerous criminals who try to illegally obtain guns; help states to enforce their own background check laws; and ensure that all convicted domestic abusers are prohibited from possessing guns. A comprehensive list of these and other recommended executive actions is set forth in the appendix to this report. Details: Everytown for Gun Safety, 2015. 18p. Source: Internet Resource Accessed May 13, 2016 at: https://everytownresearch.org/documents/2015/10/beyond-gridlock-white-house-action-gun-violence-can-save-lives.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://everytownresearch.org/documents/2015/10/beyond-gridlock-white-house-action-gun-violence-can-save-lives.pdf Shelf Number: 139016 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Control Policy Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicide Violence Violent Crime

Author: O'Neil, Shannon K. Title: Mexico on the Brink Summary: The headlines don't mislead. Mexican society is reeling from the collateral damage of the permanent war on drugs in the Americas, as crime cartels duke it out for control of illicit exports to the US. Indeed, high levels of violence largely explain why Mexico ranked 104th out of 142 countries in the Safety and Security category in the 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index - and why, in spite of a very high ranking (27th) in the Economy category, the country is only 59th in the overall prosperity ranking. But that's just one element of the story of contemporary Mexico. Here, Shannon O'Neil, a senior fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (and author of the new book, Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead), focuses on Mexico's progress in escaping what development economists call the "middle-income trap". In the early 1980s, Mexico began to shake off the political and economic torpor created by one-party, Tammany Hallstyle rule and self-imposed isolation from the competitive pressures of a rapidly integrating global economy. Reform was initially forced on the country as a condition for relief from the consequences of default on its foreign loans. But it triggered a series of secondary tremors that shook the domestic economic and political landscape, leading first to the free trade agreement with the US and Canada, and then to the opening of the political system to interests that had no stake in preserving a bloated, bureaucratic government and corrupt, state-owned enterprises. O'Neil picks up the story from there. Arguably the least understood aspect of Mexico's coming of age, she suggests, is the role played by global supply chains in manufacturing. Mexico's combination of competitively priced labour, proximity to the US and Canada, and market-friendly regulation has led to an unprecedented degree of integration between the three economies, powering the growth of Mexico's middle-class. O'Neil makes it clear that the path forward is not strewn with roses, however. Organised crime still makes life terrifying for millions on a daily basis. Public services - in particular, public education - remain inadequate to meet the challenge of creating a workforce the equal of, say, the US or Northern Europe. The national oil monopoly is still corrupt, poorly managed and woefully lacking in modern technology. But by O'Neil's reading, Mexico really does have a shot at joining the elite club of rich, democratic nations. Details: London: Legatum Institute, 2013. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Prosperity in Depth: Mexico: Accessed May 13, 2016 at: https://lif.blob.core.windows.net/lif/docs/default-source/country-growth-reports/pid-mexico-2013---mexico-on-the-brink.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: https://lif.blob.core.windows.net/lif/docs/default-source/country-growth-reports/pid-mexico-2013---mexico-on-the-brink.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Shelf Number: 139017 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Drugs and Crime Homicides Organized Crime Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Nussio, Enzo Title: Peace and Violence in Colombia Summary: The Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos is currently in talks with the oldest of Latin America's guerilla groups, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC); most recently, it has also engaged with the smaller Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN). In particular, it appears possible that a peace agreement will soon be signed with FARC. President Santos is promoting the negotiations in Havana internationally as good news in a crisis-ridden world. However, the general population of Colombia remains skeptical. In a survey of March 2016, about two thirds of respondents were pessimistic about the negotiations; nearly half would prefer an end of negotiations and a military offensive against FARC. Many Colombians have no faith in a treaty with the rebels, whom they regard as untrustworthy, and believe that the violence plaguing Colombia cannot be eliminated at the negotiation table. "Peace" is generally regarded as an unrealistic, utopian goal, even if the FARC and ELN fighters should lay down their arms. Despite the hopeful prospects, it is likely that the pessimism of the general population will prove correct: An end of political violence would by no means lead to the end of societal and criminal violence in the country. Details: Zurich, SWIT: Center for Security Studies (CSS), 2016. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2016 at: https://www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse-191-EN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Colombia URL: https://www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/center-for-securities-studies/pdfs/CSSAnalyse-191-EN.pdf Shelf Number: 139050 Keywords: Criminal Networks Drug-Related Violence Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) Guerilla Groups Political Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Nesbitt, LaQuandra Title: Strategies to Prevent Violence in Louisville Metro: Short and Long-term Recommendations Summary: In early 2012, Louisville Metro Government began a process to assess its capacity to address Injury and Violence Prevention in the community by completing an assessment created by the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO). Initial deliberations of this group of leaders from Louisville Metro Department of Community Services and Revitalization, Louisville Metro Police Department, and Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness yielded the following findings: a need to implement initiatives to identify and bring to justice the most violent offenders, a need to expand the focus on violence to include suicide, and a limited capacity to provide high quality programs and services to the youth and young adult population. In addition, the initial NACCHO assessment highlighted the need to apply public health principles such as epidemiology � focusing on health effects, characteristics, root causes and influences in a well-defined population�to the prevention of violence in Louisville Metro. On May 17, 2012, three young African Americans were killed at 32nd and Greenwood Streets, in two separate incidents, with one occurring during the investigation of the other. In response to this shocking event, Mayor Greg Fischer proposed the formation of a work group that would accelerate the work initiated earlier that year and engage the community in the development of short and long term violence reduction strategies for Louisville Metro. Based on his extensive experience in leading community efforts and his vast knowledge as a historian, on May 24, 2012 Mayor Fischer asked Dr. J. Blaine Hudson, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville, to chair the work group. The work group, officially titled the Violence Prevention Work Group was announced June 7, 2012. With so diverse a group, it was critically important to �have a plan� open, on one hand, to broad participation from all ranks of the community while also capable, on the other hand, of producing a broad blueprint for change that could guide the future of the community. The human architecture of this plan was built around five exceptional committees and committee chairs: Community Building, chaired by Eleanor Jordan; Education, chaired by Dana Jackson-Thompson; Employment and Economic Development, chaired by Sam Watkins; Health and Social Wellness, chaired by Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, also co-chair of the Work Group; and Juvenile and Criminal Justice chaired by Judge Brian Edwards. Our stipulations were few but critically important: first, our deliberations would be open to all; and, second, our recommendations for change would be based solely on facts and data. Furthermore, we would use a twin approach that would allow for both recommendations that are system wide and as such would impact the entire jurisdiction; as well as recommendations that target a specific group racial/ethnic, age, gender, or geography) determined to be most impacted by the issues at hand. Details: Louisville, KY: Violence Prevention Work Group, 2012. 122p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 18, 2016 at: https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/safe_neighborhoods/violence_prevention_workgroup_report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://louisvilleky.gov/sites/default/files/safe_neighborhoods/violence_prevention_workgroup_report.pdf Shelf Number: 139084 Keywords: Transit Security Transit Systems Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Conaglen, Philip Title: Violence Prevention: A Public Health Priority Summary: Violence is a public health priority in Scotland There are an estimated 236,000 violent crimes committed against adults in Scotland each year. In a large NHS Board, annual emergency department attendance rates relating to interpersonal violence were 3.6 per 1,000 population. In 2012-13 there were 3,386 emergency hospital admissions in Scotland as a result of assault. Beyond physical harm, violence also causes psychological, economic and social harms and its impact extends well beyond the victim and perpetrator into their relationships, communities and society. Scottish Government modelling indicates that the economic and social costs of violent crimes far outweigh the costs of all other types of crime combined, with estimated costs running into many thousands of millions of pounds. Violence and its risk factors are often both the cause and effect of health, gender, economic and social inequalities. Can there be any doubt that violence is a public health priority, requiring concerted public health action? Violence is preventable Risk and protective factors for violence exist across individual, relationship, community and societal levels. Research shows that these include such things as: being the victim of abuse, experiencing violent parental conflict, poverty and high unemployment and cultural norms which support violence. This paper provides an overview of the evidence base - the wide range of international evidence summaries and briefing papers which relate to violence and (most importantly) to violence prevention. While gaps do remain in the literature, what is there helps shape our understanding of: the scale and impact of violence; what causes violence; and what works to prevent violence and to extend better care and support to affected populations. A range of Scottish Government strategies and initiatives, for example those relating to intimate partner violence, alcohol abuse, child abuse, suicide and knife crime, aim to address the causes of violence. Violence prevention is also incorporated within a range of broader government strategies and policies as the risk and protective factors for violence are experienced across different life stages. These all provide opportunities to renew efforts to prevent violence. Details: Glasgow: ScotPHN, 2014. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2016 at: http://www.scotphn.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Report-Violence-Prevention-A-Public-Health-Priority-December-2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotphn.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Report-Violence-Prevention-A-Public-Health-Priority-December-2014.pdf Shelf Number: 139127 Keywords: Public Health Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Carr, Jillian B. Title: The Geography, Incidence, and Underreporting of Gun Violence: New Evidence using ShotSpotter Data Summary: This paper provides new evidence on the extent of underreporting of gun violence. Criminal activity is often selectively underreported - that is, underreported in a non-random manner. This can make it difficult to understand public safety problems and devise effective policy strategies to address them. However, new surveillance technologies are facilitating the collection of more accurate data on crime. In this paper, we describe data on gunfire incidents, recorded using a tool called ShotSpotter. We compare those data with previously-available data on gun violence (reported crime and 911 calls) to estimate baseline correlations between these measures as well as the causal effect of gunfire incidents on reporting. Using data from Washington, DC, and Oakland, CA, we find that only 12% of gunfire incidents result in a 911 call to report gunshots, and only 2-7% of incidents result in a reported assault with a dangerous weapon. These extremely low reporting rates have important implications for research on gun violence. The characteristics and research potential of ShotSpotter data are relevant to surveillance data more broadly; while such data have not yet been exploited by social scientists, they could be extremely valuable for crime research and policy. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings, 2016. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2016 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2016/04/27-gun-violence-underreporting/carr_doleac_gunfire_underreporting.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2016/04/27-gun-violence-underreporting/carr_doleac_gunfire_underreporting.pdf Shelf Number: 139138 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Violent Crime

Author: Johnson, Christopher M. Title: "We're from the Favela but "We're Not Favelados": The intersection of race, space, and violence in Northeastern Brazil Summary: In Salvador da Bahia's high crime/violence peripheral neighbourhoods, black youth are perceived as criminals levying high social costs as they attempt to acquire employment, enter university, or political processes. Low-income youth must overcome the reality of violence while simultaneously confronting the support, privileged urban classes have for stricter law enforcement and the clandestine acts of death squads. As youth from these neighbourhoods begin to develop more complex identities some search for alternative peer groups, social networks and social programmes that will guide them to constructive life choices while others consign themselves to options that are more readily available in their communities. Fast money and the ability to participate in the global economy beyond 'passive' engagement draws some youth into crime yet the majority choose other paths. Yet, the majority use their own identities to build constructive and positive lives and avoid involvement with gangs and other violent social groups. Drawing from Brazil's racial debates started by Gilberto Freyre, findings from this research suggest that while identity construction around race is ambiguous, specific markers highlight one's identity making it difficult to escape negative associations with criminality and violence. The discourse surrounding social capital suggests that such individuals can rely on it to overcome these problems. However social capital is used more often as a tool to spatially and socially segregate and consolidate power and opportunity among the powerful and well-connected. That race does not contribute significantly to the debate misses key elements in how social relationships develop and are maintained. This research was conducted over the period of ten months in a peripheral neighbourhood in Salvador through a community social development programme. The study used a mixed qualitative methodology that was part ethnographic examining social networks and protective factors that assist young people at risk from becoming involved in crime or violence. Details: London: London School of Economics and Political Science, 2012. 299p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 26, 2016 at: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/390/ Year: 2012 Country: Brazil URL: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/390/ Shelf Number: 139161 Keywords: Favelas Neighborhoods and Crime Slums Socioeconomics Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Abramovay, Miriam Title: Gangs, Crews, Buddies and Rappers: Youth, Violence and Citizenship around the Outskirts of Brasilia Summary: Though violence is no recent phenomenon, the existing surveys call our attention to the proportions its manifestations are taking among the different sectors of the youth. In this sense, special attention is paid to acts of trespassing and of juvenile violence performed by a special kind of group association that bears self identity and is generically defined as "gangs." In the case Brazil, attempts to explain violence are usually displayed in the discourse of the media, in political analysis, in academic production, and in institutional projects. The analyses indicate an effort to rationalize a not always verbalized or acknowledged feeling of dissatisfaction towards life in great Brazilian urban conglomerates. Besides that, the quest for achieving an understanding of this phenomenon, implies the challenge of articulating macro-level with others of medium and micro levels. Details: Brasilia: UNESCO Publishing, 1999. 171p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 27, 2016 at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001308/130864eo.pdf Year: 1999 Country: Brazil URL: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001308/130864eo.pdf Shelf Number: 139231 Keywords: Disadvantaged Youth Gang Violence Gangs Juvenile Offenders Urban Areas and Crime Urban Crime Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youth Violence

Author: Berkmann von der Wehl, Candice Title: The Impact the Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) have on Rio de Janeiro's favelas Summary: Historically, many types of public security reform policy have been tried and implemented in Brazil, ranging from demilitarizing the police; new penal codes; strengthening internal accountability systems, and restructuring police forces; but so far, seemingly the most promising and popular approach has been community oriented policing (COP). Leaving behind the more traditional, militaristic styles of policing that dominate police discourse throughout the region of Latin America, COP is a preventive approach based on the idea that society is the first line of defence against crime and insecurity. It focuses on the causes of crime, which can motivate citizens, to engage in police community partnerships, and it attempts to use crime statistics more effectively. The focal points of this paper, therefore, is to investigate community oriented policing in Brazil, known as Unidade de Policia Pacificadora (UPP), and to critically assess its strengths and weaknesses in the context of urban landscapes of Rio de Janeiro in the 21st Century. The paper will seek to compare public security reform critiques, as well as make an in depth analysis of what factors determine the success or failures of police reform endeavours, particularly, those in El Salvador and Brazil. Theses critiques are centred around short term initiatives that fail to identify the main problems inherent with police in Latin America; the international community's requirements for 'democratic police'; and the states' inability to alter the culture of 'non-questioning military hierarchy. Details: Leiden, NETH: Leiden University, 2016. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 27, 2016 at: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/38205/The%20Impact%20the%20Pacifying%20Police%20Units%20have%20on%20Rio%20de%20Janeiro%27s%20favelas.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/38205/The%20Impact%20the%20Pacifying%20Police%20Units%20have%20on%20Rio%20de%20Janeiro%27s%20favelas.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 139233 Keywords: Favelas Neighborhoods and Crime Policing Public Security Slums Violent Crime

Author: Singh, Raju Jan Title: Guns, Books, or Doctors? Conflict and Public Spending in Haiti: Lessons from Cross-Country Evidence Summary: Haiti's economic development has been held back by a history of civil conflict and violence. With donor assistance declining from its exceptional levels following the 2010 earthquake, and concessional financing growing scarce, Haiti must learn to live with tighter budget constraints. At the same time, the United Nations forces that have provided security in the past decade are scaling down. Against this backdrop, this paper explores the conditions under which public spending can minimize violent conflict, and draws possible lessons for Haiti. Drawing on an empirical analysis of 148 countries over the period 1960-2009, simulations for Haiti suggest that increases in military spending would be associated with a higher risk of conflict, an observation in line with Haiti's own history. Greater welfare expenditure (education, health, and social assistance), by contrast, would be associated with lower risk of conflict. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2016. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 7681. : Accessed June 1, 2016 at: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2016/05/23/090224b084356212/1_0/Rendered/PDF/Guns00books00o0oss0country0evidence.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Haiti URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2016/05/23/090224b084356212/1_0/Rendered/PDF/Guns00books00o0oss0country0evidence.pdf Shelf Number: 139260 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Economic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Witte, Eric A. Title: Undeniable Atrocities: Confronting Crimes Against Humanity in Mexico Summary: This report focuses on the nine-year period of December 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015. This covers the entirety of Felipe Calderon's presidency (December 1, 2006 to November 30, 2012), and just over half of the six-year term of current President Enrique Pema Nieto. To put statistics and institutional developments in context, however, the report includes some information from previous years, and especially the final years of the Vicente Fox presidency (December 1, 2000-November 30, 2006). The current crisis is the most intense period of violence in Mexico's modern history, but not its first. Accordingly, the report includes a brief overview of prior periods in which the government was also implicated in atrocity crimes for which there has been no accountability - including the period of the so-called "Dirty War," waged by the government against left-wing students and dissidents from the late 1960s to 1980s - in order to situate the recent surge in violence within a broader historical and political context. WHAT ARE "ATROCITY CRIMES"? The United Nations defines the term as encompassing the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This report uses the term to refer to particular forms of violent crime that have affected many tens of thousands of civilians and may amount to crimes against humanity. Those affected include not only Mexicans but migrants from Central America, who travel a perilous path through the country and are increasingly the victims of vicious cartel violence. Specifically, the report examines three types of atrocity crimes: killings, disappearances, and torture and other ill-treatment. The report attempts to paint a composite picture based on a good-faith effort to synthesize all available statistics on and documentation of atrocity crimes in Mexico from December 2006. But that picture is only partial. Only accurate and complete data can reveal the full nature and scale of these crimes. The bulk of the data on which the analysis rests necessarily comes from government sources. This creates a considerable methodological challenge because government data on atrocity and other crime in Mexico is notoriously incomplete, skewed towards minimization, and therefore often unreliable. Collection of crime data is decentralized; states vary in their capacity and will to collect and share data with the federal government and public; some states keep data electronically and online, while others still keep records on paper, which are difficult to access. Particularly for atrocity crimes, data suffers from inaccurate and inconsistent categorization, itself a symptom of enduring denial about the scope and gravity of the situation. For instance, if charged at all, torture is often categorized as a lesser crime, such as "abuse of authority," and enforced disappearances may instead be classified as "kidnappings." Decades of impunity have engendered popular distrust in the justice sector, culminating in one of the greatest barriers to collecting accurate crime statistics: the fact that over 90 percent of crimes in Mexico are never reported to authorities in the first place. All of this has contributed to widely varying assessments of the scale and nature of atrocity crime, and confusion over the adequacy of the justice system's response. Some government data used here comes from public reports and statements from agencies including the federal Attorney General's Office (PGR), the Executive Secretariat of the National System of Public Security (SNSP), the autonomous government statistics office (INEGI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), and the Defense Ministry (SEDENA). Reports and publications of Mexico's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) provide another important, if flawed, source of data. BEYOND PUBLIC REPORTS FROM GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, this report relies on information obtained through extensive use of Mexico's progressive legal regime on the right to information. Although critical public information is still too often withheld, the Open Society Justice Initiative, its partners, and others have been able to gain new insight into atrocity crime data, specific cases, and the functioning of justice institutions through information requests submitted to the federal and state governments. This report also relies on an extensive review of United Nations and Inter-American treaty body jurisprudence and reports; federal and state human rights commissions; national, regional, and international civil society reports; legal scholarship by Mexican and non-Mexican academics and political analysts; as well as investigative reports from Mexican and international media. These resources were augmented by over 100 first-hand interviews conducted by Mexico-based and international Justice Initiative staff and consultants, in person and by email and telephone, over the course of 2013-2015. Most in-person interviews were conducted in Mexico City, Coahuila, Guerrero, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, and Queretaro, although a small number were conducted in Morelos and Geneva. Almost all interviews were conducted in Spanish; for some, there was simultaneous interpretation into English, with the Spanish version considered definitive. All interviews were conducted with the verbal consent of the interviewee. Some sourcing has been anonymized at the request of the interlocutor. Those interviewed included government officials at the federal and state levels, including prosecutors, police, judges, members of congress and congressional staff, and officials at human rights and truth commissions. Research also included numerous interviews with Mexican and international experts and civil society representatives, as well as diplomats and academics. Details: New York: Open Society Foundations, 2016. 220p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 7, 2016 at: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/undeniable-atrocities-en-20160602.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/undeniable-atrocities-en-20160602.pdf Shelf Number: 139298 Keywords: Crime Against Humanity Disappearances Homicides Human Rights Kidnappings Organized Crime Torture Violence Violent Crime

Author: Jensen, Steffen Title: Violence and community activism in Vrygrond, South Africa Summary: This study project is a partnership between the Community Healing Network (CHN) in Vrygrond, Cape Town and the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims in Copenhagen (RCT). The project has two basic objectives: 1) To conduct a study exploring 1) levels of crime and violence in Vrygrond, Cape Town; 2) the period of xenophobic violence in Vrygrond in May 2008, and 3) what community action was taken to prevent the violence. 2) To understand how the events around May 2008 could be prevented using a community activist model like the one employed by the Community Healing Network, which is one of the authoring organizations of this report. In meeting the first objective, we employed a host of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a violence survey with 517 randomly selected households/- respondents and a study population of 2363 in Vrygrond, interviews with victims of the xenophobic violence and focus group discussions with community activists and community members participating in the data collection. Although it is difficult to collect data in Vrygrond because of security concerns and lack of trust, credible and interesting data was collected by members of the community and analyzed by CHN and RCT. This is s a testimony to the value of actively integrating community members in research projects as partners rather than as research subjects. The quantitative analysis shows an image of a deeply divided, poor and violent community with few state resources, minimal trust in the state or one's neighbours, and endemic intergroup conflicts which are fed by highly derogatory stereotypes on all sides. In many ways, Vrygrond should have experienced xenophobic violence in May 2008. However, the report shows that the direct victimization of violence in Vrygrond during May 2008 was insignificant. Among 517 household respondents, no one had been direct victims of violence during that time. To explore the very real suffering that could not be captured statistically, the report developed a distinction between primary, secondary and tertiary victimization. In the survey, primary victims of the violence provide a measure of the quantitative levels of violence in the general population. Secondary victimization includes those who directly knew people that were affected. Finally, tertiary victimization included all those that felt endangered by the violence because of who they were. The report concludes that the risks of violence are associated with local dynamics around leadership, perceptions of violence as legitimate and gender dimensions. This goes against many other explanations that focus on general structures of poverty, border control and other factors. However, only local dynamics explain why the violence in Vrygrond was relatively low. Finally, the report explores how local dynamics and local activism played itself out in the context of the xenophobic violence. We identified a number of community structures, practices and activities that seemed to have insulated Vrygrond against the worst excesses of the violence: no community authority that legitimised violence, a multiplicity of institutional and individual actors, early warning, interventions of important female community members, activities like feeding programmes and prayer meetings that broke the isolation of non-South Africans, and a constructive relationship to the police who acted according to their prerogative to protect. Perhaps the most important conclusion from the analysis is that individuals demonstrated enormous courage when they risked standing against the xenophobic violence that had enveloped the country. Despite the fact that Vrygrond is a highly divided community, many people acted according to a basic humanity that would dispel the notion that "all South Africans are evil" (as one respondent reflected after the violence). To address the second objective of the study project, the report compares the lessons that could be made regarding preventive community activism with the model and history of the Community Healing Network. The report finds that in many ways CHN is an appropriate model of community healing and prevention of violence. It creates a democratic opportunity for engagement across intrinsic affiliations; because it includes both specialists from NGO's and universities and community members, it serves as the "honest broker" between the state and the community in other contexts. However, CHN is faced with a number of challenges: lack of institutional permanence, lop-sided representation, constant demands for survival needs among the community members, and a historically based antagonistic relationship to the state apparatus. If the challenges are faced, there are clear advantages in developing the model and putting it into practice in Vrygrond and elsewhere. Details: Copenhagen: Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, 2011. 106p. Source: Internet Resource: RCT International Publication Series No. 1: Accessed June 10, 2016 at: Accessed June 10, 2016 at: http://doc.rct.dk/doc/mon2011.160.pdf Year: 2011 Country: South Africa URL: http://doc.rct.dk/doc/mon2011.160.pdf Shelf Number: 139361 Keywords: Communities and crime Hate Crimes Torture Urban Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Aqil, Nauman Title: Residents' perceptions of neighborhood violence and communal responses: the case of two neighborhoods in Lahore, Pakistan Summary: The preponderance of violence in metropolises has been a persistent concern for successive governments in Pakistan. However, it is pertinent to remark that there are often significant variations in the occurrence of violence between physically and socially similar neighborhoods in a single city. I set out to study one more violent and one less violent neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan, to try to understand how community organizations, physical characteristics and the residents' strategies for crime prevention and control are related to different levels of criminal violence. A qualitative approach was used (in-depth interviews were conducted with community residents in each neighborhood). I found that spatial dynamics, population heterogeneity, and a lack of social cohesion were important predictors of criminal violence. It was noted that patterns of social interaction among neighbors have undergone significant change over the past few decades. In addition, local strategies of informal social control were limited to random vigilance, settlement of sporadic disputes within community settings, and surveillance of children's activities. I concluded that indigenous means of informal social control can help prevent, or at least control, criminal violence in neighborhoods Details: Beilefeld, Germany: Universitat Bielefeld, 2015. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Violence Research and Development Project, Papers, no. 1: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/icvr/docs/aqil.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/icvr/docs/aqil.pdf Shelf Number: 139374 Keywords: Communities and Crime Neighborhoods and Crime Social Cohesion Urban Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Hoelscher, Kristian Title: Understanding Unlikely Successes in Urban Violence Reduction Summary: The problems of violence in Latin America are often reiterated, yet understanding how and why violence declines is far less common. While urban violence takes different forms and has a range of motivations, we suggest that strengthening political and social institutions are important in violence reduction processes. The article examines this using a comparative analysis of two cities which have recently seen unusual and marked reductions in lethal violence: Bogota in Colombia and Recife in Brazil. Drawing on primary data collection, the case studies suggest improvements in public security are linked with institutionalising progressive security policies, increasing accountability of political institutions, and social reforms encouraging civic values and commitments to non-violence. While findings are specific to these two cases, they may plausibly apply to a broader range of cities, such that commitments to improve public policy and political institutions can overcome structural risk factors that foster violence. Details: Unpublished paper, 2014. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2461064 Year: 2014 Country: Latin America URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2461064 Shelf Number: 139395 Keywords: Public Security Urban Areas Urban Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Nussio, Enzo Title: When Illegal Protection Collapses: Pathways to Increased Post-Demobilization Violence Summary: The implementation of peacebuilding activities, including the demobilization of non-state illegal actors, does not necessarily bring about a reduction in violence. While there are several theories that address the causes of persistent violence, there are few that adequately explain why rates of violence can rapidly increase in a post-demobilization context. This paper uses process tracing following the demobilization of paramilitary groups (AUC) in Cordoba Department, Colombia to assess alternative theories. We argue that the AUC created and maintained a monopolistic illegal protection system during its years of operation, and this type of local order was able to contain violence. After demobilization, the protection system was disrupted and as a consequence, new competition between post-demobilization criminal organizations for existing illegal rents developed, petty crime became pervasive and revenge killings spiked, thus contributing to increased rates of violence in the post-demobilization period. Our theory about the breakdown of protection finds additional support in other AUC dominated regions of Colombia. An alternative theory relating state pressure to increased violence was not strongly supported by our empirical analysis. Details: Zurich, SWIT: Center for Security Studies, 2013. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2277954 Year: 2013 Country: Colombia URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2277954 Shelf Number: 139396 Keywords: Homicides Illegal Protection Violence Violent Crime

Author: Zinecker, Heidrun Title: Violence in Peace: Forms and causes of postwar violence in Guatemala Summary: On 29 December, 1996 the conflict in Guatemala between the URNG, a leftist guerrilla organization, and the authoritarian state came to an end. With the implementation of the peace agreements and the completion of peace-building, Guatemala has without doubt taken an important step on the road to democracy. However, the country's regime does not guarantee a civilized life for its citizens. Even by Latin American standards, it permits an extremely high level of violence. This can be characterized as violence in peace. Although the rates of homicide conditioned by this violence are higher than those that prevailed during the civil war, there is no danger of a return to war. During the war political violence was the main cause of death, and violent crime has now taken its place. This report analyses three forms of postwar violence which are especially typical of Guatemala: political violence, the maras, and lynch law. It then goes on to examine their causes. In the course of this examination, a number of elements which are generally supposed to be causes of violence are excluded as causal factors: the perpetuation of a culture of violence or/and war-violence racism and ethnic exclusion, poverty, and inequality in the sense of a general distribution of income as measured by the Gini coefficient. In the next step, an alternative model of explanation is presented. This distinguishes between enabling structures which make violence possible and structures that might prevent it (with particular reference to the absence of preventive structures). The report identifies regime hybridity and a rent economy as structures that make violence possible, and investigates these structures in order to identify the concrete configurations which are immanent to the structures and cause violence. In the case of the rent economy, the specific structures identified are the especially pronounced bipolarity between the oligarchy and the lowest quintile of the population, new rents as outlets for oligarchical structures and catalysts of violence, low rates of investment, and a low level of empowerment of work. However, none of these structures is, on its own, a cause of the high intensity of violence; they form a complex system. The absence in Guatemala of a structure that could prevent violence can be identified in the poor performance of the security sector, i.e. the police and judiciary, and in the lack of democratic commitment on the part of civil society in this sector. This low level of performance is, in addition to political exclusion and the absence of the rule of law, a characteristic feature of regime hybridity. Although this report is a case study, it has an intrinsically comparative character. This is because the other Central American countries (El Salvador and Honduras with a higher, and Costa Rica and Nicaragua with a lower intensity of violence) form the matrix which renders visible the specificity of Guatemala. Nicaragua is of particular significance for this implicit comparison, because it is the only country in Central America that has experienced a civil war in the recent past but seen a low level of violence since the end of that war. The conclusion of the report identifies two ways in which violence, or the intensity of violence, can be limited in the long term. In the Costa Rican model, a low intensity of violence has been achieved directly, via a long historical path in which "Democracy - Performance + Democratic Content" is combined with "Social Market - Empowerment of Labour + Production of Investment Goods". In the Nicaraguan model, a low intensity of violence has been achieved indirectly but over a shorter period of time; here, there can be no doubt about the absence of democracy, and therefore the existence of regime hybridity, or the absence of a social market economy, and therefore the existence of a rent economy. The main finding of the report follows from the Nicaraguan model: the level of violence can be reduced even though ethnically based exclusion, poverty, and inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) are present, and even though a rent economy and regime hybridity are present as well. If violence is to be successfully reduced, it is necessary for the police and judiciary to be supported conceptually and practically in their efforts to prevent violence and to rehabilitate violent offenders, and to bring about improvements in criminal investigation practices, the support provided to victims, and consistent criminal justice policies. Development aid can help in all these areas. Simultaneously, measures must be taken to bring about the empowerment of civil society - which, however, should not mean the empowerment of vigilantism. In addition, the situation of the lowest quintile of the population should be improved in such a way that there is at least a prospect of relative socioeconomic egalitarianism. This can be done if smaller enterprises are strengthened so that they can serve as a counterweight to the ruling oligarchy, in the context of an improvement in the rate of investment in the production of investment goods. In this way it would be possible to reduce both the official level of unemployment and the concealed unemployment that exists in the informal sector, leading to the empowerment of work. These autochthonous policies are necessary for Guatemala, and they should be combined with the exertion of international political pressure on the USA's problematic policies on immigration, integration, and deportation. This should include the provision of support to Guatemala (as well as El Salvador and Honduras) for the integration of young people deported from the USA. This report presents the first systematic analysis of postwar violence in Guatemala. It is based on approximately 50 interviews with Guatemalan academics, politicians, police and judicial officers, Maya priests, and NGO activists, and also with violent offenders, all of whom were interviewed during a month-long period of field research in Guatemala in March 2006. Details: Frankfurt, Germany: Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, 2006. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: PRIF Reports No. 76: Accessed June 13, 2016 at: mercury.ethz.ch Year: 2006 Country: Guatemala URL: mercury.ethz.ch Shelf Number: 139425 Keywords: Gangs Homicides Maras Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Vigilantism Violence Violent Crime

Author: Haberman, Cory P. Title: COPS on Dots Doing What? The Differential Effects of Police Enforcement Actions in Hot Spots Summary: Although hot spots policing has become one of the most promising policing strategies, the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of hot spots policing does not suggest what police should be doing in crime hot spots. To date - police enforcement actions, pedestrian investigations, traffic enforcement, and arrests - still dominate American policing. Yet empirical studies of these actions have not: focused on micro-geographic areas, employed multiple measures of police enforcement actions, or empirically compared the effectiveness of different enforcement actions. Given these gaps in the literature, a mixed-methods study sought to answer four research questions. (1) Do four police enforcement actions focused on offenders or potential offenders reduce violent crime in hot spots? The four police enforcement actions examined were pedestrian investigations, traffic enforcement events, quality of life arrests, and violent crime arrests. (2) Are any one of these four police enforcement actions more effective than the others? (3) When police commanders allocate resources to crime hot spots, what do police commanders think they are doing? (4) What are police commanders rationales for what they do in crime hot spots? The first two questions were answered using official data from the Philadelphia Police Department. A purposive sample of 169 high crime street blocks and intersections was drawn and longitudinal data analyses examined the effects of police enforcement actions on monthly violent crime counts from 2009 to 2013 (n = 10,140). Wald Tests were used to test for the differential effectiveness of the four enforcement actions. Qualitative methods answered the remaining two research questions. Field observations of crime strategy meetings (May, 2014 to August, 2014) and interviews with police commanders (November, 2014 to February, 2015) were conducted. The quantitative results found total enforcement and pedestrian stop levels in the previous or same month linked to higher expected monthly violent crime counts. The positive effect of pedestrian stops was significantly larger than the effects of traffic enforcement or quality of life arrests. Despite the positive relationship between police enforcement and violent crime, the qualitative results provided insight into what police commanders thought they were doing in crime hot spots. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) "locking down" crime hot spots, (2) disrupting high risk offenders, and (3) educating potential victims. Police commanders rationalized these beliefs with four explanations of their effectiveness: (1) making offenders "think twice", (2) denying potential offenders and victims certain places in order to reduce crime opportunities, (3) getting high risk offenders "off the street", and (4) target hardening. Drawing on theorizing for how police enforcement actions might actually link to higher levels of crime (Grabosky, 1996) and methodological concerns raised by Taylor (2015), five possible explanations for the observed positive relationships among police enforcement actions and violent crime are provided: (1) an anticipatory effect, (2) over-deterrence, (3) escalation, (4) unintended enticement and self-fulfilling prophecies, and (5) temporal scaling. The anticipatory effect explanation centers on the police correctly anticipating outbreaks of violent crime but violent crime still not being reduced due to (1) dosage, (2) the overuse of enforcement, (3) police legitimacy, (4) temporal displacement or two components the study's design (5) imprecise measurement and (6) lack of a proper counterfactual. Additionally, police enforcement actions may inadvertently reduce guardianship though over�deterrence, escalate competition among rival offenders, or inform potential offenders of crimes they could or "should" be committing. Finally, the study's temporal scale (i.e., months) may not be fine enough to capture the actual cycling of how increased enforcement actions produce lower violent crime levels. The qualitative data are drawn upon to possibly support these explanations. Additionally, the pros and cons of police commanders' perspectives on the use and effectiveness of enforcement actions are discussed in context of the criminological theory and crime control literatures. Finally, the results are discussed in terms of their implications for crime control theory and policy. Details: Philadelphia: Temple University, 2015. 310p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed June 28, 2016 at: http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/338119 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/338119 Shelf Number: 139506 Keywords: Crime Analysis Hot Spots Police Legitimacy Police Response Policing Hot Spots Target Hardening Violent Crime

Author: Rosenfeld, Richard Title: Documenting and Explaining the 2015 Homicide Rise: Research Directions Summary: The debate over the size, scope and causes of the homicide increase in 2015 has been largely free of systematic evidence. This paper documents the scale of the homicide increase for a sample of 56 large U.S. cities. It then examines three plausible explanations of the homicide rise: an expansion of urban drug markets fueled by the heroin epidemic, reductions in incarceration resulting in a growing number of released prisoners in the nation's cities, and a "Ferguson effect" resulting from widely publicized incidents of police use of deadly force against minority citizens. The paper concludes with a call for the more frequent and timely release of crime information to address crime problems as they arise. The homicide increase in the nation's large cities was real and nearly unprecedented. It was also heavily concentrated in a few cities with large African-American populations. Empirical explanations of the homicide increase must await future research based on year-end crime data for 2015. Several empirical indicators for assessing the explanations under consideration here are discussed. For example, if the homicide increase resulted from an expansion in urban drug markets, we should observe larger increases in drug-related homicides than those committed under other circumstances. If returning prisoners fueled the homicide increase, that should be reflected in growing numbers of homicides committed by parolees. It will be more difficult to empirically evaluate the so-called Ferguson effect on crime increases, depending on the version of this phenomenon under consideration. The dominant interpretation of the Ferguson effect is that criticism of the police stemming from widely publicized and controversial incidents of the use of force against minority citizens caused the police to disengage from vigorous enforcement activities. Another version of the Ferguson effect, however, switches the focus from changes in police behavior to the longstanding grievances and discontent with policing in African-American communities. In this interpretation, when activated by controversial incidents of police use of force, chronic discontent erupts into violence. The de-policing interpretation of the Ferguson effect can be evaluated with data on arrests and other forms of self-initiated activity by the police. De-policing should be reflected in declining arrest rates in cities experiencing homicide increases. Tracing the pathways from chronic levels of discontent to an escalation in homicide will ultimately require ethnographic studies in minority communities that reveal, for example, whether offenders believe they can engage in crime without fear that residents will contact the police or cooperate in police investigations. Such studies could also disclose other linkages between discontent, police use of force and criminal violence. In summary, the following research questions for documenting and explaining the 2015 homicide rise, at a minimum, should be pursued when the requisite data become available: - How large and widespread was the homicide increase in 2015? Did other crimes also increase? - What conditions drove the homicide increase? Candidate explanations must account for the timing as well as the magnitude and scope of the increase. - What role, if any, did the expansion of drug markets play in the 2015 homicide increase? Was there a relative increase in drug arrests and drug-related homicides? - Did declining imprisonment rates contribute to the 2015 homicide rise? Was the increase greater in cities with more returning prisoners and among parolees? - What role did the Ferguson effect play in the homicide rise? If de-policing contributed to the increase, arrest rates should have declined in cities experiencing the largest homicide increases. An open question is how to evaluate the role, if any, of community discontent with the police. Ethnographic studies, among other methods, should be high on the list of research approaches to identify the mechanisms linking police legitimacy and escalating levels of violence. Researchers would have been in a better position to begin addressing the 2015 homicide rise, with evidence rather than speculation, if timely crime data had been available as the increase was occurring. We would have known whether the homicide rise was confined to large cities, whether other crimes were also increasing, and whether arrest rates were falling. The debate over the homicide increase would have been better informed. Technical impediments to the monthly release of crime data no longer exist. A large and worrisome increase in homicide should be the catalyst to finally bring the nation's crime monitoring system into the 21st century. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, 2016. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895.pdf Shelf Number: 139525 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics Homicides Murders Violent Crime

Author: Cuesta, Jose A. Title: Social Capital, Violence and Public Intervention: The Case of Cali Summary: This study attempts to quantify the impact of public interventions designed simultaneously to foster crime prevention and the formation of community-wide social capital. The relationship between social capital and violence has been rarely modeled in the literature and, when so, it has been found not significant. The study finds otherwise, on the basis of simultaneous econometric models with data from Colombia. Interpersonal trust is the single most important determinant to reduce victimization, while victimization levels cut back interpersonal trust and increasingly so only after some threshold is surpassed. Perceptions in the community of an effective public presence both reduce victimization and increase interpersonal trust, but the magnitude of these effects is rather small. Other public interventions (civic campaigns and improving the performance of public institutions) in crime-ridden communities also have a positive impact on both victimization and interpersonal trust levels. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 20078. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 29, 2016 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/4361/Social%20Capital%2c%20Violence%20and%20Public%20Intervention%3a%20The%20Case%20of%20Cali.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2007 Country: Colombia URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/4361/Social%20Capital%2c%20Violence%20and%20Public%20Intervention%3a%20The%20Case%20of%20Cali.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 110168 Keywords: Community Crime Prevention Crime Prevention Social Capital Violent Crime

Author: Moody, Carlisle E. Title: Firearms and the Decline of Violence in Europe: 1200-2010 Summary: Personal violence, has declined substantially in Europe from 1200-2010. The conventional wisdom is that the state's monopoly on violence is the cause of this happy result. I find some evidence that does not support this hypothesis. I suggest an alternative hypothesis that could explain at least some of the reduction in violence, namely that the invention and proliferation of compact, concealable, ready-to-use firearms caused potential assailants to recalculate the probability of a successful assault and seek alternatives to violence. I use structural change models to test this hypothesis and find breakpoints consistent with the invention of certain firearms. Details: Williamsburg, VA: College of William and Mary, Department of Economics, 2015. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Number 158: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://economics.wm.edu/wp/cwm_wp158.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://economics.wm.edu/wp/cwm_wp158.pdf Shelf Number: 139579 Keywords: Concealed Weapons Firearms Gun-Related Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Muys, Marjolein Title: Young offenders and victims of violence in Flanders Summary: For some time now, a societal and political debate has been going on with regard to violent behaviour among youth. With its research project, " Youth and Violence", the Flemish Peace Institute wishes to inform this debate broadly and in a nuanced fashion. To this point, there has been little comprehensive research and the available empirical material concerning the nature and scope of youth violence is rather fragmentary. Therefore, a general image of young people as perpetrator and victim offers a significant benefit . Furthermore, the voice of young people themselves also deserves a place in the debate. A research study, "Youth and Violence", was conduct ed from 1 November 2009 to 31 October 2010 at the Leuven Institute for Criminology at the KULeuven and the Expertise Centre for Social Security at the KATHO Catholic University College by researchers Evi Verdonck and Diederik Cops, promoted by Prof. Dr. Johan Put and Prof. Dr. Stefaan Pleysier. The results of this research are published in the form of a book. This book brings together the available figures for the first time. Considering that there are no comprehensive figures available in Flanders concerning the nature and scope of youth violence, gathering objective information is necessary in order to arrive at an adequate estimation of the issue. The researchers also conducted new quantitative analyses on existing databases of the Flemish Youth Research Platform (YRP) and the Belgian Safety Monitor. In addition, a qualitative research project was set up to ascertain the perception of violence among young people themselves. Its main focus was the meaning and experience of young people with respect to violence. This paper brings together the most important findings of this research. Furthermore, additional analyses were conducted to investigate the ethnic origin of young violent offenders and victims. The data from the two surveys by the YRP monitor in Flanders (2005-06 and 2008) in effect does not enable any specific analysis of possible distinctions based on ethnic background between those who perpetrate and those who are the victim of violence. The combination of the small group of respondents from immigrant background with the low absolute numbers of offenders and victims made it that the groups are too small to conduct reliable analyses of them. This lacuna is filled in by making use of a recent survey by the YRP monitor in Brussels. On the basis of this study, it is possible to distinguish enough large groups to make a meaningful and reliable comparison between native and immigrant youth. The present paper first clarifies what is understood by 'youth' and 'violence'. Before focusing our attention on the nature and scope of youth violence , we discuss the source material that we use as a foundation on which to make an estimate of the phenomena. We delve deeper into the limitations of this data, which enables us to take a critical approach to the findings of prevalence studies about youth violence. We then present the available data and sketch a profile of young offenders and victims of violence. Finally, the insiders� view from young people themselves receives the attention it deserves. Details: Brussels: Flemish Institute, 2012. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://www.flemishpeaceinstitute.eu/sites/vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/files/files/reports/young_offenders_and_victims_of_violence_in_flanders.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Belgium URL: http://www.flemishpeaceinstitute.eu/sites/vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/files/files/reports/young_offenders_and_victims_of_violence_in_flanders.pdf Shelf Number: 139583 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Violent crime Youth Violence

Author: Cohan, Lorena M. Title: Honduras Cross-Sectoral Youth Violence Prevention Assessment: Final Report Summary: With 85.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012, Honduras has the highest homicide rate of any country in the world (IUDPAS, 2013a), making crime and violence one of the most complex challenges currently facing the Government of Honduras (GoH), as well as a key priority for USAID Honduras. Violence in Honduras predominantly affects male youth from poor urban areas, with 65 percent of homicides in Honduras occurring in 5 percent of municipalities and the vast majority of homicide victims being males (94 percent) - in particular male youth between 15 and 34 years of age (63 percent) (Observatorio de la Violencia, 2012). This report addresses the violence issue in Honduras by presenting key findings and recommendations from the Honduras Cross-Sectoral Youth Violence Prevention Assessment, carried out by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) in response to a request by USAID/Honduras within the context of the METAS Project. The ultimate objective of this assessment was to identify strategies to reduce youth violence in order to inform the future youth violence prevention strategy of USAID/Honduras and other stakeholders. METAS conducted the assessment between February and May 2013 to examine the causes and extent of youth violence in Honduras. This report presents information about the assessment; an understanding of the social context in which this work must be developed; findings, analysis, and a synthesis of programming recommendations derived from that analysis, along with extensive annex documents. The following objectives guided the research questions of the assessment: Objective 1: To develop a comprehensive understanding of the at-risk youth population in Honduras. Objective 2: To develop a comprehensive understanding of youth crime and violence in urban areas. Objective 3:hTo identify multi-sectoral strategic investment options for USAID that address contextual youth challenges within the parameters of the Central American Security Initiative, Goal 3 of USAID's Global Education Strategy. To identify the most promising youth violence prevention strategies, METAS' assessment team examined youth aspirations and assets; challenges faced by youth within at-risk communities to ascertain how these communities either support or impede youth aspirations and ways in which programs might build on such assets or address the challenges; potential modifications that could be made to existing youth programming; and recommendations for future programs that could potentially reduce youth violence. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Agency for International Development, 2013. 305p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2016 at: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00K2H3.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Honduras URL: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00K2H3.pdf Shelf Number: 139795 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Homicides Juvenile Gangs Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youth Violence

Author: Denman, Kristine Title: Evaluation of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Area Project Safe Neighborhoods Summary: Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a violent crime reduction initiative sponsored by the Department of Justice (DOJ). It has been in operation for over a decade and has been implemented in jurisdictions throughout the country. It began with a focus on firearm crimes, and in 2006, expanded to include gang crimes. The current initiative is intended to address violent crime, gun crime, and gang crime in Bernalillo County and the surrounding Native American communities, including Isleta Pueblo and To'hajiilee. Across the country, United States Attorney's Offices (USAO) coordinate PSN efforts in their respective districts. The USAO designates a Task Force Coordinator (also referred to herein as the "law enforcement coordinator") whose charge is to convene a PSN Task Force that brings together representatives from law enforcement and prosecution at all jurisdictional levels (local, tribal, state, and federal), as well as community leaders, research partners, and others. These Task Force meetings are a venue for planning, reporting on, and refining PSN activities and initiatives. In addition to managing these efforts, the PSN Task Force Coordinator reports to the Department of Justice regarding the implementation and short-term success of local PSN efforts. New Mexico has had the opportunity to engage in a number of Project Safe Neighborhoods projects in a variety of locations throughout the state. This PSN effort intended to build on those prior initiatives by engaging with established partners, utilizing strategic efforts developed previously, and using other proven resources and strategies developed previously through other efforts like Weed & Seed. This PSN project intends to expand on prior efforts by addressing the concerns of nearby Native American communities, particularly with respect to the transference of criminal activity and values across jurisdictional boundaries, and by addressing the impact of violent crime on urban Native Americans both as victims and offenders. As part of the research support and evaluation efforts for this PSN project, the New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center (NM SAC) at the University of New Mexico's Institute for Social Research has contracted with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to conduct a process evaluation. Besides documenting project activities, this evaluation focuses on documenting the activities and collaboration that occurred, the perceived impact and success of the initiative, facilitators and barriers to implementation, and directions for future growth. Details: Albuquerque: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center, 2016. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2016 at: http://isr.unm.edu/reports/2016/evaluation-of-bernalillo-county-metropolitan-area-psn.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://isr.unm.edu/reports/2016/evaluation-of-bernalillo-county-metropolitan-area-psn.pdf Shelf Number: 139804 Keywords: Gang Violence Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Project Safe Neighborhoods Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Nunez, Hector Title: Is Crime in Mexico a Disamenity? Evidence from hedonic valuation approach Summary: Since Roback (1982)'s seminal work, the literature has evaluated the role of the amenities to equilibrate the regional differentials of nominal wages and prices. While these studies generally find evidence for traditional amenities and disamenities in developed countries, it still exists a scarce exploration on how those characteristics assessed, like violence, affect the equilibrium in less developed countries. In this paper, we explore violence as amenity or disamenity for the case of Mexico as a particular and unique natural experiment. We use the hedonic wage and rent theory proposed by Roback using data from the Mexican Household Income and Expenditure Survey, along with other information at municipal and state level. For our particular hypothesis, we find evidence to support that inhabitants in traditional drug trafficking states could consider drug-related crime as an amenity. Details: Documentos de Trabajo en Economia y Ciencia Regional from Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile, Department of Economics , 2015. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2016 at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dWNuLmNsfHdwZWNvbm9taWF8Z3g6NDVlZTdlZWE3N2NlZDUzMQ Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=dWNuLmNsfHdwZWNvbm9taWF8Z3g6NDVlZTdlZWE3N2NlZDUzMQ Shelf Number: 139822 Keywords: Criminal Violence Drug Trafficking Economics and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Perouse de Montclos, Marc-Antoine, ed. Title: Violence in Nigeria: A qualitative and quantitative analysis Summary: Most of the academic literature on violence in Nigeria is qualitative. It rarely relies on quantitative data because police crime statistics are not reliable, or not available, or not even published. Moreover, the training of Nigerian social scientists often focuses on qualitative, cultural, and political issues. There is thus a need to bridge the qualitative and quantitative approaches of conflict studies. This book represents an innovation and fills a gap in this regard. It is the first to introduce a discussion on such issues in a coherent manner, relying on a database that fills the lacunae in data from the security forces. The authors underline the necessity of a trend analysis to decipher the patterns and the complexity of violence in very different fields: from oil production to cattle breeding, radical Islam to motor accidents, land conflicts to witchcraft, and so on. In addition, they argue for empirical investigation and a complementary approach using both qualitative and quantitative data. The book is therefore organized into two parts, with a focus first on statistical studies, then on fieldwork. The book is a co-publication of the ASCL and IFRA (Institut Francais de Recherche en Afrique). Details: Leiden: African Studies Center, 2016. 218p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 29, 2016 at: http://www.ascleiden.nl/news/violence-nigeria-qualitative-and-quantitative-analysis Year: 2016 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.ascleiden.nl/news/violence-nigeria-qualitative-and-quantitative-analysis Shelf Number: 139893 Keywords: Cattle Raiding Crime Statistics Oil Terrorism Violent Crime

Author: Rios, Viridiana Title: The impact of crime and violence on economic sector diversity Summary: Literature has focused attention on identifying whether crime and violence impact growth via changes in economic factor accumulation, i.e. reducing labor supply or increasing capital costs. Yet, much little is known as to how crime and violence may affect how economic factors are allocated. Using a unique dataset created with a text-analysis algorithm of web content, this paper traces a decade of economic activity at the subnational level to show that increases in criminal presence and violent crime reduce economic diversification, increase sector concentration, and diminish economic complexity. An increase of 9.8% in the number of criminal organizations is enough to eliminate one economic sector. Similar effects can be felt if homicides rates increase by more than 22.5%, or if gang-related violence increases by 5.4%. By addressing the impact that crime has on the diversification of production factors, this paper takes current literature one step forward: It goes from exploring the effects of crime in the demand/supply of production factors, to analyzing its effects on economic composition. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 2, 2016 at: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/vrios/files/riosv_crimesectordiversitydec212015.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/vrios/files/riosv_crimesectordiversitydec212015.pdf Shelf Number: 139946 Keywords: Economics of Crime Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Carr, Jillian B. Title: Keep the Kids Inside? Juvenile Curfews and Urban Gun Violence Summary: Gun violence is an important problem across the United States. However, the impact of government policies on the frequency and location of gunfire has been difficult to test due to limited data. The data that do exist suffer from broad and non-random under-reporting. This paper uses a new, more accurate source of data on gunfire incidents to measure the effects of juvenile curfews in Washington, DC. Juvenile curfews are a common, but extremely controversial, policy used in cities across the United States. Their goal is to reduce violent crime by keeping would-be offenders and victims indoors, but removing bystanders and witnesses from the streets could reduce their deterrent effect on street crime. The net effect on public safety is therefore ambiguous. We use exogenous variation in the hours of the DC curfew to identify the policy's causal effect on gun violence. We find that, contrary to its goal of improving public safety, DC's juvenile curfew increases the number of gunfire incidents by 150% during marginal hours. Details: Unpublished paper, 2015. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2486903 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2486903 Shelf Number: 139977 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Juvenile Crime Juvenile Curfews Urban Areas Violent Crime

Author: Richardson, Lydia Title: Armed violence and poverty in Brazil: A case study of Rio de Janeiro and assessment of Viva Rio for the Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative Summary: This report is the result of an 11-day visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September 2004. Wider research and information were used to complement the stakeholder interviews held during this period. The objectives of the study were to: - Contribute to the UK Government Department for International Development- (DFID) funded Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative (AVPI) global research study on the links between armed violence and poverty. - Contribute to the AVPI global study on assessing and reviewing the impact of small arms and light weapons (SALW) projects on small arms availability/misuse and poverty. - Support the case study organisation (Viva Rio) with its internal reflection on strategy and impact. Causes of violence in Rio de Janeiro are multi-faceted. High levels of inequality and physical, social and economic exclusion from the formal system are some of the principle causes. This combines with cultural factors such as machismo and the draw of perceived higher social status and identity through joining gangs. The availability of guns, cocaine and the marijuana industry exacerbates the problem. The lack of an integrated public security strategy coupled with a violent and corrupt police, and a judiciary and prison system which is ineffective, are also contributing factors. The political and economic history of Brazil has played a part: the transition from dictatorship to democracy; rapid and unplanned urbanization; and shifts in labour market requirements to higher skill levels to meet new demands, resulting in high unemployment and frustration felt by those with some education but insufficient to secure a job in the formal economy. Perpetrators and victims of armed violence in Rio de Janeiro are primarily the police, drug traffickers (mainly young men of 14-29 years old), and civilians caught in the crossfire. Favelas are the main locations of gun violence but criminal violence does occur in other parts of the city. The principle type of armed violence is organised drug gang fighting for territorial control; police use of arms; armed robbery and petty crime. Details: Bradford, UK: University of Bradford, Centre for International Cooperation and Security, 2005. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: http://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:8080/bitstream/handle/10454/1000/AVPI_Rio_de_Janeiro.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2005 Country: Brazil URL: http://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:8080/bitstream/handle/10454/1000/AVPI_Rio_de_Janeiro.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 140028 Keywords: Armed Violence Drug-Related Violence Favelas Gun-Related Violence Juvenile Gangs Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Hume, Mo Title: Armed violence and poverty in El Salvador: A mini case study for the Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative Summary: One of the most powerful conflicts to affect Central America in the 1980s was that in El Salvador (1980-1992), resulting in the death of more than 80,000 citizens. This report on El Salvador is one of 13 case studies (all of the case studies can be found at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations commissioned by operational agencies, and early warning and survey data where this has been available. These secondary sources have been complemented by interviews with government officers, aid policymakers and practitioners, researchers and members of the local population. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government Details: Bradford, UK: University of Bradford, Centre for International Cooperation and Security, 2004. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: https://core.ac.uk/download/files/10/6001.pdf Year: 2004 Country: El Salvador URL: https://core.ac.uk/download/files/10/6001.pdf Shelf Number: 140019 Keywords: Armed Violence Drug-Related Violence Favelas Gun-Related Violence Homicides Juvenile Gangs Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Turner, Mandy Title: The Impact of Armed Violence on Poverty and Development. Full Report of the Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative Summary: This study examines the extent to which armed violence and small arms and light weapons (SALW) possession and usage, impoverishes individuals, groups, societies and states in various armed violence situations. The objective of the study is not only to advance and clarify understandings and knowledge in this area, which has been largely neglected in policy and research, but also to inform programme design and evaluation. In addition, it offers suggestions on how donors and agencies working in the field of armed violence/SALW and development can work better together to alleviate poverty. Details: Bradford, UK: University of Bradford, Centre for International Cooperation and Security, 2005. 99p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10454/1006/AVPI_Synthesis_Report.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2005 Country: International URL: https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10454/1006/AVPI_Synthesis_Report.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 140020 Keywords: Armed Violence Drug-Related Violence Gun-Related Violence Juvenile Gangs Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: U.S. National Institute of Justice Title: Compendium of Research on Children Exposed to Violence (CEV) 2010-2015 Summary: Introduction to CEV Compendium Children may experience violence in many settings, including at home, in school, online or in neighborhoods, and in many forms, such as bullying or harassment by peers, domestic violence, child maltreatment and community violence. For the purposes of this compendium, studies have been included if they relate to the topic of children exposed to violence broadly defined. Studies funded under NIJ's CEV solicitation are included as well studies funded in other portfolios if they relate to the topic. The Teen Dating Violence studies are also included in the VAWA Compendium, which is publically available. This compendium only includes studies funded from 2010 forward. Where final reports are a vailable in print, a NCJ number will be listed. All NCJ numbers listed herein can be searched through the "Library/Abstracts" link on the National Criminal Justice Reference Center (NCJRS) home page, https ://www.ncjrs.gov. A search by NCJ number will yield an abstract of the final report as well as an Adobe PDF link to a copy of the final report or go to the publisher's website. Final reports may also be found through a search by Author, Title or Subject. The abstracts included in this document are presented as provided by the grantees in their research proposals and have not been edited. Details: Washington, DC: NIJ, 2016. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249940.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249940.pdf Shelf Number: 140022 Keywords: Children Exposed to Violence Violence Against Children Violent Crime

Author: McGarrell, Edmund F. Title: Detroit Project Safe Neighborhoods: Final Project Report Summary: Detroit Project S afe Neighborhoods (PSN), known as the Comprehensive Violence Reduction Partnership, involved a multi - agency collaboration of local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies, community partners, and a research partner following a data - driven strategic effor t to reduce gun and gang violence. The strategy combined focused enforcement with youth outreach and intervention. Detroit PSN focused on two high violent crime precincts on the westside of Detroit (6 th and 8 th precincts). Participants in the PSN/CVRP expressed consensus that the initiative resulted in enhanced communication and coordination among partnering agencies resulting in enhanced capacity to proactively address gun - and gang - related violence. There was clear evidence of significant activities as a result of PSN including long - term investigations and prosecution of violent street groups; prosecution of chronic violent offenders; probation and parole compliance checks; directed police patrols in gun hotspots; school - based prevention; and communit y engagement. Gun crime trends suggested declines in overall gun crime with the most apparent effect on armed robbery. The bottom line is that the level of gun crime victimization declined in the target area, particularly in 2014 after PSN was fully operational ( - 17%) . The difficulty is in interpreting the extent to which these declines in gun violence were attributable to PSN. The citywide data showed similar declines in gun violence that began earlier than the declines observed in the PSN target a rea. Thus, it is an open question of whether various initiatives such as COMPSTAT, Detroit One, MSP directed patrols, MDOC utilization of field agents and joint compliance checks, Ceasefire, improved economic conditions, or other factors were affecting ci tywide gun crime trends. It is impossible to clarify whether PSN contrib uted to the City's overall decline or whether the PSN target area benefitted from these broader forces. The most persuasive evidence of a PSN gun crime reduction impact came from a c omparison with "synthetic control areas". The synthetic controls were constructed by identifying police scout car areas most similar to the 6 th and 8 th precincts. This comparison indicated that in 2014 the PSN target area experienced a 9 percent decline in gun crime when compared to the most similar areas of Detroit. When coupled with the very positive reports from PSN/CVRP team members, this suggests that PSN had a positive impact on the capacity of the partnering agencies and on gun crime in the 6 th and 8 th precincts. Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, Michigan Justice Statistics Center, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://cj.msu.edu/assets/Detroit_PSN-Final_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://cj.msu.edu/assets/Detroit_PSN-Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 140044 Keywords: Gang Violence Gangs Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Project Safe Neighborhoods Violent Crime

Author: McGee, Rosie Title: Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency: A Colombian Case Study Summary: In a situation of longstanding and complex violent conflict in Buenaventura, Colombia, we used action research to explore with social activists what power, violence, citizenship and agency mean to them and how they experience and exercise citizen agency in relation to the violence. This Working Paper presents our conceptual and theoretical starting points, action research process and findings. Direct violence was at a peak in urban Buenaventura when the action research was conducted, manifest in some particularly macabre forms. Yet in exploring the interconnections between power, violence and active citizenship, what emerged most strongly were structural and symbolic violence. These are experienced by Buenaventura citizens in ways that correspond to certain power theorists' interpretations of 'invisible power'. Most citizens have yielded to the encroachment of violent norms, language and imaginaries, allowing these to infuse their social roles and interactions and the socialisation of children and youth. The action research participants, however, represented a minority of active citizens who respond differently to direct, structural and symbolic violence. They navigate it using a range of responses: innovative organisational practices; mould-breaking models of social leadership; the de-legitimation of violent actors, actions and attitudes; and other visible and invisible expressions of individual and collective resistance to the violent re-shaping of norms, beliefs and values. The case study highlights the interconnected nature of direct, structural and symbolic forms of violence; contributes to theorising invisible power from this grounded and richly contextual perspective; illustrates the shortcomings of simplistic assumptions about citizen engagement in fragile and violent contexts and the importance of 'seeing like a citizen'; and sheds light on debates about citizen agency and structuration in processes of social change. Details: London: Institute of Development Studies, 2016. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: IDS Working Paper 474: Accessed August 30, 2016 at: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12139/Wp474.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: Colombia URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12139/Wp474.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 140100 Keywords: Urban Areas Urban Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Aliprantis, Dionissi Title: Human Capital in the Inner City Summary: This paper quantitatively characterizes the "code of the street" from the sociology literature, using the nationally-representative National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 data set to investigate how black young males alter their behavior when living in violent neighborhoods. An astounding 26 percent of black males in the United States report seeing someone shot before turning 12. Conditional on reported exposure to violence, black and white young males are equally likely to engage in violent behavior. Black males' education and labor market outcomes are much worse when reporting exposure to violence; these gaps persist in estimated models controlling for many patterns of selection. Details: Cleveland, OH: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 2014. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, working paper no. 13-02R. Accessed August 31, 2016 at: https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/publications/working-papers/2014-working-papers/wp-1302r-human-capital-in-the-inner-city.aspx Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/publications/working-papers/2014-working-papers/wp-1302r-human-capital-in-the-inner-city.aspx Shelf Number: 140107 Keywords: Code of the Street Human Capital Interpersonal Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime

Author: InSight Crime Title: Honduras Elites and Organized Crime Summary: Honduras is currently one of the most violent countries on the planet that is not at war. The violence is carried out by transnational criminal organizations, local drug trafficking groups, gangs and corrupt security forces, among other actors. Violence is the focal point for the international aid organizations, governments and multilaterals providing Honduras with assistance, and it is the central theme of media coverage inside and outside of of the country. There are good reasons for this focus. Violence disproportionately impacts people in poor and marginal areas and tends to remain concentrated in those communities, closing the circle on a vicious cycle that impoverished nations find hard to break. In addition, violence impedes economic development and disrupts lives across a wide socio-economic spectrum. It can lead to major demographic shifts and crises as large populations move to urban areas or try to migrate to other nations. It can undermine governance and democracy, and it can serve as a justification for repression and hardline security policies that divert resources away from much-needed social and economic programs, thus perpetuating the problem. Organized crime plays a role in this violence, but it is more like the gasoline than the engine: it provides an already corrupt system with the fuel it needs to run. That corrupt system is the focus of this study on Honduras. Its most visible manifestation is an inept and criminalized police force that a former security minister once called "air traffic control men" for drug flights coming into the country. Parts of this police force also work as custodians and assassins for criminal groups; rob drugs and resell them to the underworld; and, for a price, they can attack client's rivals and disrupt criminal investigations. But beneath this most obvious form of criminal connection to state officials is a more insidious brand of corruption. This is further from the headlines and much more difficult to tackle since it is embedded in the country's political, economic and social systems. It operates in a gray area, mixing legal and illegal entities, paper companies and campaign contributions, and sweeping its illicit acts under the rug using co-opted members of the justice system and security forces. What we are talking about, of course, is the elite connection to organized crime that this investigation exposes. The elites in Honduras are not like those in the rest of the region. The traditional, agro-export and industrial elites who rule in places like Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua are less prominent in Honduras, mostly because of the country's long history as an enclave economy dominated by multinational companies: the original Banana Republic. Instead, the country's most powerful economic elites have emerged from the service, banking, media, and telecommunications sectors. They are called transnational elites since many of them are first or second generation immigrants from the Middle East and Eastern Europe and depend on international business dealings to accumulate capital. Traditional, land-based elites are present in Honduras. But they have long been relegated to a second tier, forced to seek power through control of government posts, rather than using financial leverage. While the ruling elites in Honduras do not share the same origins or economic base as their counterparts elsewhere in the region, they do share their neighbors' penchant for employing the state for their own ends and systematically impoverishing it. Both the traditional and transnational elites have for years used the military and police to protect their personal land holdings and businesses. They have benefitted from the sale of public companies and lands, and they have enjoyed tax exonerations for their multitude of businesses. They have also pillaged its resources, and, as the government's importance to the economy has grown, relied on it to generate more capital. Their dependence on the state has opened the way for a third set of what we are calling bureaucratic elites, who have developed a power base of their own because of the government positions they occupy. Honduras, meanwhile, has become one of the poorest, most unequal and indebted countries in the world. Any attempts to change this system have been met with stern and often unified opposition from elites of all stripes. And attempts to exert more regulatory control over the activities of the elites are smothered before they begin. It is little surprise then that the country offers criminals, large and small, one of the most propitious environments from which to work. On one side, an ineffective justice system and corrupt security forces, long exploited by these elites, opens the way for large criminal groups to operate with impunity. On the other side, an impoverished populace - which sees and understands exactly how elites abuse a broken system - seeks to get its share by working directly with criminals in the illegal and legal enterprises these criminals operate. Crime, as it turns out, is one of the few forms of social mobility. It is within this gray area that the elites themselves also interact with organized crime. Far from being distant from illegal activities, the elites have long operated in this realm. From dealing in contraband goods and services to buying permission for their illegal dealings and "get-out-of-jail-free cards," those who do politics or business in Honduras understand that the laws governing the nation of eight million people are but a means to make money. Their connection to the underworld therefore is about societal, commercial and political interactions in the multiple spaces where business and politics happen in Honduras. The result is an organic relationship with organized crime that helps some elites reach the top and others stay there. Details: InsightCrime.org, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2016 at: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/Honduras_Elites_Organized_Crime Year: 2016 Country: Honduras URL: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/Honduras_Elites_Organized_Crime Shelf Number: 140111 Keywords: Contraband Boods Organized Crime Political Corruption Violence Violent Crime

Author: Corporacion Andina de Fomento Title: Towards a Safer Latin America: A new perspective to prevent and control crime Summary: Public safety is an important determinant of the welfare of families and communities. The blistering growth of crime and violence in many countries of Latin America in recent years has not only entailed high economic and social costs but also, by undermining trust among citizens and public authorities, compromised democratic governance and state legitimacy. This year's Report on Economics and Development (RED) proposes an approach for the analysis of insecurity in which crime results from decisions made by individuals in a particular situation. While it is true that beliefs, perceptions, self-control, and other personality traits (in turn shaped by family experiences, education level, job opportunities, and other experiences throughout the life cycle) can tip an individual into crime, his physical and social environment, the incentives provided by illegal markets (e.g., drugs), and the credibility and efficiency of the criminal justice system are also important. From this perspective, crime-fighting actions involve a wide range of dimensions: family, school, neighbodhood, community, urban infrastructure, economic regulations, police, justice, and prisons. The available evidence (mostly for developed countries) shows that investing in the nutrition and early stimulation of children and promoting family environments with non-conflicting and proactive parenting have positive effects on people's crime propensity, decreasing the incidence of crime. The same goes for interventions at school and in the peer group during adolescence to reduce youth criminogenic exposure. Despite their importance, these are medium- and long-term investments. In the short term, interventions affecting the environment and the opportunities for committing crimes (such as, for example, improvements in public spaces, schedule limits on the sale of alcohol and targeted policing strategies, by type of crime or territory) could be very rewarding as well. However, to plan, design, and implement these various interventions the available information has to improve. A basic first step is to obtain reliable measurements of the incidence of crime, both from administrative records and victimization surveys. Yet, despite the increased importance of crime and violence for public opinion in the region, there is still much to be done to achieve statistics with methodological rigor and adequate frequency that make it possible to assess the phenomena quantitatively. Of course, reliable statistics are not enough. It is also important for public policy initiatives to be monitored and evaluated to learn about their quantitative and qualitative effects and understand the channels through which these effects play out. This learning is essential when it comes to phenomena with multiple determinants, regarding which the outcomes of any actions can be very specific to the context in which these actions are implemented. Critically, the process of generating statistics and designing, implementing, and evaluating policies requires hefty government institutional capabilities. These capabilities do not appear in a vacuum, but are rather the result of political will to prioritize crime control, which, in turn, depends on citizens' disposition to, through advocacy and vote, demand just this from their representatives. And besides political will, it is necessary for public bureaucracies to be properly trained and have the right incentives and resources for action. Details: s.l.: Corporacion Andina de Fomento, 2015. 268p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed September 3, 2016 at: http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/708/RED2014-english-towards-a-safer-latin-america.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y Year: 2015 Country: Latin America URL: http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/708/RED2014-english-towards-a-safer-latin-america.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 140142 Keywords: Crime Crime Prevention Public Security Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Day, Christopher Title: The Bangui Carousel: How the recycling of political elites reinforces instability and violence in the Central African Republic Summary: The successful February 2016 election of President Faustin Archange Touadera marks a new beginning for the Central African Republic (CAR) and provides hope that the country is now stabilizing after three years of violence and political transition. Touadera has been endorsed by many of his political opponents, and the country remained largely peaceful in the weeks following the elections. But CAR is still a long way from political stability. If policymakers fail to address the structural issues that led to the crisis in CAR, the country is likely to repeat its violent past. Sworn in on March 30, Touadera, a former math teacher and prime minister, faces massive challenges. Armed groups and criminal gangs continue to destabilize the countryside, controlling valuable mining areas and commercial towns where they extort illicit taxes and trade diamonds and gold. More than 2 million people, or half of the country's population, are experiencing hunger; close to 415,000 people remain internally displaced, and 467,000 refugees are only slowly trickling back. Thousands of people have been killed since the March 2013 military coup by the Seleka alliance and the violence that followed. CAR has endured persistent violence and instability for decades. Institutional weakness, poverty, and exclusion do much to explain the country's history of disorder. But by significant measure, it is also the deliberate maintenance of such weakness by a small political elite that is at the root of CAR's endemic kleptocracy, a source of political instability, and a driver of violence in the country. Whether ushered in by coup or popular election, successive governments have proved unable to bring about meaningful change in CAR, in part because of the pattern of appointing many of the same people - often relatives and personal friends - to senior government offices. In sum, successive rulers in CAR have maintained authority largely by centralizing control where possible, and extended personal rule by dispensing patronage in return for political support, in particular by personally appointing to senior posts those who served in previous governments or trusted family members. This system has fostered division between the capital and the countryside, incubated the grievances of armed groups, and above all, created significant incentives to hijack the state through violence. This occurs as groups have competed for control of the state to access resources and privileges, instead of to benefit Central Africans. This elite recycling is a key component of what we present here as the "Bangui Carousel" to reflect the many people who rotate through the country's regimes, time and again. This pattern of elite recycling, which is not per se unique to CAR, is more critical in this country than elsewhere because it is interwoven with a near-complete lack of governance. There are few effective state or local government institutions, making the role and impact of the recycled individual leaders that much more potent. Unfortunately, it has been the complete dismantling of institutional checks and balances, the weakening of political parties and civil society organizations, and the use of violence to suppress opposition that have been the hallmark of many of these leaders. This combination of elite recycling on top of a governmental and civic system with little to no capacity and that often reinforces its hold on power through violence defines the Bangui Carousel. It is at the heart of what passes for Central African governance. The recycling and maintenance of a small group of elites - regardless of leadership at the top - combined with the absence of effective state institutions is a fundamental feature of government in CAR. Understanding this matters most to address the structural roots of the country's persistent instability and eventually stop the Bangui Carousel from spinning, so that government can bring about the change the country desperately needs. The recycling of elites is present throughout much of CAR's modern history. To illustrate patterns of elite recycling, the report focuses on appointments to government ministries since early 2013. To gather information and supplement field research, the authors analyzed hundreds of presidential decrees, 15 of which provided information about government reorganizations ordered by former Presidents Francois Bozize, Michel Djotodia, and Catherine Samba-Panza. This was then used to develop an overview of the members in each government and their inter-connections. The report then focuses on some of the individuals who have participated in or benefited from the Bangui Carousel. Those in the report were selected for different reasons: their affiliations with different armed groups, their mere affiliation with past regimes, potential connections to corruption, or their family ties, each of which tends to undermine the possibility of good governance. The analysis has been done with the objective to understand how groups and individuals get access to the Bangui Carousel and how they often benefit from their political appointments at the expense of CAR's citizens or simply forfeit the government's ability to earn the public's trust. Reference to any particular individual in this report does not, in and of itself, mean the individual is responsible for the violence or corruption that typically flows from the Bangui Carousel system. Rather, we highlight these individuals simply to demonstrate how the elite recycling element of the Bangui Carousel has worked. Subsequent reports will examine the governance elements in more detail, as well as the role of foreign powers, such as France and Chad, in perpetuating the system. To disrupt, and eventually, stop the entirety of the Carousel, accountability and effective governance must exist in CAR. And in place of the Carousel, a system of principled governance and greater merit-based criteria for appointments responsive to the needs of ordinary Central Africans must be established. A way forward to accomplish this in part is addressed in a series of recommendations. Details: Washington, DC: Enough Project, 2016. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2016 at: http://www.enoughproject.org/reports/bangui-carousel-how-recycling-political-elites-reinforces-instability-and-violence-central-a Year: 2016 Country: Central African Republic URL: http://www.enoughproject.org/reports/bangui-carousel-how-recycling-political-elites-reinforces-instability-and-violence-central-a Shelf Number: 140150 Keywords: Gang Violence Illegal Trade Mining Industry Political Corruption Violence Violent Crime

Author: Chandler, Arnold Title: Violence Trends, Patterns and Consequences for Black Males in America: A Call to Action Summary: Rates of violent victimization and offending among young black males have declined substantially over the past couple of decades, serving as a welcome reversal to an epidemic growth in violence during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yet rates for these young boys and men remain alarmingly high, and their disparate experience with violence sets them apart from nearly every other demographic group including black men older than 25, white men, and black women. This report paints a detailed picture of the trends and patterns of violent offending and victimization among young black males as well as the profound consequences this violence wreaks upon not only the lives and futures of these boys and young men but that of their families and communities as well. Summarizing and marshalling the latest scientific research, this report seeks to galvanize leaders to take vital action across our nation's cities to reduce violence and violent deaths among young black males. Details: Louisville, KY: Cities United, 2016. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 3, 2016 at: http://citiesunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Violence-Trends-Patterns-and-Consequences-for-Black-Males-in-America-A-Call-to-Action.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://citiesunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Violence-Trends-Patterns-and-Consequences-for-Black-Males-in-America-A-Call-to-Action.pdf Shelf Number: 140154 Keywords: African-Americans Victims of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: EUROsociAL Programme Title: Regional Model for a Comprehensive Violence and Crime Prevention Policy Summary: Over the past decade, the premise by which the origin of violence and crime is multicausal and multi-dimensional in nature has been widely accepted as the starting point from which the comprehensive prevention of violence and crime can be approached in order to build safer and more cohesive communities and societies. Proof of this can be found in the principles of the Central America Security Strategy (ESCA). Consequently, the Model is an exercise in supporting the implementation and promotion of the said principles and the approach promoted by the European Union through this strategy, laid down in the EU action plan, CELAC 2015-2017. Within this context and on the basis of the aforementioned premise, the Regional Model for a Comprehensive Violence and Crime Prevention Policy embodies a significant part of the work on Public Security undertaken by the European Union's EUROsociAL II programme. The formulation of the Model began in the first three regional meetings on violence and crime prevention: El Salvador (2011), Panama (2013) and Guatemala (2014). This initiative, taken by the European Commission with Latin America, is primarily a commitment towards the region based on the Commission's main goal: cooperation in order to promote public policies that can contribute to social cohesion. Under this programme, the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) and the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO), coordinated by Expertise France, worked on the drafting of a comprehensive regional violence and crime prevention policy framework by creating this Model with the support of the consultancy firm, Proyectos Estrategicos Consultoria. The main aim of this document, whose purpose is to review and analyse theoretical and scientific developments in the public policies implemented in Latin America and their respective legal and judicial frameworks, as well as the guidelines of international bodies regarding violence and crime prevention, is to guide and support governments as they create and manage their plans and actions in this area. Accordingly, and in light of the fact that this document is consistent with the situation in the region and can be adapted to all of the circumstances that can be found in Latin America, the participatory nature of this process is worth highlighting. Consultative video-conference meetings allowed the authors to find out about and take note of various practical concerns regarding the management of violence and crime prevention measures voiced by ten countries (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay) and four international cooperation bodies and agencies (Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Organization of American States, and the United Nations Development Programme). These observations were subsequently integrated into the document. The Model puts forward seven processes and two conditions whose purpose is to facilitate the identification of the circumstances, developments and requirements specific to each country to contribute to the construction and consolidation of comprehensive public violence and crime prevention policies. Details: Madrid: EUROsociAL Programme, 2015. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Collection Working Paper n. 33: Accessed September 7, 2016 at: http://sia.eurosocial-ii.eu/files/docs/1461686840-DT_33-_Modelo%20regional%20Prevencion%20Violencia%20(ENG).pdf Year: 2015 Country: Latin America URL: http://sia.eurosocial-ii.eu/files/docs/1461686840-DT_33-_Modelo%20regional%20Prevencion%20Violencia%20(ENG).pdf Shelf Number: 140223 Keywords: Crime Prevention Public Security Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Bondurant, Samuel R. Title: Substance Abuse Treatment Centers and Local Crime Summary: In this paper we estimate the effects of expanding access to substance-abuse treatment on local crime. We do so using an identification strategy that leverages variation driven by substance abuse-treatment facility openings and closings measured at the county level. The results indicate that substance-abuse-treatment facilities reduce both violent and financially motivated crimes in an area, and that the effects are particularly pronounced for relatively serious crimes. The effects on homicides are documented across three sources of homicide data. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper 22610: Accessed September 7, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22610.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22610.pdf Shelf Number: 147857 Keywords: Crime Reduction Homicides Substance Abuse Treatment Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Violent Crime

Author: Goda, Thomas Title: Absolute Inequality and Violent Property Crime Summary: Rational choice models argue that income inequality leads to a higher expected utility of crime and thus generates incentives to engage in illegal activities. Yet, the results of empirical studies do not provide strong support for this theory; in fact, Neumayer provides apparently strong evidence that income inequality is not a significant determinant of violent property crime rates when a representative sample is used and country specific fixed effects are controlled for. An important limitation of this and other empirical studies on the subject is that they only consider proportional income differences, even though in rational choice models absolute difference in legal and illegal incomes determine the expected utility of crime. Using the same methodology and data as Neumayer, but using absolute inequality measures rather than proportional ones, this paper finds that absolute income inequality is a statistically significant determinant of robbery and violent theft rates. This result is robust to changes in sample size and to different absolute inequality measures, which not only implies that inequality is an important correlate of violent property crime rates but also suggests that absolute measures are preferable when the impact of inequality on property crime is studied. Details: Colombia: Center for Research in Economics and Finance (CIEF), 2016. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Center for Research in Economics and Finance (CIEF), Working Papers, No. 16-26: Accessed September 8, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2827788 Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2827788 Shelf Number: 147907 Keywords: Inequality Poverty Property Crime Robbery Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Oudekerk, Barbara A. Title: Co-Offending Among Adolescents in Violent Victimization, 2004-2013 Summary: Presents estimates of nonfatal violent victimizations perceived by the victim to be committed by adolescents ages 12 to 17 during 2004-13. This report compares the characteristics of violent victimizations committed by adolescents acting alone, with other adolescents, and with young adults ages 18 to 29. Victim, offender, and incident characteristics are highlighted, including the type of crime, weapon use, victim injury, and whether reported to police. Data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey, a self-report survey administered every 6 months to persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Highlights: Adolescent offenders who acted alone or with others committed 50.0 nonfatal violent victimizations per 1,000 adolescents. Adolescent offenders committed 22% of all violent victimizations, while making up 10% of the U.S. population age 12 or older during this period. In violent victimizations committed by adolescents who acted with at least one other person, co-offenders were most commonly other adolescents (59%) or young adults (28%). More violent victimizations were committed by adolescents who acted alone (64%) than those who acted with co-offenders (36%). Simple assaults made up a greater percentage of violent victimizations committed by adolescents acting alone (77%) or with other adolescents (71%), compared to victimizations by adolescents acting with young adults (53%). Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2016. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/caavv0413.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/caavv0413.pdf Shelf Number: 140356 Keywords: Adolescents Co-Offending Crime Statistics Victimization Victimization Survey Victims of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Biderman, Ciro Title: Pax Monopolista and Crime: The Case of the Emergence of the Primeiro Comando da Capital in Sao Paulo Summary: This paper documents a rare phenomenon: the consequence of the dominance of a single criminal gang in the city of Sao Paulo, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). Using unique data to identify entry in geographically well-delimited areas - the Favelas - we explore the timing of the expansion of geographical dominance to estimate the causal impact of its dominance on property and violent crime. Pax Monopolista caused a reduction in violent crime but no impact on property crime. Details: Caracas, Venezuela: Development Bank of Latin America, 2014. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 2014/03: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/712/paxmonopolista-crime-primeirocomandodacapital-saopaulo.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: http://scioteca.caf.com/bitstream/handle/123456789/712/paxmonopolista-crime-primeirocomandodacapital-saopaulo.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 140365 Keywords: Favelas Gang Violence Gangs Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Tomberg, Kathleen A. Title: Durable Collaborations: The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Summary: In 2012, the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College began to publish the results of an assessment conducted between Summer 2011 and Summer 2012. The project measured the effectiveness of the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. The findings suggested that the initiative was generating important changes in five communities participating in the National Forum (Boston, MA; Detroit, MI; Memphis, TN; Salinas, CA; and San Jose, CA). Survey respondents reported a number of potentially valuable outcomes, including expanded opportunities for youth, improvements in the extent of inter-agency and cross-sector collaborations, and successful efforts to draw upon the knowledge and expertise of a broad range of community members. According to survey respondents, the National Forum cities were developing stronger capacities to reduce youth violence. In 2016, with the support of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the John Jay research team launched a new iteration of the same survey in all 15 cities then involved in the National Forum. The respondents in the new survey were positive about their growing collaborations and the effectiveness of their strategies for preventing youth violence. As with the previous surveys, the 2016 survey measured the perceptions of community leaders. It was not a direct measure of youth violence. Details: New York: John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Research and Evaluation Center, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: https://jjrec.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/durablecollaborations2.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://jjrec.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/durablecollaborations2.pdf Shelf Number: 145625 Keywords: Community-Based Programs Juvenile Offenders Partnerships Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council Title: Trends Analysis: Unlawful Use of a Weapon Summary: Has increasing the sentencing penalties for unlawful use of a weapon offenses had a positive effect on public safety over the last 10 years? This report uses basic trend analysis to examine whether the increased penalties for unlawful use of a weapon (UUW) offenses preceded any change in measurable public safety outcomes. In this report, measurable public safety outcomes are the number of reported violent gun crime offenses and the rate that UUW offenders are reconvicted of crime within three years of release (i.e., recidivism). If the UUW penalty enhancements were effective deterrents, fewer violent gun crimes would be committed. This analysis finds minimal effects on the public safety outcomes: - The 10-year trends for UUW crimes and overall violent crime, represented by incidents reported in Chicago, matched national downward trends in violent crime - Arrest data indicate that Cook County accounted for 65% of all UUW arrests in 2012 - Recidivism rates for UUW offenders are similar immediately before and after the sentencing enhancements This analysis finds an increase in the number of prisoners held by the state: - The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) prisoner population increased after each penalty enhancement This analysis concludes that the increase in UUW prisoners is likely caused by the cumulative effect of (1) a decrease in the use of probation and (2) an increase in technical violations of UUW offenders on supervised release . Details: Springfield, IL: SPAC, 2014. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/spac/pdf/SPAC_Trends_Analysis_Report_09_2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/spac/pdf/SPAC_Trends_Analysis_Report_09_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 140381 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Punishment Sentencing Violence Violent Crime

Author: Perrin, Benjamin Title: Punishing the Most Heinous Crimes: Analysis and recommendations related to Bill C-53 (Life Means Life Act) Summary: Life in prison for a first-degree murder in Canada currently doesn't mean exactly that. The longest period of ineligibility for parole is 25 years, outside cases of multiple murders. While all murders are of course deplorable, many would argue that some killings are so heinous, so offensive to the public and damaging to Canadian society, that the killers should be imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives. This would include violent predators who plan and deliberate about not only killing another human being, but do so while committing egregious crimes such as sexual assault, kidnapping, or terrorist activities. Or they involve the planned and deliberate killing of police officers or other officials tasked with keeping Canadians safe. To address this issue, the federal government has introduced Bill C-53, the Life Means Life Act, which would make life imprisonment without parole a mandatory sentence for certain heinous murders and a discretionary sentence in other instances. These lifers could apply after 35 years to the federal Cabinet for "executive release". There are legitimate reasons for adding life without parole to the Criminal Code, but there are also legitimate criticisms of Bill C-53. The legislation requires amendments if it is to achieve its stated goals without being struck down based on a challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The main arguments supporting Bill C-53 are that it: enhances proportionality in murder sentencing; reflects denunciation and retribution in sentencing On the other hand, the main concerns about Bill C-53 are that it: is unnecessary and will not increase public safety; denies a second chance to convicted murderers; increases pressure on the corrections system and risk to staff and fellow inmates; includes "executive release" as an illusory hope and it is unlikely to be used in practice; and infringes the Charter. After canvassing these arguments, this paper concludes that life without parole would be appropriate and just in certain cases, but that Bill C-53 is vulnerable to being struck down for infringing the Charter as presently drafted. The following recommendations should be adopted: 1) Bill C-53 should be amended so that life without parole would be a discretionary - not a mandatory - sentencing option for heinous murders. The judge should also have the option of ordering a fixed-term parole ineligibility period of between 25 and 75 years. A jury recommendation, if it is a jury trial, should be sought in these cases. 2) The situations where Bill C-53 would currently provide for discretionary life without parole should not provide for that penalty but instead give the sentencing judge the option of ordering a fixed-term parole ineligibility period of between 25 and 75 years, with a jury recommendation where there is a jury. 3) All offenders serving life sentences with parole ineligibility periods greater than 35 years should be eligible to apply for executive release (not simply those sentenced to life without parole), up until the time that they become eligible for parole. 4) The Parole Board of Canada should provide an assessment to the Minister of Public Safety of all offenders serving a sentence of life imprisonment without parole when they apply for executive release at least 35 years after beginning to serve their sentence. 5) The purposes of Bill C-53 should be clearly articulated. Heinous murderers are not sentenced as severely as they should be in Canada and there is constitutional room to enhance their penalties. However, Bill C-53 overreaches in this effort and thus risks failing to achieve needed reform.heinous murders, which are very important sentencing principles for serious and violent crime; spares victims the ordeal of frequent and ongoing automatic parole board hearings for murderers after their parole ineligibility periods have expired; ensures the protection of victims and society; and potentially contributes to general deterrence. Details: Ottawa, ONT: Macdonald-Laurier Institute, 2015. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 21, 2016 at: http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLI-BPerrinPunishingTheMostHeinousCrimes-05-15-WebReady-v2.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Canada URL: http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLI-BPerrinPunishingTheMostHeinousCrimes-05-15-WebReady-v2.pdf Shelf Number: 145612 Keywords: Life Imprisonment Life Without Parole Murderers Punishment Sentencing Violent Crime

Author: Small Arms Survey Title: Gender-Based Violence Interventions: Opportunities for Innovation. Gap Analysis Summary: The Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) commissioned the Small Arms Survey in 2015 to produce the first ever Gap Analysis of specific challenges in GBV humanitarian programming through the lens of humanitarian innovation. This report offers fresh guidance on tangible innovation areas for those working to improve GBV interventions globally to enhance effectiveness and accelerate impact. The in-depth research has generated a series of clearly defined, accessible, and impactful Innovation Challenges to address the gaps in GBV programming, and in doing so, aims to engage new actors and new partners from different arenas to overcome the enduring GBV challenges. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2016. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: http://www.elrha.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GBV_report_23_08.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.elrha.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/GBV_report_23_08.pdf Shelf Number: 140408 Keywords: Gender-Based Violence Human Rights Violence Against Women, Girls Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Korthuis, Aaron Title: The Central America Regional Security Initiative in Honduras Summary: In November 2013, Hondurans headed to the election polls for a second time since the 2009 coup d'etat that destabilized the country and left unchecked a problem that the country has long failed to address: violence and organized crime. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC) latest homicide report, Honduras continues to struggle with the highest homicide rate in the world. The seriousness of the security situation has provoked travel warnings from the U.S. Department of State and infamy in the international press tied to the violence experienced in Honduran cities and the abuses perpetuated by state security forces. Over the past decade, drug trafficking through the country has surged, making it the "favoured northbound route for cocaine from South America" for many years. Given the country's historically weak law enforcement institutions, persistent problems with corruption, and poverty, as well as a continued U.S. appetite for cocaine, these problems are hardly a novelty - and present grave problems for the country's leaders. Unsurprisingly then, this problem was consistently featured in the leading presidential candidates' discourse and public debate, and was undoubtedly a major factor in the final outcome. National Party candidate and eventual victor, Juan Orlando Hernandez, called for a heavy-handed approach to security that relied on a newly created military police, while LIBRE candidate Xiomara Castr's voice resounded on public airwaves calling for Honduran soldiers to return to their barracks and their traditional role. These starkly divergent views stem from a Honduran population tired of years of violence, organized criminal activity, declining security, and increasingly accustomed to the military's involvement in traditional policing. Alarmingly, only 27 percent of Hondurans expressed any confidence in the civilian police in August 2013, while 73 percent disagreed with the idea that the military should remain in the barracks (and by extension, presumably refrain from involvement in policing efforts). Efforts to address burgeoning organized crime and violence and instigate reform of Honduras' security and justice institutions have consumed the country over the past few years and feature prominently in President Hern�ndez�s plans. Yet, at best, these efforts have produced mixed results, and at worst have resulted in a depressingly stagnant landscape. The United States, through the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), seeks to strengthen and improve Honduran initiatives through law enforcement cooperation, capacity building, and prevention programs. These programs persist amidst Honduras' difficult political environment and staggering problems, and success remains isolated, although hope remains that reform may finally gain momentum. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Latin American Program, 2014. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CARSI%20in%20Honduras.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Honduras URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CARSI%20in%20Honduras.pdf Shelf Number: 144861 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Phillips, Nicholas Title: CARSI In Guatemala: Progress, Failure, and Uncertainty Summary: To the extent that the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) is a coherent policy, Guatemala is its centerpiece. This land of sultry jungles, volcanic highlands and buzzing cities boasts a population of nearly 16 million-the largest on the isthmus, with roughly 39 percent self-identifying as indigenous. During the first five years of CARSI, no country in Central America received more of the initiative's funds, or was allocated more non-CARSI security aid. Thus it would appear that the U.S. Congress is aware of Guatemala's problems: its weak institutions, drug smuggling, violence, gangs, poverty, inequality, impunity, corruption, and malnutrition. We may now add to this list the recent swell of Guatemalan youth who abandoned their homeland and were caught crossing illegally and unaccompanied onto American soil. But is CARSI a catalyst for adequate solutions? In some ways, yes. In others, no. And in some areas, it is hard to say for lack of performance evaluations. CARSI funds have bolstered the criminal courts and the police's anti-gang unit, for example, but have failed to produce an exemplary police precinct or eradicate poppy farms. Furthermore, some crime prevention efforts bankrolled by CARSI have never been audited, so their effectiveness is not clear. This chapter will shed some light on CARSI's successes, challenges, and unknowns in Guatemala. Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Latin American Program, 2014. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CARSI%20in%20Guatemala_1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Guatemala URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CARSI%20in%20Guatemala_1.pdf Shelf Number: 144860 Keywords: Criminal Courts Drug Trafficking Gangs Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Long, Wei Title: Does Longer Incarceration Deter or Incapacitate Crimes? New Evidence from Truth-in-Sentencing Reform Summary: This paper estimates how violent crimes respond to a policy change which requires violent offenders to serve a substantial propertion of their sentenced terms before being eligible to release to community supervision. Focusing on states with effective TIS laws which meet the federal 85 percent rule, we utilize the differences-in-differences design to investigate both deterrent and incapacitative effect of TIS on crimes. We observe statistically significant -7 percent deterrent effect of TIS on growth of violent crime two years after its passage. A series of placebo tests confirm the robustness of the estimates and inferences. In the long-run, additional incapacitative effect also becomes significant, making the treatment effect of TIS even greater in magnitude. Even though insignificant in the first two years after TIS was passed, growth of non-violent property crime rates decreases by 7 percent in the long-run in TIS states, indicating relative greater importance of incapacitative effect which locks up offenders who commit both types of crimes. A rough approximation shows that TIS is an economically efficient method to decrease crimes. Details: New Orleans, LA: Tulane University, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Tulane Economics Working Paper Series 1607: Accessed September 23, 2016 at: http://econ.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul1607.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://econ.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul1607.pdf Shelf Number: 146112 Keywords: Deterrence Imprisonment Incapacitation Punishment Sentencing Truth-in-Sentencing Violent Crime

Author: Muggah, Robert Title: Making Cities Safer: Citizen Security Innovations from Latin America Summary: Cities are where the policy and practice of citizen security are determined. Although national and subnational strategies are essential to scaling-up crime prevention, cities are where they are put into practice. Because of the way they bring opportunities and risks into focus, cities are natural laboratories of policy innovation to prevent and reduce violence. Some of the most remarkable progress in homicide reduction, crime prevention and public safety in recent decades has occurred in large and medium-sized cities, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. This report explores the evidence of what works, and what does not, when it comes to promoting citizen security in Latin American and Caribbean cities. While not exhaustive, the report features a range of positive and less positive experiences of 10 municipalities and metropolitan areas across the region. The goal is to highlight the change in approach from hardline law and order approaches to ones that emphasize multi-sector and preventive measures. The structure of the report is straightforward. Each case study includes a broad overview of the context and problem, a description of the intervention and how it was implemented, and some reflections on the outcomes and impacts. - Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute; Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2016. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7757 Year: 2016 Country: Latin America URL: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7757 Shelf Number: 146157 Keywords: Citizen Security Crime Prevention Homicides Public Safety Violence Violent Crime

Author: Dedeloudis, Sotirios Title: Narrative Experience of Violent Offending in Greece Summary: Introduction: Violent offenders are a divergent population of offenders. There are various types of violent offending, such as subcultural violent offenders who perceive a righteousness of violence when protecting and maintaining their reputation. There are considerably few studies that relate the causation of crime and violence with emotions and narrative roles. Furthermore, it is documented that narratives are associated with issues that are considered within the realms of personality. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how violent offenders' narratives, emotions, and their correlates with background and personality can shape their violent actions and to unfold violent offending patterns. Methodology: A total of 50 violent Greek offenders (41 males and 9 females), who were involved in hooligan/extreme political violent acts, with an age range of 18-63 participated in the study. These Greek participants had commit a wide variety of violent offences including robbery, gang fights and grievous bodily harm and were accused by the Greek court to be a part of a criminal organisation; of collective group violence. Participants who agreed to participate in this study were invited to fill a questionnaire that consisted of five sections (Description of Crime, Emotions Questionnaire, Narrative Roles Questionnaire, The Self-Report Offending Questionnaire and the HEXACO personality inventory). Results: Results revealed that emotions could be differentiated into four themes Elations, Calm, Distress and Depression in line with the circumplex structure of emotions postulated by Russell (1997) and narrative roles into Adventurer, Professional, Revenger and Victim. Furthermore, emotions themes and associated narrative roles themes were differentiated into four criminal narrative experience (CNE) themes namely Calm Professional, Elated Hero, Depressed Victim and Distressed Revenger. Interestingly, further analysis showed that Elated Hero was the most dominant theme for the violent offenders in the study contrasting previous findings (Ioannou, 2006). Significant associations between the CNE and background characteristics as well as personality traits were also demonstrated. Implications: The current study makes a significant contribution to knowledge supporting previous relevant studies. It was the first time that a theoretical framework of Criminal Narrative Experience was combined with personality and the first time that this was applied in a Greek population and exclusively with violent offenders that most had been involved in collective violence. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as limitations and suggestions for future studies are described. Details: Huddersfield, UK: University of Huddersfield, 2016. 248p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 28, 2016 at: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.691359 Year: 2016 Country: Greece URL: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.691359 Shelf Number: 140478 Keywords: Violence Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: Rosnick, David Title: Have US-Funded CARSI Programs Reduced Crime and Violence in Central America? Summary: In October 2014, the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University published an impact assessment study of community-based violence prevention programs that have been implemented under the umbrella of the US State Department's Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). The study looked at survey data measuring public perceptions of crime in 127 treatment and control neighborhoods in municipalities in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama where the violence prevention programs have been implemented. The study's authors stated that the data shows that "in several key respects the programs have been a success" and note, for instance, that 51 percent fewer residents of "treated" communities reported being aware of murders and extortion incidents during the previous 12 months, and 19 percent fewer residents reported having heard about robberies having occurred. As the LAPOP study is, to date, the only publicly accessible impact assessment of programs carried out under CARSI - a notoriously opaque regional assistance scheme that has received hundreds of millions of dollars of US government funding - a thorough review of the LAPOP study data seemed appropriate. This report examines the data collected during the LAPOP study and subjects them to a number of statistical tests. The authors find that the study cannot support the conclusion that the areas subject to treatment in the CARSI programs showed better results than those areas that were not. This report identifies major problems with the LAPOP study, namely, the nonrandomness of the selection of treatment versus control areas and how the differences in initial conditions, as well as differences in results between treatment and control areas, have been interpreted. In the case of reported robberies, if the areas subject to treatment have an elevated level of reported robberies in the year prior to treatment, it is possible that there is some reversion to normal levels over the next year. The LAPOP methodology does not differentiate between effective treatment and, for example, an unrelated decline in reported robberies in a treated area following a year with an abnormally high number of reported robberies. The series of statistical tests in this report indicate that this possibility is quite plausible, and cannot be ruled out; and that the LAPOP study, therefore, does not demonstrate a statistically significant positive effect of treatment. The same can be said for the other variables where the LAPOP study finds significant improvement. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2016. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2016 at: http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/carsi-2016-09.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/carsi-2016-09.pdf Shelf Number: 146137 Keywords: Crime Prevention Programs Violence Violence Prevention Violent crime

Author: Institute for Economics and Peace Title: The Economic Cost of Violence Containment: A Comprehensive Assessment of the Global Cost of Violence Summary: One of the major challenges in developing policies aimed at increasing peace is the difficulty of being able to accurately gauge the benefits that result from peace. Recognising this, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has developed a new and ground breaking methodology to estimate the cost of violence to the global economy, including calculations for 152 countries that detail the costs of thirteen different types of violence. This deeper insight into the breakdown of national costs of violence allows for better targeting of development assistance and also enables national governments to more accurately assess the costs associated with violence and the likely benefits that would flow from improvements in peace. In developing this methodology IEP uses the concept of 'violence containment' spending. IEP defines violence containment spending as economic activity that is related to the consequences or prevention of violence where the violence is directed against people or property. This approach uses ten indicators from the Global Peace Index (GPI) and three additional key areas of expenditure to place an economic value on 13 different dimensions. This process has been developed to enable relative comparisons between countries at different levels of economic development. GDP per capita has been used to scale the cost of violence containment for each country. In both the U.S. and the U.K. a number of robust analyses have been conducted on the cost of various types of violence and have been used as the basis for the scaling. This study is highly conservative as there are many items that have not been counted simply because accurate data could not be obtained. Future estimates will attempt to capture these items and therefore are expected to be higher. The economic impact of violence containment to the world economy in 2012 was estimated to be $9.46 trillion or 11 percent of Gross World Product (GWP).* This figure is comprised of $4.73 trillion of direct and indirect costs as well as an additional $4.73 trillion in additional economic activity that would flow from the reinvestment of these costs into more fruitful economic activities. Were the world to reduce its expenditure on violence by fifteen percent it would be enough to provide the necessary money for the European Stability Fund, repay Greece's debt and cover the increase in funding required to achieve the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. One of the easier items to count is military expenditure, thus it is nearly fully included in the study. Military spending constitutes 51 percent of the total accounted expenditure on violence containment. However, the approach excludes many other forms of violence containment due to a lack of available data. If other forms of violence were included in the overall estimate, it is expected that military spending would drop considerably as a proportion of total violence containment expenditure. It is important to highlight that the world's direct expenditure on the military is more than 12 times the world's expenditure on foreign aid, as measured by Official Development Assistance (ODA). The economic impact of homicides represents the next most significant cost at $1.43 trillion dollars or 15 percent of the total impact. The third largest contributor is spending on internal security officers and police, accounting for around 14 percent of the total, or $1.3 trillion dollars of the economic impact. The longer-term research project for IEP aims to categorise and count many of these relevant areas of expenditure. Some examples of items that have been excluded are: The significant costs related to property crimes, motor vehicle theft, arson, household burglary and larceny/ theft, as well as rape/sexual assault Many of the preventative measures, such as insurance premiums or the costs to businesses of surveillance equipment and lost management time The direct costs of domestic violence in terms of lost wages, emotional costs and recovery costs. While expenditures on containing and dealing with the consequences of violence are important and a necessary public good, the less a nation spends on violence-related functions, the more resources can be allocated to other more productive areas of economic activity. Simply put, economic expenditure on containing violence is economically efficient when it effectively prevents violence for the least amount of outlay. However, money that is diverted to surplus violence containment, or money that is spent on inefficient programs, has the potential to constrain a nation's economic growth. Importantly, many societies that have lower levels of violence and crime also have lower violence containment spending. These societies reap a peace dividend. Details: Sydney: Institute for Economics and Peace, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 11, 2016 at: http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Economic-Cost-of-Violence-Containment.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Economic-Cost-of-Violence-Containment.pdf Shelf Number: 145412 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Economics of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Campo, Joe Title: Violent Crime Trends and Geographic Variations Summary: The Office of Financial Management's Health Care Research Center and its criminal justice Statistical Analysis Center have begun collaborating on the development of an online geographic information system. Once completed, that system will allow users to map various measures using both criminal justice and health-related data. In this research brief we use data compiled for that system to focus on violent crimes in Washington state. These data allow us to identify trends seen nationally, statewide and by county; to assess variations in violent crime rates seen among the counties; and, by in-depth examination of health-related data, to better understand the variation in the severity of injury among those violent crimes. For this brief, arrest data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program�s Summary Reporting System (SRS) are used as the primary source of crime data. Vital statistics death data are used in comparing murder arrests and deaths, and inpatient and observation unit stays are used in comparing aggravated assault arrests and hospital stays. Joinpoint is used in identifying trends and, unless otherwise noted, 95 percent confidence intervals are used in determining if differences seen are statistically significant. Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Office of Financial Management, 2016. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief No. 079: Accessed October 12, 2016 at: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/researchbriefs/2016/brief079.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/researchbriefs/2016/brief079.pdf Shelf Number: 140670 Keywords: Crime Statistics Crime Trends Geographical Analysis Violent Crime

Author: de Casio, Ana Cardenas Gonzalez Title: The Effect of the 'War on Organised Crime' on the Mexican Federal Judiciary: A Comparative Case Study of Judicial Decision-Making Summary: Using a comparative case study design, this thesis explores the impact on the Mexican federal judiciary of steep rises in violent crime, proliferation of armed organised crime groups, greater involvement of the military in crime control activities and the government's 'war on organised crime'. The thesis develops 'enemy penology' as a theoretical framework based on the observation that the Mexican government has increasingly conceptualised offenders as enemies and called for an explicitly militarised criminal justice response. Drawing on this theoretical framework, the thesis analyses qualitative data from two different sites - a 'crime control as warfare' scenario (highly militarised state) and an unchanged context (less militarised state). Findings are examined within the enemy penology framework and also drawing on theories of judicial behaviour and judicial roles in order to explain the overarching finding that judges seem to have insulated themselves from the 'enemy penology' promulgated by the government. Analysis of 40 written judgements in drug cases and 28 semi-structured interviews with judges (drawn from a total of 56 interviews achieved during the fieldwork) indicated that decision making, guilt determination and sentencing were almost identical in the two locations despite stark differences in context. In both locations, the study observed an inclination to privilege police evidence, high conviction rates despite poor prosecutorial performance and insufficient evidence, and a tendency to impose minimum sentences. Interviewees discussed these issues as well as the impact of armed criminality, military involvement in crime control and judicial independence. Overall, the Federal judiciary appeared to be not influenced by the enemy penology paradigm reproduced by public officials and criminal policies. Mexican judicial behaviour was found to be strongly shaped by a formalistic and legalistic understanding of judicial duties where accuracy in law interpretation is expected, disregarding other goals, including politics and policy considerations. This understanding is enhanced by the judiciary through strict observance of precedents, reversals and enhancing law-interpreter and ritualist judicial roles. Nonetheless, the empirical data also showed that judges' views and opinions are informed by strategic goals, attitudes, motives, managerial needs and the pursuit of self-respect and recognition. In sum, examining court judgements and judges' views about deciding cases in the light of the prevalent 'enemy penology' provided a rich understanding of the way decision- making in criminal matters is constructed by judges as well as the complex and often contradictory layers that comprise the image and role of the Mexican federal judge. Details: London: King's College London, Dickson Poon School of Law, 2016. 332p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/57599059/2016_Gonz_lez_De_Cos_o_Ana_C_rdenas_1140394_ethesis.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/57599059/2016_Gonz_lez_De_Cos_o_Ana_C_rdenas_1140394_ethesis.pdf Shelf Number: 145441 Keywords: Drug Offenders Judges Judicial Decision-Making Organized Crime Prosecutors Violent Crime

Author: Trajtenberg, Nico Title: Towards a more Effective Violence Prevention Policy in Uruguay Summary: This report presents the results of the Montevideo Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths (m-proso) study, a large representative school-based survey of young people on deviance and violence conducted in Montevideo. The study was funded by the UBS Optimus Foundation and the data was collected by the University of Cambridge and Universidad de la Republica del Uruguay in coordination with the directorial council of the Administracion Nacional de Educacion Publica (ANEP). The main empirical goal of this study was to describe levels of violent victimization and violent behaviour among adolescents in Montevideo. It also aimed to identify major individual, family, school and life-style risk factors associated with victimization and perpetration that can inform the development of a national policy for the prevention of youth violence. To achieve this goal a large representative survey of over 2202 adolescents in grade 9 (i.e. approximately age 15) from public and private high schools was conducted in 2013. The study results can be divided in two main areas: Victimization: - 25% of adolescents have been victims of one of the three types of violence in the past year. Robbery victimizations are most frequent, followed by assault and sexual assault. Most victimizations occur in public space or at school, and are committed by peers of the same age. Only about one out of ten incidents are reported to the police. - The risk of victimization was associated with a number of lifestyle characteristics. Adolescents who go out frequently, consume psychoactive substances, and who engage in delinquent activities are at a greater risk of violent victimization. Also, adolescents with a disability were at a higher risk of victimization, while socio-demographic characteristics were not found to be predictive of victimization. - 28% of adolescents reported experiences of corporal punishment by their parents. Socio-demographic characteristics did not predict the likelihood of corporal punishment. However, the likelihood of corporal punishment was more likely if there was more parental conflict. The experience of corporal punishment was associated with more depressive symptoms. - 20% of adolescents experienced bullying victimization at least once per month. Bullying victims differed from non-victims in several ways: they were more likely to have a poor relationship with classmates and more likely to have academic difficulties. At home they were more likely to experience erratic discipline and parental conflict. Also, adolescents with a disability were found to be more likely to be victimized. - The results of the present study supported findings from international research that different types of victimization tend to be correlated. For example, victims of corporal punishment by their parents were significantly more likely to also experience bullying and violent victimization. Perpetration - 17% of adolescents admitted to having committed at least one act of violence in the past year. 19% of adolescents reported to be involved in a group that threatens, robs or assaults other people. And 13% of adolescents reported that they bullied other adolescents at least once per month. - Different types of violence are strongly correlated in that, for example, adolescents who verbally bully others also tend to be involved in physical fights or robberies committed within a group of other adolescents. Male adolescents are overrepresented for all types of direct aggression, but their predominance is larger for aggression that entails physical force, is more serious, and committed in groups. - Involvement in violence is part of a wider syndrome of adolescent problem behaviours: Violent adolescents are much more likely to also be involvement in non-violent delinquent acts including theft in school, at home or in shops, vandalism and burglary, or drug dealing. They are also more likely to run away from home and to play truant at school. Finally, adolescents involved in violence are much more likely to use alcohol, cannabis, or hard drugs. - Adolescents with a higher involvement in violent acts differed in their personality characteristics from other youth. They were more riskseeking, impulsive, self-centred and short-sighted than non-violent youth; they were more likely to internalize delinquent norms and to reject conventional moral principles; they had lower conflict resolution skills in that they were more likely to react with anger and less likely to understand diferent sides of an argument; and they tend to believe that they are stronger and better fighters than others. - Adolescents involved in physical violence and bullying also differ on school-related characteristics: They were significantly more likely to have been retained at school, to play truant, to have a poor relationship to the teacher and to have a low commitment to do well at school. They were also less likely to accept the authority of teachers and directors. - More violent adolescents tend to live in families where parents were less likely to be involved in joint activities with the young person, that they were less able to efectively supervise the activities of their child, and that they were more likely to use physical punishment as a disciplining strategy. - Finally, aggressive adolescents tend to spend a lot more time playing violent computer games, they are out on the streets more often during night-time and weekends, and they spend this unsupervised time more often in the company of delinquent peers. Finally, based on the aforementioned results and following the WHO public health framework of violence prevention this report provides recommendations on five areas of intervention: enhance parenting support; improve school climate and behaviour management in schools; improve the legitimacy of the police; reduce early access to psychoactive substances and weapons; and reducing street violence and robbery. Details: Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge, Institute of Criminology, Violence Research Centre, 2015. 162p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: http://www.vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/meuruguay/uruguayeng Year: 2015 Country: Uruguay URL: http://www.vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/meuruguay/uruguayeng Shelf Number: 145077 Keywords: Juvenile Offenders Robbery Street Violence Victimization Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Wan, Wai Yin Title: Violent Criminal Careers: A retrospective longitudinal study Summary: Aims: To determine: (1) the long-term risk that someone charged with a violent offence will commit another violent offence (2) what factors influence the likelihood of desistance and the length of time to the next violent offence for those who do re-offend. Method: All 26,472 offenders who were born between 1986 and 1990 (inclusive) and who had at least one violent offence proved against them in New South Wales (NSW) before December 31st, 2014 were followed up to December 31st, 2015. An offence was counted as proved if at the index contact it resulted in a caution, a youth justice conference or proven court appearance. The mean follow-up time for offenders in the study was 6.35 years (range = 21.3 years; interquartile range = 4.7 years). Bivariate correlates of time to re-offend were identified using log-rank tests. Multivariate analysis of survival time was undertaken using a cure fraction model with a loglogistic distribution of survival time. Results: In the median case, after 20 years, an estimated 23 per cent of violent offenders committed a further violent offence. However the risk of violent re-offending varies greatly across different offender groups, being much higher for Indigenous offenders, those who were aged 17 and under at the time of their index contact and those whose first contact with the criminal justice system occurred when they were 12 years of age or younger. There is little evidence of specialisation among violent offenders in the sample. Most have committed a wide variety of different offences prior to their conviction for a violent offence and those who do re-offend commit a wide variety of offences. Conclusion: Authorities charged with responsibility for making bail, sentencing and parole decisions in relation to violent offenders need to pay close attention to the characteristics of the violent offenders they are dealing with. Evaluations of violent offender programs should include both short-term and long-term follow up. Prison is not a very effective instrument through which to reduce violent offending. Details: Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, no. 198: Accessed October 19, 2016 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/CJB/Report-2016-Violent-Criminal-Careers-A-retrospective-longitudinal-study-cjb198.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/CJB/Report-2016-Violent-Criminal-Careers-A-retrospective-longitudinal-study-cjb198.pdf Shelf Number: 145381 Keywords: Career Criminals Re-offending Recidivism Violence Violent Crime Violent Offenders

Author: World Health Organization Title: Guns, knives and pesticides: reducing access to lethal means Summary: Evidence suggests that limiting access to firearms, knives and pesticides saves lives, prevents injuries and reduces costs to society. Homicide and suicide claim 600 000 and 844 000 human lives respectively, each year worldwide. This comes at a terrible cost to society - psychological and financial - and inhibits progress towards all eight of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. This carnage could be significantly reduced, however, by limiting access to three of the most lethal means of violence: firearms, sharp objects (such as knives) and pesticides. Firearms: Jurisdictions with restrictive firearms legislation and lower firearms ownership tend to have lower levels of gun violence. Measures include bans, licensing schemes, minimum ages for buyers, background checks and safe storage requirements. Such measures have been successfully implemented in countries such as Austria and Brazil and in a number of states in the United States of America. Introducing national legislation can be complicated, but much can be done at local level. Stiffer enforcement, amnesties and improved security for state supplies of firearms are some of the other promising approaches. Multifaceted strategies are also needed to reduce demand for guns - diverting vulnerable youth from gang membership, for instance. Sharp objects: As well as control measures, governments need broad strategies to reduce socioeconomic factors underlying the violent use of these weapons. Less evidence is available on the impacts of efforts to reduce violence associated with sharp objects than for firearms. Until now concerned authorities have focused on similar measures to those used for the control of guns. In the United Kingdom these have included legislative reforms (bans on flick knives, minimum ages for purchasers etc.), stiffer enforcement ("stop-and-search" initiatives) and amnesties; however, their impact is not yet clear. Pesticides: Safer storage, bans and replacement by less toxic pesticides could prevent many of the estimated 370 000 suicides caused by ingestion of pesticides every year. Members of agricultural communities in low- and middle-income countries are heavily over-represented in the suicide death toll related to pesticides. Controlling access to pesticides is not only critical in reducing self-directed violence, it is key to preventing unintentional poisoning and terrorism. International conventions attempt to manage hazardous substances; however, many highly toxic pesticides are still widely used. Studies indicate that bans must be accompanied by evaluations of agricultural needs and replacement with low-risk alternatives for pest control. Further research is needed, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The development of robust injury-data collection systems and further studies are required to deepen our understanding of the impacts of measures to reduce access to lethal means, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Details: Geneva: WHO, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Series of briefings on violence prevention: Accessed November 3, 2016 at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44060/1/9789241597739_eng.pdf Year: 2009 Country: International URL: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44060/1/9789241597739_eng.pdf Shelf Number: 145399 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Homicides Knives Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Weapons

Author: Males, Mike Title: Violent Crime Arrests of Youth in California Expected to Decline through 2020 Summary: This report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) predicts ongoing declines in the violent felony arrest rate of California's youth through 2020. The report analyzes past violent felony arrest data for two age groups — children under age 12 and youth ages 12-17 — to identify the relationship between childhood arrest rates today and those of older youth five years in the future. The analysis finds a strong, predictive relationship between the violent felony arrest rates of children under 12 and those of older youth ages 12-17. As such, recent declines in childhood arrest signal continuing and substantial declines in the arrest rate of older youth. The report finds: Arrest data suggest that a decline of 1 arrest per 100,000 children under age 12 would produce a decline of approximately 7.5 arrests per 100,000 12-17-year-old youth five years later. Recent declines in the violent felony arrest rates of children under 12 forecast a decline of 24 percent in the violent felony arrest rate of youth ages 12-17 from 2016 to 2020. This translates into a annual reduction of 1,600 to 1,700 arrests. A decline in the number of youth arrested annually for violent felonies will shrink the pool of youth eligible for commitment to local detention facilities and the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice. Details: San Francisco: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2016. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2016 at: http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/youth_crime_arrest_projections_2020.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/youth_crime_arrest_projections_2020.pdf Shelf Number: 145312 Keywords: Arrest Rates Crime Rates Crime Trends Juvenile Offenders Violent Crime

Author: Widmer, Mireille Title: Monitoring Trends in Violent Deaths Summary: In the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Small Arms Survey is pleased to announce a new series of reports designed to support global efforts to reach targets under Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG16). To promote the sharing of information and encourage collaboration in this context, the Survey is also providing online access to its updated database on violent deaths and corresponding interactive maps. Under SDG16, Target 16.1 commits all states to '[s]ignificantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere'. Monitoring Trends in Violent Deaths, the first in a new series of SDG16 reports, establishes a global baseline of violent deaths for Target 16.1, with the aim of helping states to gauge changes in the incidence of violent deaths—a composite indicator comprising data on homicide and direct conflict deaths. Key findings of this report include the following: In 2010–15, an average of 535,000 people died violently every year. This global estimate is higher than the ones for the periods 2004–09 and 2007–12. A growing number of people are dying in conflict: while an annual average of 70,000 deaths were recorded in 2007–12, the figure rose to 90,000 in 2010–15. The armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria are responsible for a large proportion of these deaths. The global homicide rate is continuing its decrease, but not enough to offset the increase in conflict deaths in 2010–15. The vast majority (83 per cent) of victims of fatal armed violence lose their lives outside of conflict zones. Direct conflict deaths account for the remaining 17 per cent. The global distribution of violence is becoming increasingly unequal: fewer countries are registering high violent death rates (above 20 per 100,000 population), but their average violent death rates are on the rise. In absolute numbers, more lives were lost to violence in 2015 in large countries that were not experiencing conflict, such as Brazil and India, than in war-torn Syria. The analysis relies on new data from the Small Arms Survey's database on violent deaths. The new data—which includes figures on firearm homicides and female homicide victims—extends through the end of 2015 or the latest available year. The updated database on violent deaths and corresponding interactive maps can be consulted on the Small Arms Survey's website. Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Research Notes, no. 59: Accessed November 7, 2016 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-59.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-59.pdf Shelf Number: 145311 Keywords: Conflict-Related Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Widmer, Mireille Title: Firearms and Violent Deaths Summary: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development explicitly links firearms, violence, and sustainable development (UNGA, 2015). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 includes global commitments to significantly reduce "all forms of violence and related death rates" (Target 16.1) as well as illicit arms flows (Target 16.4) by 2030. In addition, the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators recommends that states provide data on violence-related deaths disaggregated by instrument of violence, among other factors. Measures that target the use, possession, and transfer of firearms - such as dedicated legislation, transfer controls, amnesties, or crackdowns on illicit possession - can help to reduce violent deaths in both conflict and non-conflict settings. Such measures can also assist in curbing non-lethal outcomes, such as the rate of firearm-related injuries, disability, and psychological trauma, on which comprehensive national data is scarce (Alvazzi del Frate and De Martino, 2013). This Research Note analyses trends in firearm-related violent deaths. It presents estimates based on data in the Small Arms Survey's database on violent deaths, which currently covers countries around the world from 2004 to 1 August 2016 and includes both conflict deaths and homicide data sets (Small Arms Survey, n.d.; see Box 1). The Note updates data published in the Global Burden of Armed Violence 2015 (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2015a). It finds that: Globally, firearms were used in an estimated 46 per cent of all violent deaths in 2010-15. Specifically, they were used in 50 per cent of homicides and 32 per cent of conflict deaths. The use of firearms in lethal violence is particularly prevalent in the Americas, as well as Southern Africa and Southern Europe. In most regions, the proportion of violent deaths that involved firearms was fairly stable from 2007-12 to 2010-15, although averages decreased in the Caribbean and increased in Southern Africa. National time-series data reveals differing patterns in Albania and Croatia. In Albania, firearm and non-firearm violent deaths have risen and fallen in parallel, suggesting that they are both influenced by common factors. In Croatia, the rate of firearm homicide decreased by 70 per cent between 2006 and 2013, independently of the rate of non-firearm homicide, which remained relatively stable. Efforts are required Details: Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2016. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Notes No. 60: Accessed November 7, 2016 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-60.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/H-Research_Notes/SAS-Research-Note-60.pdf Shelf Number: 145310 Keywords: Conflict-Related Violence Firearms Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Everytown for Gun Safety Title: Strategies for Reducing Gun Violence in American Cities Summary: Urban gun violence touches on issues central to American life: safety, equality, opportunity, and community. As thousands of city residents are killed or injured with guns each year, mayors and other community leaders face an urgent challenge: finding effective solutions and implementing them to make a difference now and into the future. This report, a collaboration between Everytown for Gun Safety, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and the National Urban League, is a tool for all city leaders who want to reduce gun violence. First, the report summarizes much of what is known about urban gun violence: its causes, the ways it differs from violence in other settings, and the ways it undercuts many other aspects of city life. It is not the intent of this report to explain all the variation in gun violence across cities; instead, it is a primer for cities that want to act today, in spite of uncertainty. Far from presenting novel ideas, it brings together the knowledge of academic researchers, community activists, nonprofit leaders, and civil servants who have been addressing gun violence in cities for decades. Second, the report describes seven strategies that dozens of cities have taken to reduce gun violence in their communities, drawing on specific case studies. The identified interventions address factors known to contribute to urban gun violence, are supported by a growing body of evidence, and can each be a part of any city's larger strategy for reducing gun violence. This is not a comprehensive account of the hard work taking place in communities across the country, the volume of which is impossible to capture, but these case studies demonstrate that cities can learn from one another, building on successes, and informed by a growing body of evidence. Details: New York: Everytown for Gun Safety, 2016. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2016 at: http://everytownresearch.org/documents/2016/06/strategies-reducing-gun-violence-american-cities.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://everytownresearch.org/documents/2016/06/strategies-reducing-gun-violence-american-cities.pdf Shelf Number: 148906 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: Nigeria: 'You Have Signed Your Death Warrant': Torture and other ill treatment in the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) Summary: A Nigerian police unit set up to combat violent crime has instead been systematically torturing detainees in its custody as a means of extracting confessions and lucrative bribes, Amnesty International said in a report published today. In Nigeria: You have signed your death warrant, former detainees told Amnesty International they had been subjected to horrific torture methods, including hanging, starvation, beatings, shootings and mock executions, at the hands of corrupt officers from the feared Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). "A police unit created to protect the people has instead become a danger to society, torturing its victims with complete impunity while fomenting a toxic climate of fear and corruption," said Damian Ugwu, Amnesty International's Nigeria researcher. "Our research has uncovered a pattern of ruthless human rights violations where victims are arrested and tortured until they either make a 'confession' or pay officers a bribe to be released." Amnesty International has received reports from lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists and collected testimonies stating that some police officers in SARS regularly demand bribes, steal and extort money from criminal suspects and their families. "SARS officers are getting rich through their brutality. In Nigeria, it seems that torture is a lucrative business," said Ugwu. SARS detainees are held in a variety of locations, including a grim detention center in Abuja known as the 'Abattoir,' where Amnesty International found 130 detainees living in overcrowded cells. Amnesty International’s research shows that, in addition to its stated remit of tackling violent crime, SARS investigates civil matters and in some cases tortures detainees involved in contractual, business and even non-criminal disputes. Details: London: AI, 2016. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 10, 2016 at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/nigeria_sars_report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/nigeria_sars_report.pdf Shelf Number: 146295 Keywords: Police Corruption Police Misconduct Police Use of Force Torture Violent Crime

Author: Aldred, Joe Title: ' Who is my neighbour?' A Church Response to Social Disorder linked to Gangs, Drugs, Guns and Knives Summary: This report is an expression of our churches' deep concern about negative gang-related social disorder and violent crimes; their effects upon society at large, particularly the young; and the perspectives of the churches on and contributions to finding solutions. The main tools of negative gang activity are drugs, guns, and knives; the use of which has resulted in the maiming and tragic loss of many young lives, long jail sentences for the convicted perpetrators and the destabilisation of urban communities. But this phenomenon does not occur in a vacuum, its causes are complex and are linked to wider social issues.Therefore, this report is interested in the social, economic, political and environmental issues that provide the context within which gang-related social disorder and violent crimes occur. Addressing such complex context requires a holistic approach that considers both causes and effects if we are to uncover a message of faith, hope, and love of neighbour. The report aims to quantify and value the contribution of the churches in addressing gang-related social disorder, reveal gaps in thinking and provision and provide churches with guidelines of good practice. It also aims to identify partnership opportunities to better address the issue. It was commissioned by the Enabling Group of Churches Together in England (CTE)3 and prepared by the Secretary of Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs.4 As a national ecumenical instrument, CTE has a role in helping the Church make an effective contribution to the search for solutions to gang-related social disorder. In commissioning this report CTE recognises that although this issue is sometimes presented as a 'Black problem', gang-related disorder is a challenge of national proportions impacting all communities, particularly urban communities. One contributor to our discussions pointed out that "this need for information and for strategic intervention represents a massive opportunity for CTE in the context of national programs." Churches and Christian-led initiatives are already playing crucial roles in addressing these difficult issues; however, to date, there has been no national scoping of what is currently being done. During the preparation of this report Premier Radio published 'Church Consultation on Violent Crime' in association with the Metropolitan Black Police Association. Gang-related crime is of growing national concern. Last year street violence claimed the lives of 26 teenagers in London. Recent research published by NCH, the children's charity, shows that as many as 29% of young people are affected by gun and knife crime and 36% are worried about gangs in their area. The paper calls for greater recognition of the extent to which young people are the victims of crime; improvements in their access to structured activities each week; young people to have a say in shaping their local communities; and the safeguarding of services that engage the most vulnerable young people and communities through ustainable funding.The publication of 'Who is my neighbour?' comes at a time of heightened awareness of the need to give young people a voice and greater prominence in planning and funding at both local and national levels. Details: London: Churches Together in England, 2008. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 11, 2016 at: http://www.cte.org.uk/Groups/236211/Home/Resources/Pentecostal_and_Multicultural/Who_is_my/Who_is_my.aspx Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cte.org.uk/Groups/236211/Home/Resources/Pentecostal_and_Multicultural/Who_is_my/Who_is_my.aspx Shelf Number: 147319 Keywords: Churches Gang-Related Violence Gangs Gun-Related Violence Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Gliga, Teodora Title: The 'Knife Crime' phenomenon -- A psychological perspective on youth knife culture Summary: • Many young people carry knives not with the deliberate intention to harm, but to protect themselves or to gain respect from peers. It is important to decrease fear of crime and give young people alternative strategies to build self-esteem. • Although it is not possible to predict whether and when an individual will commit a violent crime, research into the psychology of violent behaviour has uncovered those individual and social factors that increase the likelihood of a violent act. • "Norms of behaviour" are acquired through social learning from family or peers. These norms can lead to automatic behaviour choices: when aggressed, retaliation is the only response that comes to mind. • Adolescence, a period of increased sensitivity to peer pressure, heightened interest in risk taking and decreased sensitivity to punishment, adds to the risk of getting involved in violent conflicts. • To work on the adolescent brain, deterrent and corrective measures should be built on positive feedback for good behaviour instead of negative feedback for bad behaviour. • Certainty of punishment and not the harshness of punishment deters young people from crime. • To decrease recidivism custodial punishment must be accompanied by appropriate, long term, psychological and social interventions. It is possible to change a young person's social environment, or give them the cognitive tools to diminish the impact of a negative social environment. • To increase efficiency all interventions should be designed based on scientific theories and evidence. Where possible, their impact should be evaluated using golden-standard statistical methods (i.e. randomized controlled trials). Details: London: BPS Parliamentary Office, 2009. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2016 at: http://www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk/people/scientificstaff/teodora/knifecrimereport.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.cbcd.bbk.ac.uk/people/scientificstaff/teodora/knifecrimereport.pdf Shelf Number: 141113 Keywords: Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime

Author: Walsh, Mark Title: Knife Crime: The Reality and Its Implications Summary: In recent years, 'knife crime' has become a highly politicized 'signal crime' (Innes, 2004), with some even suggesting that the media fervor has primed us for a new 'moral panic' (see discussions in Squires, 2009; Squires and Kennison, 2010). While a series of high-profile stabbings have necessitated a governmental response1, the problem, as noted by Eades et. al., remains that "'it is not always entirely clear what it actually is or what they actually mean when they use the term. 'Knife crime' potentially encompasses a very broad range of offences and thus causes problems in both the definition and determination of its prevalence...Whatever the meaning, the public and political debate about 'knife crime' would benefit from both an attempt to define what is actually meant by the term and a more careful, and less sensational, use of it" (2007: 9) This report is intended to address the concerns. Its purpose is to inform the public and political debate on this topic by providing a synthesis of statistical data, pertinent legislation and relevant academic scholarship in order to define the nature, extent, motivations for and causes of knife crime in the United Kingdom. Building off this foundation, it will then engage in a critical examination of current and potential strategies, concluding that the solution lies in developing a multi-faceted, strategic, proactive approach that addresses the systemic causes of youth violence rather than a reactive, enforcement approach. Details: London: Kiyan Prince Foundation, 2011. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2016 at: http://www.kiyan.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/Knife-Crime-The-Reality-and-Its-Implications4.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.kiyan.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/Knife-Crime-The-Reality-and-Its-Implications4.pdf Shelf Number: 141115 Keywords: Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime

Author: Braga, Anthony A. Title: The Police and Public Discourse on "Black-on-Black" Violence Summary: Research has long documented that most violence occurs within racial groups and that black Americans - often victimized by black offenders - experience disproportionately high levels of violent crime. The authors argue that the term "black-on-black" violence, while statistically correct, is a simplistic and emotionally-charged definition of urban violence that can be problematic when used by political commentators, politicians, and police executives. Because the police represent the most visible face of government and have primary responsibility for maintaining public safety in all neighborhoods, Braga and Brunson contend that police executives in particular should avoid framing urban violence problems in this way. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School, Program on Criminal Justice Policy and Management, 2015. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: New Perspectives in Policing: Accessed November 14, 2016 at: http://www.nccpsafety.org/assets/files/library/The_Police_and_Public_Discourse_on_Black-on-Black_Violence.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.nccpsafety.org/assets/files/library/The_Police_and_Public_Discourse_on_Black-on-Black_Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 146645 Keywords: Minorities and Crime Urban Areas and Crime Urban Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Lam, Rita Lai Man Title: Influence of Weapon Types on the Patterns and Outcomes of Violent Encounters Summary: In collaboration with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), this study aims to improve the knowledge about the structuring effect of firearms on criminal violence. This study first identifies factors associated with firearms use in violent crimes and second, estimates the risk of fatal and non-fatal injuries associated with gun use. Data used in the present study come from the Module d'information policière (MIP), for the period of 2011 to 2012. Data were analyzed using a two-step strategy. First, logistic regressions were conducted to pinpoint factors associated with firearm use in violent crime. Second, estimates of the average treatment effect were computed using the propensity score matching (PSM) technique. PSM is an innovative statistical strategy that attempts to reproduce conditions of controlled experiments when cases were not randomized in the first place. In general, results show that firearms are more frequently used in gang-related crimes where individuals attack relatively non-vulnerable targets (young males accompanied by other persons). Despite these characteristics, firearm use increases the risk of fatal injuries in violent altercations, but lessens the risk of non-fatal injuries, among other things, in the case of robberies. Findings establish that firearms facilitate the perpetration of violent crimes, even in the hands of the strongest offenders. Results also suggest that other weapons are poor substitutes for firearms. Although the findings cannot fully corroborate firearms as the great equalizer, these weapons do confer several advantages to their user(s). Firearms also appear to be a sufficient threat in the case of robberies, where additional injuries are not necessary to successfully commit the crime. Details: [Montréal] : Université de Montréal, Faculté des arts et des sciences, École de criminologie, 2013. 119p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2016 at: https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1866/11243/Lam_Rita_Lai_Man_2013_rapportdestage.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2013 Country: Canada URL: https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1866/11243/Lam_Rita_Lai_Man_2013_rapportdestage.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 147317 Keywords: Gun-Related Violence Guns Homicides Violent Crime Weapons and Firearms

Author: Tamayo, Adrian Title: Determining Statistical Pattern on the Drug-Related Killing in Philippines Using ARIMA and Poisson Techniques Summary: A univariate time series technique was conducted to determine statistical pattern on killings of drug suspects in Philippines from May 19 to July 7, 2016. The technique reveal a moving average of order 2, MA(2) with a positive coefficient suggestive that value of outcome variable x tend to increase, on the average, than the recent value of x . This means that drug-related killings will tend to be higher than the most current rate; and killings is seen to increase as weekend comes. Poisson regression indicated an average of 13 deaths on a Sunday; only 2 on Monday average; odds of survival increases as well as weekend comes. Finally, the forecast model and the simulation are limited by the data used. Structure of the univariate series may change as additional data are added; this is also true for the forecasted average occurrence. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA), 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 71528: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/72518/1/MPRA_paper_72518.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Philippines URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/72518/1/MPRA_paper_72518.pdf Shelf Number: 147848 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Dudley, Steven Title: Violence Against Migrants Summary: Mexico and Central America have emerged as one of the most dangerous areas on the planet outside of active war zones. The region is currently confronting unprecedented security challenges from street gangs, the growing presence of sophisticated criminal organizations and endemic corruption at all levels of law enforcement and government. These challenges are not new, but they are growing in intensity and visibility. As the risks to human security increase, so does the vulnerability of migrants who cross the region moving northward toward the United States. The dangers have become particularly vivid in Mexico, where unknown numbers of Mexican, Central American, and South American migrants have been killed or gone missing, presumably at the hands of criminal actors or corrupt public officials. Many more are victims of extortion, rape, and other crimes. The homicide rate in Central America stands at just over 40 per 100,000 residents — more than twice the homicide rate in Mexico (18 per 100,000 residents), a country that receives considerably more international media attention for high levels of crime and violence. Most of the homicides in Central America are concentrated in the Northern Triangle countries — Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras — where murder rates average 58 per 100,000 residents (See Figure 1). By comparison, in the United States the homicide rate peaked at 10 per 100,000 residents in 1980 and currently stands around 5 per 100,000. The aggregate national statistics, however, hide substantial variation within nations. In the District of Columbia (Washington, DC), the homicide rate peaked at 81 per 100,000 residents in 1991 and in 2010 stood around 22 per 100,000 — higher than in Mexico City, where the murder rate was about 14 per 100,000 in 2010. High levels of violence in certain areas — in Mexico's case, in the border regions — skew national statistics upward. In both Mexico and Central America, criminal groups seem to have overwhelmed the undermanned public security forces. Controlling illicit activity in rural and border areas, where migrants often cross, is particularly challenging. For instance, Olancho, a Honduran department (similar to a state or province), has about 250 police officers to cover an area roughly the size of El Salvador and larger than the country of Belgium or the US state of Maryland.1 In 2011, the Guatemalan government recently ordered 800 soldiers, including 300 members of the country's elite Kaibil forces that specialize in jungle warfare and counterinsurgency, to reinforce local police in the remote Peten province that borders Mexico. Corruption of public security forces —in some instances at high levels — further complicates these challenges. Details: s.l.: InSight Crime, 2010. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/Violence_Against_Migrants.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: http://www.insightcrime.org/images/PDFs/2016/Violence_Against_Migrants.pdf Shelf Number: 147902 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Homicides Migrants Violent Crime

Author: Schwartz, Amy Ellen Title: The Academic Effects of Chronic Exposure to Neighborhood Violence Summary: We estimate the causal effect of repeated exposure to violent crime on test scores in New York City. We use two distinct empirical strategies; value-added models linking student performance on standardized exams to violent crimes on a student's residential block, and a regression discontinuity approach that identifies the acute effect of an additional crime exposure within a one-week window. Exposure to violent crime reduces academic performance. Value added models suggest the average effect is very small; approximately -0.01 standard deviations in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. RD models suggest a larger effect, particularly among children previously exposed. The marginal acute effect is as large as -0.04 standard deviations for students with two or more prior exposures. Among these, it is even larger for black students, almost a 10th of a standard deviation. We provide credible causal evidence that repeated exposure to neighborhood violence harms test scores, and this negative effect increases with exposure. Details: Syracuse, NY: Center for Policy Research, the Maxwell School, 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series, no. 195: Accessed November 28, 2016 at: https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/cpr/publications/working_papers2/wp195.pdf#page=3 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/cpr/publications/working_papers2/wp195.pdf#page=3 Shelf Number: 147916 Keywords: Children and Violence Exposure to Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Huff, Amber Title: Violence and Violence Reduction Efforts in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Ivory Coast: Insights and Lessons towards Achieving SDG 16 Summary: The 2011 World Development Report on Conflict, Security and Development states that, ‘repeated cycles of organized criminal violence and civil conflict that threaten development locally and regionally and are responsible for much of the global deficit in meeting the Millennium Development Goals’ (World Bank 2011: 46). As a result, peace and security emerged as a ‘core concern’ in the development of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda (Werner 2015: 348), and a remarkable high-level consensus has emerged on the basic elements of an approach to reduce violence across contexts. These include: (1) the need to create legitimate institutions, often through efforts to craft political settlements; (2) strengthening access to justice; (3) extending economic opportunities and employment, especially for young people; and (4) fostering societal resilience, through institutions as well as by considering the sustainability of interventions (Lind, Mitchell and Rohwerder 2016). Flowing from these ideas, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 aims to 'promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels' by meeting targets that range from reduction of violence and related death rates everywhere, to reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms, ending all forms of legal discrimination and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions (UNDP 2016a). Details: Brighton, UK:: Institute of Development Studies, 2016. 95p. Source: Internet Resource: Addressing and Mitigating Violence, Evidence Report No. 210: Accessed December 2, 2016 at: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12656/ER210_ViolenceandViolenceReductionEffortsinKenyaUgandaGhanaandIvoryCoast.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: Africa URL: https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/12656/ER210_ViolenceandViolenceReductionEffortsinKenyaUgandaGhanaandIvoryCoast.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 147957 Keywords: Bribery Conflict-Related Violence Corruption Homicides Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Australian Institute of Criminology Title: Improving lighting to prevent non-domestic violence related assault. Handbook for local government Summary: This handbook forms part of a series of guides to help local governments in New South Wales implement evidence-based crime prevention strategies funded by the Department of Justice (DJ) Crime Prevention Programs (CPP). This handbook has been developed to help guide you through the various stages of planning, implementing and evaluating an improved lighting strategy to reduce non-domestic violence related assault (NDVRA) in your local government area. Using the handbook The handbook provides an overview of the key steps that are involved in delivering an improved lighting strategy to reduce NDVRA. These steps are classified under the following three stages: Stage 1: Planning Stage 2: Implementation; and Stage 3: Review. These steps do not necessarily need to be undertaken in order. You may undertake some steps concurrently, or you may need to go back and revisit earlier steps. However, it is vital that some steps be undertaken early on in the project, such as consulting stakeholders and planning for evaluation. The successful implementation of a strategy to prevent NDVRA will often be heavily influenced by the characteristics of the local community. This needs to be considered throughout the project. Details: Canberra: AIC, 2016. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 6, 2016 at: http://www.crimeprevention.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Councils-Handbooks/assault_lighting_handbook.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.crimeprevention.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Councils-Handbooks/assault_lighting_handbook.pdf Shelf Number: 140314 Keywords: Assaults Crime Prevention Evidence-Based Programs Lighting Situational Crime Prevention Violence Violent Crime

Author: Beraldo, Sergio Title: Life is now! Time Preferences and Crime: Aggregate Evidence from the Italian Regions. Summary: This paper tests the relationship between time preferences and crime rates as posited by Davis (1988), whose theoretical analysis suggests that individuals' attitude towards the future significantly affects their propensity to commit crime. Our empirical analysis is based on a panel of Italian regions from 2003 to 2007. Various proxies for time preferences are considered: the consumer credit share out of the total amount of loans to households, the share of obese individuals out of the total population, the rate of marriages out of the total population, and the teenage pregnancy rate. Controlling for a great number of factors suggested by the scientific literature on the determinants of crime, adding to the model also time and regional fixed effects, and clustering standard errors to account for both serial and panel correlations, our results basically provide support to the 'Davis' hypothesis' for property crimes, while for violent crimes there seems to be less evidence that these are higher where people discount the future more heavily. Moreover, there is no evidence of a reverse effect from crime to time preferences at this aggregate level. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2013. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 49865: Accessed December 7, 2016 at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/49865/1/MPRA_paper_49865.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Italy URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/49865/1/MPRA_paper_49865.pdf Shelf Number: 147947 Keywords: Property Crime Violent Crime

Author: Capellan, Joel A. Title: Looking Upstream: A Sociological Investigation of Mass Public Shootings Summary: In the last 40 years, social scientists have provided important insights into the different characteristics of mass public shootings: their prevalence, types, patterns, and individual risk factors. However, we still lack a fundamental understanding of the processes that shape its incidence and spatial distribution. Our failure to tap into these dynamics is rooted in our inability to escape the dominant paradigm in which this phenomenon has been examined. Literature on mass murders, and most recently on mass public shootings, has been trapped by an analytical framework that cares only for individual risk factors. This paradigm is myopic because it assumes that only the proximate causes (i.e., factors and events closest to the attack) shape the prevalence and distribution of such attacks. The goal of this study is to step away from this paradigm and recast these shootings as a social phenomenon, shaped by social forces. This investigation is couched on three major Sociological/Criminological theoretical perspectives: social integration, social disorganization, and imitation/diffusion theories. Under social integration/social disorganization theory, I posit that certain ecological characteristics (primarily low social cohesion) make certain populations more at risk or vulnerable to these types of massacres. Similarly, I argue that an imitation or diffusion process, driven primarily by media exposure, also shapes the incidence and spatial distribution of these attacks. A Continuous-time Event History Model (or Hazard/Survival Model) is used to test the influence of social integration and imitation/diffusion forces on the prevalence of mass public shootings in the contiguous United States for the 1970-2014 time period. The results paint a mixed, but rather interesting picture. From the theoretical perspective findings are mixed. Imitation/diffusion and social disorganization theory were not supported by the results. Durkheim’s social integration theory was the most successful, but also partially supported. Despite these mixed findings, the results provide unexpected and interesting insights into the social causes of mass public shootings. The findings show that (contrary to expectations) the occurrence of a mass public shooting was found to depress the odds of future attacks. We also learned that mass public shootings tend occur in states that are more rural, with greater levels of marriage stability, and social-economic status. These are quite unique findings, as these relationships tend to be reversed for regular homicide. The results suggest that mass public shootings behave more like suicide, than regular homicide. This study is the first to provide insights into the sociological roots of mass public shootings. As such, the results provide a springboard for the future literature. Details: New York: City University of New York, 2016. 154p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed December 9, 2016 at: http://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2455&context=gc_etds Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2455&context=gc_etds Shelf Number: 140376 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Mass Homicides Mass Shootings Violent Crime

Author: Kabia, Victor Sylvester Title: The Relationship Between Increased Police Patrols and Violent Crime Rates in Seven United States Cities Summary: Large, metropolitan areas across the nation have experienced high rates of violent crime over the past 2 decades. As a consequence, law enforcement agencies have increased patrol efforts, but little is known about whether the decrease in violent crime rates was correlated to increased police patrols or to the economic variables of unemployment, inflation, level of education, unemployment compensation, and home-ownership. The purpose of this non-experimental, correlational study was to examine the nature of the relationship between increased police patrols, the 5 economic variables, and violent crime rates in 7 large US cities for a 10-year period. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Paternoster's deterrence theory and Becker's economic theory of crime causation. Data were acquired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and used a sample of 114 cases of reported violent crimes for each city included in the study for the years 2000 – 2010 (n = 798). A multiple regression analysis was initially performed with inconclusive results. Spearman's correlations between each of the independent and dependent variables of violent crime indicated that all the independent variables except for home-ownership had statistically significant inverse correlations with violent crime rates. The findings of this study may be used by law enforcement agencies and policy makers to develop crime prevention interventions that address those economic factors associated with violent crime, thereby promoting positive social change through creating safer communities. Details: Minneapolis, MN: Walden University, 2016. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed December 10, 2016 at: http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3420&context=dissertations Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3420&context=dissertations Shelf Number: 146044 Keywords: Communities and Crime Crime Rates Police Effectiveness Police Patrols Socioeconomic conditions and Crime Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Sierra-Arevalo, Michael Title: Legal cynicism and protective gun ownership among active offenders in Chicago Summary: Most American gun owners report having their firearms for protection. However, these national estimates are likely to under-sample residents of marginalized urban communities where rates of violent victimization, and presumably the need for personal protection, are more pronounced. Further, this under-sampling limits our understanding of motivations for gun ownership within the "hidden" group of active criminal offenders that are more likely to be both victims and offenders of street crime. Drawing on past work linking neighborhood violence to legal cynicism, and using data gathered by the Chicago Gun Project (CGP), I employ measures of police legitimacy to explore the effect of distrust of legal agents on protective gun ownership among active offenders in Chicago. These data confirm that lower levels of police legitimacy are significantly related to a higher probability of acquiring a firearm for protection. I consider the ways that gang membership, legal changes in Chicago, and gun behaviors are related to protective gun ownership, as well as how community policing and procedural justice can improve perceptions of police and enhance their legitimacy, potentially reducing the incentives to engage in violent, extralegal "self-help" with a firearm. Details: New Haven, CT: Yale University, Institution for Social and Policy Studies, 2016. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Cogent Social Sciences 2: 1227293: Accessed December 23, 2016 at: http://isps.yale.edu/sites/default/files/publication/2016/09/cogentsocialsciences_2016_sierra-arevalo_legal_cynicism_and_protective_gun_ownership_among_active_offenders_in_chicago.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://isps.yale.edu/sites/default/files/publication/2016/09/cogentsocialsciences_2016_sierra-arevalo_legal_cynicism_and_protective_gun_ownership_among_active_offenders_in_chicago.pdf Shelf Number: 146155 Keywords: Gun Ownership Gun-Related Violence Police Legitimacy Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Loeffler, Charles Title: Is Gun Violence Contagious? Summary: Existing theories of gun violence predict stable spatial concentrations and contagious diffusion of gun violence into surrounding areas. Recent empirical studies have reported confirmatory evidence of such spatiotemporal diffusion of gun violence. However, existing tests cannot readily distinguish spatiotemporal clustering from spatiotemporal diffusion. This leaves as an open question whether gun violence actually is contagious or merely clusters in space and time. Compounding this problem, gun violence is subject to considerable measurement error with many nonfatal shootings going unreported to police. Using point process data from an acoustical gunshot locator system and a combination of Bayesian spatiotemporal point process modeling and space/time interaction tests, this paper demonstrates that contemporary urban gun violence does diffuse, but only slightly, suggesting that a disease model for infectious spread of gun violence is a poor fit for the geographically stable and temporally stochastic process observed. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 23, 2016 at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.06713v1.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.06713v1.pdf Shelf Number: 144812 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Violence, Crime and Illegal Arms Trafficking in Colombia Summary: Colombia has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Most of those killings involve firearms. What is the relationship between violence, crime and arms trafficking in Colombia? This report aims to find out. The biggest problem is that in parts of Colombia, the State does not have a monopoly on the use of force. Highly organized criminal structures such as drug trafficking mafias and paramilitary groups are well-armed and dangerous. There are many private security companies, some of which use illegal weapons. Most Colombians who die from bullets do not die through indiscriminate violence. Rather, firearms are being used in the “professional” exercise of violence. The Government therefore has a major challenge to disarm such groups and reduce violence. It also needs to strengthen gun control by increasing penalties for arms trafficking and the illegal carrying of arms. Furthermore it needs to cut the supply of weapons by stopping the illicit trafficking in firearms. As demonstrated in this report, this is a trans-border issue. Weapons and ammunition are being smuggled into Colombia, very often in return for drugs. Regional cooperation and improved border control are essential to cut the links between drug trafficking, organized crime and insurgency. Colombia deserves praise for its regional and international efforts to regulate and control small arms and light weapons. It understands from its bitter experience the need to reduce arms trafficking and that international cooperation, particularly with neighbouring States, is vital. More countriesshould learn from Colombia’s experience. Since 2005 the world has had a powerful instrument against the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, namely a Protocol which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Ratification of this protocol is shamefully slow considering the seriousness of the threat posed by illegal weapons. Preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit manufacture and trafficking in firearmsis not an impossible dream. Whereas in the past people have talked about the importance of beating swords into ploughshares, some inspired Colombians are showing the world that you can turn guns into guitars. Colombian musician and peace activist Cesar Lopez has builtseveral "escopetarra" – part rifle (escopeta) and part guitar (guitarra). With more activistslike Mr. Lopez, greater domestic gun control and greater regional and global cooperation, Colombia and the rest of the world will have less guns and more guitars. Details: Bogota: UNODC, 2006. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2017 at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/Colombia_Dec06_en.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Colombia URL: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/Colombia_Dec06_en.pdf Shelf Number: 144925 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gun-Related Violence Homicides Organized Crime Trafficking in Weapons Violent Crime

Author: Police Foundation Title: Reducing Violent Crime in American Cities: An Opportunity to Lead. Summary: On the national level, crime remains historically low. However, this national aggregate paints a deceiving picture of crime in many major cities. Individual cities experienced grim spikes in violent crime from 2014 to 2015 and through 2016 as well. As such, defining violent crime levels based solely on the national aggregates and distributing federal resources accordingly does not address local realities. The national statistics do not depict the suffering endured by families and individuals living in communities plagued by violence, nor do they depict the frustration felt by local law enforcement leaders who often are seen as responsible officials in their communities. Unfortunately for these leaders and the communities they serve, the federal support actually received to help combat violent crime is often calculated based on national statistics and the perspective of decision-makers in Washington, D.C. At the federal level, law enforcement agencies are tasked with a variety of missions and often cannot or do not prioritize localized violent crime over enforcing other laws and addressing other priorities. The mixture of varied prioritization, flat or reduced funding, traditional approaches, and limited authorities stifles an effective federal response despite the best intentions, hard work, and bravery of federal special agents, investigators, professional staff, and their agencies. Chapter 1 of this report provides a contextual overview and supporting data on the spike in localized violent crime in major cities, a review of the major drivers of crime, and an assertion that federal support is critical. Because collection and aggregation of crime data is disparate in police departments across the country, the extent of the increase in violent crime is difficult to specify. However, one important indicator is that the 2015 Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) data1 show an increase in all violent crime types from 2014 to 2015. In addition, a survey of major city police chiefs ranked gang violence (87.8%), drug-related disputes (79.6%), and access to illegal firearms (71.4%) as the top drivers of violent crime. The chapter asserts that despite the generally low levels of crime throughout the nation, the federal government must continue to prioritize violent crime and public safety concerns and focus its attention on local public safety crises, as a number of jurisdictions across the country live in a constant state of fear. What is required from federal agencies, is leadership in propelling an agenda in which violent crime is both a budgetary and policy priority and in addressing problems with evidence-based solutions. Chapter 2 reviews broad federal law enforcement priorities, roles, resources, and accountability in the context of the nation’s fight against violent crime. A Police Foundation study found that while local law enforcement receives federal resources, many of these resources are allocated according to factors other than what is affecting local communities. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) characterizes violent crime as its eighth priority, well behind its number one priority of fighting terrorism. Moreover, no federal agency prioritizes violent crime as its most important issue. Accordingly, the new Administration and Congress must make violent crime, and the federal government’s interest in violent crime, a top priority and be willing to dedicate the resources needed to assist in places where public safety is jeopardized. Major city chiefs interviewed stressed the need for better partnerships in combatting violent crime. Federal policy leaders must work with local law enforcement to improve federal support to fight violent crime. Using the latest crime data, federal, state, and local partnerships, based on shared decision-making and coproduction of public safety, is critical. Chapter 3 provides a detailed examination of the tools that federal law enforcement agencies provide to support those on the state and local levels to address violent crime. The data presented provides an overview of federal initiatives, tools, and roles that have shown evidence of sustainable success in reducing violent crime. Major city police chiefs provided information on federal law enforcement agencies, programs, and tools that have assisted them and stated that the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) show the most interest in prioritizing violent crime. They also found federal support through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and the National Tracing Center (NTC) to be the most useful tools. Chapter 4 reviews the importance of U.S. Attorneys in fighting violent crime. It provides information indicating that police chiefs consider the support of U.S. Attorneys to be critical in fighting localized violent crime. Acting as the chief federal law enforcement officer in each judicial district, U.S. Attorneys must act as chief conveners to lead strategic collaborations that build strong federal cases that will impact localized violent crime. This chapter also stresses that the fight against violent crime and criminal justice reform are not mutually exclusive. Chapter 5 provides a detailed review of the impact of firearms availability on violent crime in the U.S. Law enforcement executives expressed their concerns that the most significant threat to the Second Amendment is the misuse of firearms and the ability of criminals to access them. Gun trafficking, illegal gun markets, theft, and illegal diversion are important issues that have not been addressed sufficiently. Legislation and federal tools available to regulate illegal gun markets and keep guns out of the hands of those looking to cause harm are inadequate. Background checks, for example, should be retooled and strengthened, and laws that restrict the effectiveness of federal law enforcement in enforcing them should be eliminated. This report is not intended as a criticism of any previous Presidential Administration, its leaders or appointees, or of the hardworking, professional men and women in federal law enforcement agencies, many of whom began their careers as state or local law enforcement officers. Instead, this report looks toward the new Administration, which has an opportunity to leverage the lessons of the past and lead a legacy of change for the future. In doing so, it will have the opportunity to set forth a new strategy to keep national crime rates at historically low levels while reducing disparate impacts in our major cities and elsewhere. The recommendations in this report create an overarching, new strategy to understand and address violence in today’s cities. They include prioritization and non-traditional approaches, openness and sharing of data, expansion of available technologies, and calls for immediate Congressional and Executive Branch action. The recommendations presented in this report echo similar concerns expressed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors where New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu presented information regarding a forthcoming report, entitled Securing America, to the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) at its October 2016 meeting. The MCCA members expressed substantial concurrence with the forthcoming report. Details: Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 2017. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2017 at: https://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PF-MCCA_Reducing-Violent-Crime-in-American-Cities_FullReport_RGB.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.policefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PF-MCCA_Reducing-Violent-Crime-in-American-Cities_FullReport_RGB.pdf Shelf Number: 144883 Keywords: Crime Prevention Evidence-Based Practices Gun-Related Violence Intelligence Gathering Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: Bringing Human Rights Home. Chicago and Illinois: Gun Violence Summary: Gun violence is a widespread problem across the United States. Each year, more than 11,000 people are killed as a result of someone pulling a trigger. Gun violence impacts a range of human rights from the right to life; security of the person; to the rights to education; freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination. The reasons for gun violence in Chicago are complex. Poverty, unemployment, lack of access to education, and the fragmentation of gangs across the city are some of the factors that play a role in the violence. Also, the recent decision to close nearly 50 public schools has put thousands of children going to school at risk of violence or death. All states have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights, including the right to life and security of the person, and have a duty to take positive measures to prevent acts of violence and unlawful killings. Gun Violence in Chicago In 2013, 414 people were killed in Chicago; with more than 80 percent of those deaths attributed to gun violence. While amounting to an 18 percent decrease from 2012, which saw a total of 506 homicides that year, Chicago had the highest number of homicides across the country in 2013. Chicago's homicide rate is alarmingly elevated, especially compared with other big cities like Los Angeles and New York. For instance, New York City has three times the population of Chicago, and had 333 murders in 2013. Los Angeles, with over a million more people than Chicago, had 255 murders in 2013. Seventy-five percent of Chicago's gun-death victims in 2012 were African- American or Latino. Violence affects everyone in Chicago, but it is particularly devastating for the City's youth who are so often the perpetrators and victims of violence. From 2008-2012, almost half of Chicago's 2,389 homicide victims were killed before their 25th birthdays. While an alarming number of young people in Chicago have been killed in gun attacks, many more are exposed to gun violence on a regular basis. While 414 people were killed in 2013, there were a total of 1,864 shootings in the city which resulted in 2,328 gunshot survivors. There were an additional 10,343 crimes committed with a handgun or firearm in Chicago during 2013. Studies have shown that children who are exposed to violence suffer increased rates of depression, aggression, delinquency, and poor school performance. Chicago's homicides have taken place mostly in neighborhoods in the west and south of the city. Gun crime in Chicago is most prevalent in communities with high rates of poverty and unemployment. The City of Chicago as a whole has an extreme poverty rate of nearly 10 percent, with more than 260,000 households living in extreme poverty (i.e. $10,000 or less for a family of three in 2012). The high school graduation rate for black males in Chicago is 39 per cent and a staggering 92 per cent of all black males aged 16-19 were unemployed in 2012. These issues are also human rights issues: the right to a living wage; affordable housing; equal access to education and health care, including mental health care, are human rights. Details: New York: Amnesty International USA, 2014. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2017 at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/bringinghumanrightshome_gunviolence.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/bringinghumanrightshome_gunviolence.pdf Shelf Number: 144882 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Beall, Jo Title: PD4: mitigating conflict and violence in Africa's rapidly growing cities Summary: Over the past 50 years, the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa has expanded at a historically unprecedented rate. Although there is little evidence that urbanisation increases the likelihood of conflict or violence in a country, Africa’s urban transition has occurred in a context of economic stagnation and poor governance, producing conditions conducive to social unrest and violence. In order to improve urban security in the years ahead the underlying risk factors must be addressed, including urban poverty, inequality and fragile political institutions. This, in turn, requires improving urban governance in the region, including strengthening the capacity of local government institutions, addressing the complex political dynamics that impede effective urban planning and management, and cultivating integrated development strategies that involve cooperation between various tiers and spheres of government and civil society. Details: London: Government Office for Science, 2011. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 30, 2017 at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/41855/1/pd4-mitigating-conflict-in-africas-cities.pdf%28lsero%29.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Africa URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/41855/1/pd4-mitigating-conflict-in-africas-cities.pdf%28lsero%29.pdf Shelf Number: 146246 Keywords: Conflict Violence Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Irwin-Rogers, Keir Title: Social Media as a Catalyst and Trigger for Youth Violence Summary: Social media now plays a central role in the lives of young people in the UK, with the vast majority of teenagers using smartphones and tablets to access online platforms throughout their waking hours. The integration of social media into the daily lives of young people has left online - offline boundaries increasingly blurred. Whilst online activity offers huge potential to enhance the quantity and quality of communication between people across the world, it also raises some serious challenges. This report focuses on one of these challenges, namely, the links between young people's use of social media and youth violence. Whilst social media platforms are being used to glamorise, display and incite serious acts of violence, this content currently drifts under the radar of responsible adults and organisations which have the potential to respond to and challenge this behaviour. The report makes for uncomfortable reading, particularly for those who work with young people and recognise the daily challenges that many face. The attitudes and behaviour of the young people discussed in this report must be viewed within the wider social and economic context of their lives. Many will have grown up in areas of socioeconomic deprivation, may be struggling to cope with serious issues around trauma stemming from early childhood experiences and are therefore exhibiting attitudes and behaviours that are tragically understandable when considered in this context. All of the findings presented in this report are intended to be read in light of the above. By highlighting the ways in which social media is acting as a catalyst and trigger for serious incidents of violence between young people in real life, the report provides a springboard for action and collaborative exchanges between a full range of stakeholders as we move forward. It identifies a number of measures aimed at preventing young people harming, and being harmed by, other young people as a result of activity on social media. Its recommendations, however, should not be taken as a fixed blueprint, but as a means of kick-starting the development of appropriate and effective policy and practice in this area. 1.1 Key findings - No holds barred online: Because social media is commonly perceived to be hidden from adults, a virtual free-for-all space has emerged in which a small minority of young people share various forms of material that both display and incite serious incidents of violence in real life. - Impact of the smartphone: Whilst some of the online activities discussed in this report have been occurring for several years, they now pose far greater challenges because of the recent developments in smartphone technology, which have radically altered both the nature and prevalence of young people's use of social media. - Growing audience: By collapsing time and space, social media platforms are providing young people with unprecedented opportunities to disrespect one another. Before the advent of these platforms, incidents of violence, disrespect and provocation were typically confined to relatively small audiences, as well as a single location and point in time. Now, however, visceral displays of violence and disrespect are being captured via photographs and videos, and may be replayed at any time as the content spreads virally over multiple platforms. In addition, the enhanced audience size facilitated by social media makes violent retaliation more likely because of the unprecedented potential for disrespectful online activity to undermine young people's perceived status and reputation. - Threats and provocation in music videos: Young people and professionals reported concerns around what they referred to as drill music videos, which threaten and provoke individuals and groups from rival areas. A clear distinction must be made between the vast majority of music videos that simply provide a raw reflection of the realities of young people's lives (content that does not provoke real-life violence), and a much smaller number of videos that go well beyond this, through displays of young people brandishing weapons, incendiary remarks about recent incidents of young people being seriously injured and killed, and explicit threats to stab or shoot specific individuals and members of rival groups. - Violent intent is the exception rather than the norm: It is important to highlight that the vast majority of young people do not want to live the violent and risky lifestyles that are being glamorised in drill music videos. Many attempt to launch careers as music artists as a means of escaping life 'on road'. In addition, these videos should not be seen as a root cause of youth violence. According to young people and professionals, however, they are acting as a catalyst and trigger for serious incidents of face-to-face violence between young people. - Daily exposure to online violence: A small minority of young people are exposed daily to social media content that displays or incites serious violence in real life. This includes uploads of photos and videos of individuals and groups trespassing into areas associated with rival groups, and serious incidents of theft and violence perpetrated against young people. Some of the latter are being taken within prison settings 5 and broadcast live over social media by prisoners with access to smartphones. Some social media accounts are dedicated entirely to archiving and sharing material that displays young people being seriously harmed, disrespected and humiliated. - Social pressures: When young people are disrespected by content uploaded to social media, this can generate significant social pressure to retaliate in real life to protect their perceived status and reputation. Moreover, when young people witness graphic displays of real-life violence involving their friends and family, this can leave them suffering from significant levels of anxiety and trauma. Those who initially upload the content disrespecting a particular individual or group become prone to retaliatory acts of serious violence and theft, which in turn are often recorded and broadcast over social media, creating a vicious cycle of retaliation. - Vulnerability of young women: Professionals and young people reported cases of girls being violently attacked and sexually assaulted by members of rival groups after appearing in content uploaded online. In addition, professionals described cases in which young women who commented on content uploaded to social media were subsequently groomed and pressured into risky activities such as holding and storing weapons or drugs. - Negative implications for education and employment: The social media accounts of some people who self-identify as being part of a street gang are being followed by tens of thousands of young people. This continuous lens into a seemingly seductive and lucrative lifestyle that glamorises violence and the pursuit of money through illegal activities such as drug distribution further undermines the commitment of some young people to education and legitimate forms of employment. Details: London: Catch22, 2017. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 6, 2017 at: http://eugangs.eu/pdf/05012017/Catch22-Report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eugangs.eu/pdf/05012017/Catch22-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 146029 Keywords: Media Violence Online Victimization Smartphones Social Media Violence Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Chioda, Laura Title: Stop the Violence in Latin America: A Look at Prevention from Cradle to Adulthood. Overview booklet. Summary: For a long time, the logic seemed unassailable: Crime and violence were historically thought of as symptoms of a country’s early stages of development that could be "cured" with economic growth and reductions in poverty, unemployment, and inequality. More recently, however, our understanding has changed. Studies now show that economic progress does not necessarily bring better security to the streets. Developments in Latin America and the Caribbean exemplify this point. Between 2003 and 2011, average annual regional growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, excluding the global crisis of 2009, reached nearly 5 percent. What’s more, the growth rate among the bottom 40 percent of the population eclipsed that of the same group in every other region of the world. During that same decade, the region experienced unprecedented economic and social progress: extreme poverty was cut by more than half, to 11.5 percent; income inequality dropped more than 7 percent in the Gini index; and, for the first time in history, the region had more people in the middle class than in poverty. Despite all this progress, the region retained its undesirable distinction as the world’s most violent region, with 23.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. The rate of homicide actually accelerated during the latter half of the decade. The problem remains staggering and stubbornly persistent. Every 15 minutes, at least four people are victims of homicide in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2013, of the top 50 most violent cities in the world, 42 were in the region. And between 2005 and 2012, the annual growth rate of homicides was more than three times higher than population growth. Not surprisingly, the number of Latin Americans who mention crime as their top concern tripled during those years. Violence makes people withdraw, hide behind closed doors, and avoid public spaces, weakening interpersonal and social ties that bind us as a community. Insecurity is the result of a combination of many factors, from drug trafficking and organized crime, to weak judicial and law enforcement systems that promote impunity, to a lack of opportunities and support for young people who live in deprived communities. Youth bear a disproportionate share of the risk of committing and falling victim to violence, with important repercussions for their life trajectories and society as a whole. The complexity of the issue (and multiplicity of its causes) is one of its defining characteristics and the main reason why there is no magic formula or a single policy that will fix the violence in our region. We will not solve the problem by relying only on greater police action or greater incarceration, or through more education or employment. We must do all this and do it in a deliberate way, based on reliable data and proven approaches, while continuously striving to fill existing knowledge and data gaps to improve policy design. To that end, Stop the Violence in Latin America: A Look at Prevention from Cradle to Adulthood is a significant contribution. This report takes a new and comprehensive look at much of the evidence that now exists in preventing crime and violence. It identifies novel approaches —both in Latin America and elsewhere—that have been shown to reduce antisocial behavior at different stages in life. Effective prevention starts even before birth, the report argues, and, contrary to common perceptions, well-designed policies can also be successful later in life, even with at-risk individuals and offenders. The report emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to tackle violence, and it highlights the benefits and cost-effectiveness of redesigning existing policies through the lens of crime prevention. This will require substantial coordination across ministries, as well as accountable and efficient institutions. While economic and social development do not necessarily lead to a reduction in crime and violence, high levels of crime and violence do take a toll on development. And in that regard, we at the World Bank are fully aware that in order to succeed in our goals to eradicate extreme poverty and boost prosperity, the unrivaled levels of crime and violence in the region need to come to an end. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2017. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 11, 2017 at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25920/210664ov.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Latin America URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/25920/210664ov.pdf Shelf Number: 144833 Keywords: Crime Prevention Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime Political Corruption Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Kelly, Robin L. Title: Kelly Report 2014: Gun Violence in America Summary: Whether you live in America's inner cities, in a suburban neighborhood or in the heartland, your community is vulnerable to gun violence. It could be a gang crime, a gun accident or a suicide. Regardless of the cause, all acts of gun violence are abhorrent and demand policy solutions and community action to stop them. Gun violence has killed more Americans in the past 50 years than in every single American - from George Washington's Colonial Army defeat of the British in 1781 to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2014. Every year, more than 100,000 people are shot in America -more than 30,000 of them fatally. Over half of these fatal shootings are of young people under the age of 30. Since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been more than 50 school shootings across the country - almost three a month. With an average of one young American under the age of 25 being killed by a gun every hour, the very security of our next generation is at risk. Likewise, economic research suggests that gun violence threatens our nation's fiscal well-being. In violent communities, economic opportunities wither, stable families relocate and children often fail to realize their true academic and economic potential. Each homicide in a city is estimated to reduce that city's population by 70 residents. A ten-year study of the city of Chicago found that each gun homicide equates to $2,500 in lost annual income for Chicago families. For example, each child who is a fatal victim of gun violence is one less person who will become a wage earner and taxpayer. Additionally, every criminal poses a direct cost to taxpayers. For example, a 20-year-old serving a life sentence costs taxpayers $2 million over the course of their incarceration. Given this context, communities undeniably stand to gain from a comprehensive examination of the gun violence issue. This report promotes a common sense approach to reducing gun deaths in America. As you consider the following content, you should keep in mind: Details: Washington, DC: Office of Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly, 2014. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: https://robinkelly.house.gov/sites/robinkelly.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/KellyReport_1.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://robinkelly.house.gov/sites/robinkelly.house.gov/files/wysiwyg_uploaded/KellyReport_1.pdf Shelf Number: 145126 Keywords: Crime Prevention Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Peixoto, Betania Totino Title: Preventing Criminality: An Economic Evaluation of a Brazilian Program Summary: In this work we carried out an economic evaluation of Fica Vivo program in its pilot area, Morro das Pedras slum. Fica Vivo is the main program of prevention and control of criminality that is being carried in Brazil. This program was based on the CeaseFire Project proposed by the School of Public Health of the University of Illinois - Chicago in the nineties and that inspired several programs in other countries. The principal objective of the program is the reduction of homicides in areas of hot spots. Regarding homicides, in general, in Brazil, these hot spots occur in slums. The program combines preventive with repressive (police/ judicial) activities. This evaluation is done considering the pilot area of the program, Morro das Pedras slum, situated in Belo Horizonte city, Brazil. The impact of the program is estimated using a Double Difference Matching method applied to a panel data of police records between 2000 and 2006. The impact variable is the half-yearly homicide rate per one hundred thousand inhabitants. The costs were accounted based on accountability information sourced by the Social Defense Secretary and the State Police. The results show that the program reduces criminality, diminishing the homicide rate. Details: Unpublished paper, 2008. 27o, Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: http://www.cedlas-er.org/sites/default/files/aux_files/peixoto.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.cedlas-er.org/sites/default/files/aux_files/peixoto.pdf Shelf Number: 147296 Keywords: Cost-Benefit Analysis Crime Analysis Homicides Hot Spots Slums Spatial Analysis Violent Crime

Author: Mesa de Sociedad Civil contra el Desplazamiento Forzado por Violencia y Crimen Organizado en El Salvacor Title: Desplazamiento Interno Por Violencia: Y Crimen Organizado en El Salvador. Informe 2016 (International Displacement Due to Violence and Organized Gang Violence in El Salvador) Summary: The government of El Salvador has been unable to deter organized gang violence plaguing many of its municipalities and communities. Violence against children, extortion of businesses and land owners, femicide, physical assaults, and threats from local and rival gangs has contributed to forced displacement among El Salvador's citizens. Several international non-government organizations are working with the El Salvadoran government in search of solutions. The impact of gang violence has many citizens seeking asylum in the United States and other areas. Details: La mesa de Sociedad Civil contra el Desplazamiento Forzado por Violencia y Crimen Organizado de El, 2016. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: (In Spanish): Accessed February 15, 2017 at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5784803ebe6594ad5e34ea63/t/5880c66b2994ca6b1b94bb77/1484834488111/Desplazamiento+interno+por+violencia+-+Informe+2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: El Salvador URL: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5784803ebe6594ad5e34ea63/t/5880c66b2994ca6b1b94bb77/1484834488111/Desplazamiento+interno+por+violencia+-+Informe+2016.pdf Shelf Number: 147327 Keywords: Extortion Femicide Gang Violence Gang-Relations Violence Gangs Violent Crime

Author: Duquet, Nils Title: Firearms and Violent Deaths in Europe: An Exploratory Analysis of the Linkages Between Gun Ownership, Firearms Legislation and Violent Death Summary: On a regular basis, news stories appear in the media about public shootings where shooters use their guns to open fire and kill people in shopping malls or on school campuses. Mostly these stories deal with incidents in the United States. Over the last years, however, a number of European countries have experienced similar public shooting incidents. Notable cases were the shootings at Tuusula and Kauhajoki in Finland (2007 and 2008), the killings in Cumbria in the UK (2010), the Utøya attacks by Anders Breivik in Norway (2011), and the shootings at Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands and Liège in Belgium in 2011. Public shootings draw a high level of media attention. Less striking in the public eye, but not less significant – not least in quantitative terms –, are the numbers of people in Europe killed by firearms in the context of gun-related crime or in domestic shootings. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2010, over 10,000 victims of murder or manslaughter were killed by firearms in the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). Every year, over 4000 suicides by firearm are registered in the EU. This means that, on average, there are 0.24 homicides and 0.9 suicides by firearm per 100,000 population in Europe every year. Compared with the US or other countries around the globe, the rates of gun-related violent death in Europe are rather low, certainly where the homicide rates are concerned. This does not mean, however, that the problem of gun violence has not appeared on the European policy radar in recent years. On the contrary, the attention devoted to the problem by law enforcement agencies and policy-makers has been growing. Reacting not only to shooting incidents such as those mentioned above, but also to warnings by police and law enforcement agencies that criminals are increasingly willing to use (heavy) firearms and that illegal trafficking in firearms is on the rise, a number of European countries have announced policy interventions targeted at reducing levels of gun-related violence and crime. The European Commission has also become an active actor in firearms policy. In October 2013 it announced a plan to reduce gun violence in Europe, in which it defined the misuse of firearms, whether legally-owned or illicitly manufactured or acquired, as "a serious threat to the EU's security from both an internal and an external perspective". One of the major problems the Commission identified in its initial policy papers was the problem of a lack of sound and adequate knowledge about firearms in Europe. The commission noted that "a lack of solid EU-wide statistics and intelligence hampers effective policy and operational responses". One of the ambitions of the EU’s firearms policy is, therefore, to address the gaps in knowledge concerning gun violence. An additional problem is that the lack of reliable and comprehensive information on firearms in Europe is not limited to the sphere of law enforcement and policy-making. European scholarly research focusing specifically on firearms availability, gun control and gun-related violence is scarce. There is a research community in Europe focusing on small arms and light weapons (SALW), but it is predominantly concerned with the export of firearms and the connections between these arms flows and violence in developing, transitional or fragile states outside Europe. Scientific research on firearms and gun-related violence in the domestic European context is much less advanced. The scanty research efforts made in this field by epidemiologists, criminologists and legal scholars remain fragmented, and suffer from the fact that there is no integrated scholarly community dealing with gun-related issues. Language barriers, moreover, often prevent the wider dissemination of research results. Given this relative lack of European firearms research, American studies are still clearly dominant at present in research on the links between the availability of firearms and gun-related violence. Greene and Marsh have calculated that out of the 665 studies on firearms and violence that they reviewed, 64% were about the USA. Of the remaining studies not on the USA, 13% concerned cross-national comparisons or articles in which the geographical focus was unspecified (such as reviews), while 8% were about developing countries. Only 15% concerned other developed countries such as Canada, Australia, the UK and Germany. Given the particularities of the American context, and more specifically the fact that the US has one of the highest rates of gun-related deaths and crime among industrialized democracies, simply transposing the results of American research to the European context is problematic. What are the levels of firearms availability in Europe? Are there links between the levels of gun ownership in European countries and these countries’ rates of violence and violent death? And what is the impact of European gun laws on public safety and health? The absence of evidence specifically for the European context makes it difficult for policy-makers and researchers to find impartial and unbiased answers to these questions. Hence the pressing need for research that specifically focuses on gun-related violence in the European context: and with the present report, we would like to make a contribution to that effort. As we are moving into largely uncharted territory, our analysis of the European situation will necessarily be exploratory. Our primary ambition is to collect and take stock of the fragmented evidence that is available on gun-related violence in Europe. Our geographical coverage will be broader than the EU and encompasses a group of approximately 40 European countries, although in some instances we will limit our analyses to the EU28. Details: Brussels: Flemish Peace Institute, 2015. 83p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2017 at: http://www.vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/sites/vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/files/wysiwyg/firearms_and_violent_deaths_in_europe_web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Europe URL: http://www.vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/sites/vlaamsvredesinstituut.eu/files/wysiwyg/firearms_and_violent_deaths_in_europe_web.pdf Shelf Number: 141048 Keywords: Gun Control Gun Ownership Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Guns Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cruz, Jose Miguel Title: Democratization Under Assault: Criminal Violence in Post-Transition Central America Summary: This research project aims to answer the question as to why some new democracies develop astronomically high levels of criminal violence, whereas in others, violence is far more limited. This inquiry is related to a more general question: does democratization itself provoke violence? In order to answer these questions, I have conducted a two-fold research project linking transitions to democracy and violent crime. Firstly, I conducted a cross-country longitudinal analysis on the determinants of violence in Latin America using indicators of political regime as independent variables. Secondly, I conducted a qualitatively-oriented research design focused on the Central American countries, particularly on El Salvador and Nicaragua, as the former is considered the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere, while the latter is one of the less violent countries in Latin America. The fundamental argument that emerges from this research project is that criminal violence in post-transitional societies is a function of the mode in which political transitions were carried out. Specifically, I found that where the transitions were able to eradicate the utilization of violence specialists as informal collaborators of the state, the likelihood of high levels of post-transition violence is lower than in countries where transitions did not separate violence specialists acting informally on behalf of the state. In other words, I argue that criminal violence in the post-transition setting is the result of the way in which security institutions were reconstructed during the period of regime change regarding the violent actors of the past. Therefore, I view the state and its formal and informal institutions as the key determinants of the level and nature of post-transition violence. Details: Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2010. 245p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 18, 2017 at: http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07282010-214904/unrestricted/Dissertation_Cruz_final.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Central America URL: http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07282010-214904/unrestricted/Dissertation_Cruz_final.pdf Shelf Number: 141090 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs Violence Violent Crime

Author: Sered, Danielle Title: Accounting for Violence: How to Increase Safety and Break Our Failed Reliance on Mass Incarceration Summary: In the United States, violence and mass incarceration are deeply entwined, though evidence shows that both can decrease at the same time. A new vision is needed to meaningfully address violence and reduce the use of incarceration—and to promote healing among crime survivors and improve public safety. This report describes four principles to guide policies and practices that aim to reduce violence: They should be survivor-centered, based on accountability, safety-driven, and racially equitable. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2017. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed February 18, 2017 at: https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/accounting-for-violence/legacy_downloads/accounting-for-violence.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/accounting-for-violence/legacy_downloads/accounting-for-violence.pdf Shelf Number: 141094 Keywords: Criminal Justice Reform Mass Incarceration Violence Violent Crime

Author: Resource Development Associates Title: Oakland Unite: Overview of Evaluation Findings and Recommendations Summary: Resource Development Associates (RDA) has been the external evaluator for the City of Oakland's Measure Y initiative since 2008. In that role, RDA has worked with the City's Human Services Department (HSD) and contracted service providers to design and implement a mixed-methods evaluation to examine both the implementation and the impact of Oakland Unite Violence Prevention Programs. This memo is intended to provide an overview of evaluation findings to date, along with recommendations for improving Oakland Unite programs and the broader Oakland Unite service delivery infrastructure. Evaluation Overview Over the past 8 years, RDA has used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Oakland Unite initiative, as well as of specific Oakland Unite strategies, and of individual Oakland Unite programs. Our qualitative data collection activities have included interviews and focus groups with a range of Oakland Unite stakeholders, including both executive-level and line staff in community-based service providers, program participants, and leadership from partner agencies, such as the Oakland Police Department (OPD), Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Alameda County Health Care Services Agency (ACHCSA), and more. In addition, the evaluation team has collected a range of quantitative data, including client-level service data from Oakland HSD's CitySpan data system; justic esystem data from Alameda County Probation Department's (ACPD) Juvenile Division, ACPD's Adult Division, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR); OUSD data on youth attendance, suspensions, and expulsions; and client surveys on development assets, service quality, and more. Overview of Recommendations Drawing on our knowledge of the Oakland Unite programs, our experience in violence prevention, and conversations with experts in the field, the RDA team developed a set of recommendations intended to improve future programming by leveraging current programmatic strengths and addressing areas of need and challenge. These recommendations are grounded in best practices and the current needs of Oakland's crime prevention programs. Informed by discussions with Oakland Unite leadership, partners from other public agencies, and conversations with clients and providers, RDA conducted reviews of best practices in the areas of criminal justice, violence prevention, case management, social work, and mental health. We triangulated these best practices with our evaluation findings to develop a series of targeted recommendations. Below, we present an overview of our evaluation findings along with recommendations for addressing challenges identified in our evaluations. Details: Oakland, CA: Resource Development Associates, 2015. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 20, 2017 at: http://oaklandunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RDA-Eval-Recommendations-Memo_20150520_STC.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://oaklandunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/RDA-Eval-Recommendations-Memo_20150520_STC.pdf Shelf Number: 146671 Keywords: Collaboration Partnerships Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Resource Development Associates Title: Oakland Unite Violence Prevention Programs Retrospective Evaluation: 2005-2013 Summary: The City of Oakland's Measure Y ordinance provides approximately $6 million annually for the City to spend on violence prevention programs (VPP), with an emphasis on services for youth and children. The four service areas identified in the legislation and funded via Measure Y include: 1) youth outreach counselors; 2) after and in-school programs for youth and children; 3) domestic violence and child abuse counselors; and 4) offender/parolee employment training. The City's Human Services Department (HSD) is responsible for implementing the VPP component of the Measure Y legislation, which it does through the Oakland Unite programs. In consultation with the Measure Y Oversight Committee and the City Council's Public Safety Committee, HSD develops triennial funding strategies that align with the services delineated in the legislation and that meet the shifting needs of the City of Oakland. HSD then administers and monitors grants to community-based organizations and public agencies that provide these services across the City. Since 2008, the City of Oakland has contracted with Resource Development Associates (RDA) to evaluate various components of Measure Y, including the Oakland Unite Violence Prevention Programs. Over the past six years, these evaluations have taken a variety of approaches to assessing the implementation and effectiveness of Oakland Unite, collecting a range of qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate individual programs, funding strategies, and the initiative as a whole. This report integrates these approaches to provide a retrospective analysis of Oakland Unite, with a focus on the programs and strategies that directly address crime and violence, from the initiative's inception in 2005 through Fiscal Year 2012-2013. In particular, the evaluation examines: - How the Oakland Unite service model has changed over time, including target population, service array, and service dosage; - How participants' justice system involvement changes after participation in Oakland Unite programs; and - How participants' post-service justice system contact has changed over the course of the initiative. Details: Oakland, CA: Resource Development Associates, 2014. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 20, 2017 at: http://oaklandunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/OU-VPP_Retrospective_Report-FINAL.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://oaklandunite.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/OU-VPP_Retrospective_Report-FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 146672 Keywords: Collaboration Partnerships Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Jaitman, Laura Title: The Costs of Crime and Violence: New Evidence and Insights in Latin America and the Caribbean Summary: This publication is the first to provide a comprehensive, systematic, and rigorous analysis of the costs of crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. The main challenges in the region are addressed: the social cost of homicides, private and public spending on security, the penitentiary crisis, violence against women, organized crime, and cybercrime. The volume estimates that the direct cost of crime for 17 LAC countries in 2010-2014 is, on average, 3.5 percent of the region's GDP, twice as much as in the developed world. It also provides a detailed analysis of the costs of crime in Brazil by state, as well as an examination of the geographical distribution and drivers of crime in the most dangerous subregions: the Northern Triangle in Central America and the Caribbean. The situation in terms of violence against women and cybercrime is assessed: the region is lagging behind to confront these new and old crimes. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2017. 129p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 23, 2017 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/8133/The-Costs-of-Crime-and-Violence-New-Evidence-and-Insights-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=7 Year: 2017 Country: Latin America URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/8133/The-Costs-of-Crime-and-Violence-New-Evidence-and-Insights-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=7 Shelf Number: 141203 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Criminal Justice Cybercrime Economics of Crime Homicides Organized Crime Prisons Violence Against Women Violent Crime

Author: Caprirolo, Dino Title: Custos de bem-estar do crime no Brasil: Um país de contrastes (Cost of welfare of crime in Brazil: A Country of Contrasts) Summary: n 2014, violence cost US $ 75,894 million to Brazil or 3.14% of GDP. This represents 53% of the total cost of crime in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Brazil stands out for its high spending on private security (48% of the total cost of crime). Public expenditure is the second largest component (36% of costs), while social costs make up the smallest part (16% of the cost). The cost of crime between states and regions is similar in terms of heterogeneity to that observed in LAC countries. There are states whose cost corresponds to about 2% of GDP, while in others violence costs about three times more. The heterogeneity also manifests itself in terms of composition: in some states, social costs represent a relatively large share, while in others, public or private spending accounts for the highest costs of crime. Details: Washington, DC Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento. Divisão de Capacidade Institucional do Estado, 2017. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Nota técnica do BID ; 1243: Accessed February 24, 2017 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/8131/Custos-de-bem-estar-do-crime-no-Brasil-um-pais-de-contrastes.pdf?sequence=1 (In Portuguese) Year: 2017 Country: Brazil URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/8131/Custos-de-bem-estar-do-crime-no-Brasil-um-pais-de-contrastes.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 141209 Keywords: Costs of Crime Costs of Violence Economics of Crime Violence Violent Crime Welfare

Author: Carvalho, Alexandre Title: Socioeconomic Structure, Self-Fulfillment, Homicides and Spatial Dependence in Brazil Summary: In this article we develop a theoretical model to explain the homicide rate in any given place and construct a Bayesian model with a spatial structure to test the hypotheses. We assume that in his quest for self-fulfillment the individual, when taking the decision to perpetrate violence, not only responds to expected economic costs and benefits, but also to an internal system of reward and punishment, synthesized by the emotions. Symbolic valuation, in particular, with respect to conventional rules and the subjective valuation of life itself, depends on socioeconomic and age-group bonds. Theoretical conclusions show that the probability of victimization by violence is higher in places with greater income inequality, larger proportion of youths in the population and socioeconomic vulnerability. The model tested covered 5.507 Brazilian municipalities from 1999 to 2001, and we calculated the risk of a resident in any given municipality being a victim of homicide. This variable was confronted with other structural variables in order to obtain homicide elasticities and the effect of spatial dependency in explaining the risk of local victimization. The results suggest that there is evidence to support the theoretical propositions. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Institute for Applied Economic Research, 2005. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: IPEA Discussion Paper No. 1105: Accessed February 24, 2017 at: http://www.ipea.gov.br/agencia/images/stories/PDFs/TDs/ingles/dp_151.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.ipea.gov.br/agencia/images/stories/PDFs/TDs/ingles/dp_151.pdf Shelf Number: 141210 Keywords: Economics of Crime Homicides Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Romero, Vidal Title: How do Crime and Violence Impact Presidential Approval? Examining the Dynamics of the Mexican Case Summary: In order to effectively fight criminal organizations, governments require support from significant segments of society. If citizens have a positive assessment of the executive’s job, the likelihood that they will report crimes, and act as allies in the fight increases. This provides important leverage for incumbents, and allows them to continue their policies. Yet, winning the hearts and minds of citizens is not an easy endeavor. Crime and violence affect citizens' most valuable assets: life and property. Thus, one would expect a close relationship between public security and presidential approval? To generate robust answers to this question, and its multiple implications, we use Mexico as a case study, and use data at both the aggregate and at the individual level. We find that approval levels are indeed affected by crime, but not by all crimes. Perhaps surprisingly, they are not affected by the most serious of crimes: homicide. At the individual level, we find that support for the mere act of fighting organized crime has a stronger effect on approval than actual performance on public security. We also find no effect of crime victimization on approval at the individual level. Details: Stanford, CA: Center on Democracy, Development, and The Rule of Law, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, 2013. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: CDDRL Working Papers, Vol. 142: Accessed February 28, 2017 at: http://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/142.Magaloni_DiazCayeros_Romero_ApprovalandCrime_v1.4..pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/142.Magaloni_DiazCayeros_Romero_ApprovalandCrime_v1.4..pdf Shelf Number: 141227 Keywords: Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Giannini, Renata Avelar Title: Where is Latin America? Reflections on Peace, Security, Justice and Governance in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda Summary: Latin American governments and societies played an active role in shaping the United Nations 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. One area where the region came up short, however, relates to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and governance. This Strategic Paper detects a contradiction between the alarming levels of violence and crime in Latin America, and the comparatively low importance attached to SDG 16 during the negotiations from 2013 to the present. The regions's diplomats exhibited varied levels of engagement with the key themes of SDG 16, whether peace, access to justice, rule of law, security or governance. Some governments were concerned with the potential of SDG 16 to securitize development or divert aid away from "core" priorities. Others were uneasy about specific terms, not least the "rule of law". There was no regional consensus on SDG 16 even if governments across the region are prepared to support its current formulation. More positively, Latin America is a hive of innovation and experimentation when it comes to preventing violence, extending justice services, and promoting good governance. As such, the Strategic Paper identifies a number of pathways for governments and civil societies to identify and share lessons from the region. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarapé Institute, 2015. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Strategic Paper 17: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AE-17_Where-is-Latin-America-21-09.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Latin America URL: https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AE-17_Where-is-Latin-America-21-09.pdf Shelf Number: 141327 Keywords: Violence Violent Crime

Author: Brown, Ryan Title: Impact of Violent Crime on Risk Aversion: Evidence from the Mexican Drug War Summary: Whereas attitudes towards risk are thought to play an important role in many decisions over the life-course, factors that affect those attitudes are not fully understood. Using longitudinal survey data collected in Mexico before and during the Mexican war on drugs, we investigate how an individual's risk attitudes change with variation in levels of insecurity and uncertainty brought on by unprecedented changes in local-area violent crime due to the war on drugs. Exploiting the fact that the timing, virulence and spatial distribution of changes in violent crime were unanticipated, we establish the changes can plausibly be treated as exogenous in models that also take into account unobserved characteristics of individuals that are fixed over time. As local-area violent crime increases, there is a rise in risk aversion that is distributed through the entire local population. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2017. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper No. 23181: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w23181.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w23181.pdf Shelf Number: 141337 Keywords: Drug Enforcement Policy Drug-Related Violence Risk-Taking Behavior Violent Crime War on Drugs

Author: Taheri-Keramati, Yashar Title: Drugs, Police Inefficiencies, and Gangsterism in Violently Impoverished Communities like Overcome Summary: This research establishes an understanding of the relationship between gangsterism, the drug commodity and inefficiencies in the state's policing institution, as well as the consequences of this relationship, in the context of Overcome squatter area in Cape Town. Overcome is representative of other violently impoverished Cape Town communities with its high rate of unemployment, low quality of education, domestic abuse, stagnant housing crisis, lack of access to intellectual and material resources or opportunities for personal growth, gangsterism, inefficient policing, substance-dependency, and violence. This research demonstrates that the current relationship between the gangs, drugs and the police fosters an unpredictable, violent environment, leaving residents in a constant state of vulnerability. The argument is developed around three key historical junctures in the development of organized crime in South Africa, starting with the growth of the mining industry in the Witwatersrand after 1886, followed by forced removals and prohibition like policies in Cape Town circa 1970, and finally the upheaval created around transition away from apartheid in 1994. Research for this paper was both quantitative and qualitative in nature, and included expert interviews on the subjects of police criminality, narcotic sales, and gangsterism. Newspapers articles, crime statistics, books, census figures, and a host of journals were also utilized. Upon reviewing a host of police inefficiencies and criminal collusions, the research concludes that public criminals related to the state, such as police, and private criminals, such as gangsters, work together in a multitude of ways in a bid to acquire wealth, most notably through an illicit drug market today dominated by 'tik'. It is shown that this violent narcotics market binds police and gangsters together at the expense of creating a state of insecurity for those living in poor drug markets. Details: Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 2013. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 6, 2017 at: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/3536/thesis_hsf_2013_taheri-keramati_y.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2013 Country: South Africa URL: https://open.uct.ac.za/bitstream/item/3536/thesis_hsf_2013_taheri-keramati_y.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 141342 Keywords: Drug markets Drug-Related Violence Gangs Organized Crime Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Zimmer, Jacqueline Nicole Title: The New Orleans murder epidemic: Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida on the irresponsibility of violence Summary: I live on Jeannette Street in New Orleans, about fifty yards from where Joseph Massenburg's body was found on the night of April first. On a fence close to where Massenburg lost his life, I recently noticed a sign depicting the Biblical imperative "Thou shall not kill". I have come across these signs around New Orleans since the end of 2012 – they can be found plastered to the façade of churches or displayed as yard signs in front lawns – but this was the first time I considered the irreverent tone of the commandment for the people of New Orleans. What exactly is achieved by posting this message across various public buildings around the city? Does it convey to the city's most dangerous criminals that the community is fed up with the killing? In theory, the placards are intended to evoke a moral response from those individuals who are most likely to engage in activities associated with gun violence. More often than not, these individuals are young, black, and male, and are in some way affiliated with the "narcoeconomy" of New Orleans. Even if the commandment "thou shall not kill" does give some people momentary pause, ultimately its message is devoid of the logical connection between murder and the imperative to not murder. If nothing else, the signs serve as ironic reminders that the slaughter of so many of New Orleans' black citizens is a phenomenon that consistently crowns New Orleans the most deadly city in the United States. On the surface, the murder of eighteen-year old Joseph Massenburg, who was shot in cold blood on the corner of Eagle and Birch Streets, appeared to be anything but unusual considering his victim profile. Massenburg looked like the typical victim of gun violence: black, young, and male. However, information detailing Massenburg's other attributes – a Chicago-born recent New Orleans transplant, an Americorps volunteer, a high school graduate, the son of a highly educated public servant – was not released to the public until a few days after Massenburg had succumbed to his gunshot wounds. Massenburg had gone for a walk in the same area where a bitter feud was underway between two local gangs, the "Hot Glocks" and the "Mid-City Killers". Several months later, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) charged eighteen-year old Glen Emerson with shooting Joseph Massenburg. Police concluded that Emerson, a member of the Mid-City Killers, had mistakenly identified Massenburg as a member of the Hot Glocks in a drive-by shooting. Massenburg's death symbolizes the endemic gun violence problem that has plagued the city of New Orleans for several decades. The drug and gang-related violence that affects many impoverished black neighborhoods in New Orleans is the modern-day product of a composite of factors, including racial inequity, an untrustworthy police force that is rife with corruption, the prevalence of guns and the ease of gun accessibility, and the successive generations of young men who have grown up in broken, impoverished families with few legitimate economic opportunities. While the problems that characterize New Orleans’s impoverished neighborhoods are comparable to other American urban communities, the murder epidemic of New Orleans is unique to cities of its size. While gang-related gun violence is responsible for a significant number of the city's murders each year, a significant number of the city's homicides result from interpersonal conflicts. In order to combat the conditions that lead to deadly gun violence, the city must be willing to reinstate the legitimacy of the police force, whose corruption and inefficiency has led some New Orleans’ citizens to resort to alternative means of attaining "justice". This essay investigates the conditions that created the "street code" that governs drug-related activity among New Orleans' criminal groups and gangs, and why New Orleans' murder rate is directly linked to the manifestation of the street code. The street code is formulated by a variety of factors and sentiments, including poverty, race, hopelessness, fear, anger, boredom, and a distrust in the police. I argue that people resort to extreme forms of violence when environmental and contextual factors corrupt Emmanuel Lévinas' conception of the face-to-face encounter by priming people automatically to reduce the other to the same as a means of self-protection when the absence of a reliable protective state corrupts the ethical decision to regard the other peacefully. Furthermore, I refer to Jacques Derrida's theoretical approach on hospitality to examine how such collective norms foster a culture of violence. Details: Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 2014. 115p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed March 6, 2017 at: http://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1965&context=gradschool_theses Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1965&context=gradschool_theses Shelf Number: 141351 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Murders Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Males, Mike Title: Realignment and crime in 2014: California's Violent Crime in Decline Summary: In 2011, the United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce prison overcrowding to 137.5 percent of design capacity, or around 113,700 people, by June 2013. 1 To reduce the state prison population and minimize recidivism, California implemented Public Safety Realignment("Realignment") under Assembly Bill (AB) 109 in October 2011. This policy redirected people convicted of non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual offenses (non-non-non offenses) from state to county jurisdiction. Most people convicted of these low-level offenses now serve their sentences in county jails rather than state prison and are supervised by county probation rather than state parole. Realignment also required most people who violate parole and return to custody to be incarcerated in county jail rather than state prison. When Realignment was implemented, concerns emerged that the new policy would increase crime. However, after Realignment, both violent crime and property crime rates generally declined, continuing the trends of the last two decades. Previous reports published by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice have found no evidence of a causal relationship between Realignment and crime (CJCJ, 2013; 2014), although other analyses suggest small effects for motor vehicle theft (PPIC, 2013; 2015b). This report presents comprehensive analyses of new data, detailing both statewide and county crime rates as well as state imprisonmentrates for non-violent offenses, again finding no causal relationship between Realignment and county crime. Method To evaluate the population affected by Realignment (the “Realigned population”), this report reviews several data sets: • Updated California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR, 2015) data showing the prison population as categorized by commitment offense and county as of December 31 in 2010 and 2013. • The most recent (2010-2014) Part I violent (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property (burglary, larceny/theft, and vehicle theft) offenses reported to police, organized by county, year, and type of offense as collected annually by the Criminal Justice Statistics Center (CJSC, 2015). • Populations by county and year from the California Department of Finance’s Demographic Research Unit (DRU, 2015). These data are used to calculate and compare the changes in (a) the rate of county commitments of people with non-violent offenses to state prisons in 2010 and 2013, and (b) reported offenses by county for the latest period prior to Realignment (January-December 2010) and after Realignment (January-December 2013 for prison population by commitment offense and county; January-December 2014 for all offenses reported). Los Angeles County is reported separately due to discrepancies in tabulating reported offenses by the Los Angeles Police Department (Poston and Rubin, 2014). Details: Sacramento: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 2015. 9p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 13, 2017 at: http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/realignment_and_crime_in_2014_californias_violent_crime_in_decline.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/realignment_and_crime_in_2014_californias_violent_crime_in_decline.pdf Shelf Number: 144461 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics Criminal Justice Policy Criminal Justice Reform Prison Overcrowding Public Safety Realignment (California) Violent Crime

Author: Ransford, Charles Title: The Positive Effects of the Cure Violence Model for Families and Children Summary: Preventing violence is vitally important for children and families. Over 1 billion children are victims of violence every year. Additionally, many more children and families are negatively affected by growing up around violence, which has been linked to significant harm to a child’s mental and physical health. Exposure to violence has also been linked to negative long-term outcomes, including lowered educational outcomes, substance abuse, and criminal activity. Perhaps most significantly, violence is contagious, such that those who are exposed to violence are at a much higher risk for becoming violent themselves, and thus perpetrating the cycle of violence in their homes and communities. A study commissioned by the Bernard van Leer Foundation examines how the Cure Violence health model specifically affects children under the age of 8 years as well as the families of these children. The study includes a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus groups among clients at four program sites. The results demonstrate that Cure Violence Model sites have had deep effects on young children and families, including less exposure to violence for children and families, better parenting practices by clients of the program, better behavior directed at children in general by clients, increased use of public spaces by children and families, and reduced fear of violence among children and families. Key findings include: 96.7% of respondents believed that the Cure Violence Model resulted in less exposure to violence in the community for their children 92.4% reported less exposure to violence in their home for their children due to the Cure Violence Model 95% thought that the Cure Violence Model made them a better parent Children and families have increased feeling of safety due to Cure Violence Children and families have increased use of public spaces due to the Cure Violence Model Norms regarding violence changed by the Cure Violence Model The interview phase of the study provided additional detail, showing that clients had improved interactions with other children in the community. The study also discovered that the Cure Violence Model had an effect on community norms relating to violence. Part of this process included exposing the most violent people in the community to a completely different perspective. One client described, “You get to just see the world from a whole different point of view, not just the box that we’re living in.” All of these effects of the Cure Violence Model lead to an improved feeling of safety in the community resulting in more use of public spaces and more opportunities for children and families to interact with others in their community. One person reported, “After a couple months with a Cure Violence site in the neighborhood everybody started coming out. Popping up out the blue, minggling. Walking around, standing outside.” The BVL study found that the Cure Violence Model is uniquely situated to create these changes in community norms, behavior of the highest risk, in the experiences of the young children and families in the community. Community health workers implementing the Cure Violence Model are from the community they serve and are therefore seen as "family" and as leaders in the community. This allows them to reach a population that is largely not being reached by any services, yet they are having such a huge impact on our youth, our communities, and our cities. Details: Chicago: Cure Violence, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, 2015. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 21, 2017 at: http://cureviolence.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/BVL_Report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://cureviolence.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/BVL_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 144539 Keywords: Ceasefire Cure Violence Model Homicides Murders Public Health Approach Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Buitrago, Katie Title: Cycle of Risk: The Intersection of Poverty, Violence and Trauma Summary: People living in poverty are more likely to become victims of violent crime than higher income earners whether they live in cities, suburbs or rural areas, but the rural poor experience crime at higher rates, according to a Wednesday report by a Chicago research group. Chicago is currently facing a devastating surge in lethal violence in addition to staggering rates of poverty across Illinois. Policymakers and community leaders are struggling with finding short- and long-term solutions to stem the violence and allow neighborhoods to heal. In the meantime, communities are fearing for their own safety and grieving over lost parents, children, friends, and leaders every day. The stakes for getting the solutions right could not be higher. Poverty and violence often intersect, feed one another, and share root causes. Neighborhoods with high levels of violence are also characterized by high levels of poverty, lack of adequate public services and educational opportunity, poorer health outcomes, asset and income inequality, and more. The underlying socioeconomic conditions in these neighborhoods perpetuate both violence and poverty. Furthermore, trauma can result from both violence and poverty. Unaddressed trauma worsens quality of life, makes it hard to rise out of poverty by posing barriers to success at school and work, and raises the likelihood of aggressive behavior. In this way, untreated trauma - coupled with easy gun availability and other factors - feeds the cycle of poverty and violence. In last year's Report on Illinois Poverty: Racism's Toll (2016), we explored the persistent inequity caused by racially discriminatory policies and practices. Many of those themes are critically important to this discussion as well, especially given how the American justice system has been used to systemically deny opportunities and rights to people of color. A past and living legacy of segregation and the perpetuation of racial inequity today have led people and communities of color to experience poverty at higher rates than whites. The harmful policies and practices explored in last year's report have stripped resources and opportunities from many of the communities that are grappling with violence today. Through this report we make the case that, in addition to rapid responses, we must also take a long-term approach to reducing violence. The causes of violence are complex, systemic, and long-standing - and we must take a comprehensive approach to address them effectively. Importantly, we must be cautious that efforts at short- or long-term reform do not perpetuate the very inequities and conditions that have led to violence in our communities. Details: Chicago: Heartland Alliance, 2017. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: https://www.heartlandalliance.org/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/CycleofRisk2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.heartlandalliance.org/research/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/03/CycleofRisk2017.pdf Shelf Number: 144724 Keywords: Gun Violence Homicides Neighborhoods and Crime Poverty Racial Discrimination Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Victims of Crime Violent Crime

Author: Olson, Eric L. Title: Improving Citizen Security in the Americas: Why Taking an Urban Approach is Warranted Summary: The urbanization of the world's population has been underway for many decades. In Latin America, over 75 percent of the population lives in cities, and this number is expected to reach approximately 90 percent by 2050 (Muggah 2014, 351). With urbanization has come a wide variety of challenges, including water and sanitation; urban planning and transportation; housing, education, and healthcare; and environmental concerns. It is not surprising, then, that cities and metropolitan areas also experience special challenges with crime and public security. This is especially the case in Latin America, a region that faces some of the highest rates of urban violence in the world (Muggah 2014, 351). According to one analysis, Latin America contains 43 of the world's 50 most violent cities (CCSPJP 2015). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) produces one of the most widely cited sources of information on homicides worldwide. While the UNODC offers data about urban homicide rates, most of the public debate centers around national-level figures expressed in terms of deaths per 100,000. In 2016, for example, El Salvador was reported as the country with the highest homicide rate-an alarming 81.2 homicides per 100,000 (Gagne 2017). At the regional level, Latin America also fared poorly: a UNODC report on global homicide stated that the Central and South American sub-regions experienced the second and third highest homicide levels, preceded only by Southern Africa (UNODC 2013). According to a criminality index generated by security consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft, five of the ten countries with the highest risk for criminal violence are in Latin America: Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Venezuela, and El Salvador. National and regional levels of homicide and crime, however, can actually paint a misleading picture of security at the local level. Many specific areas in the region, especially urban areas, experience rates of violence much higher (or lower) than average. For this reason, stemming urban violence at the local level and addressing the underlying factors driving this phenomenon has been an increasingly important policy concern for Latin American governments, the international donor community, and U.S. policymakers in particular. Security is a main concern for the public as well: in 2014, one out of every three adults in the Americas reported that crime, insecurity, or violence was the main problem facing their country (Zeichmeister 2014). In this paper, we seek to summarize some of the principal characteristics and drivers of urban violence in order to develop more targeted and effective policies to address it. First, we discuss how major structural problems like youth unemployment and inequality are related to common crime, organized crime, and violence. We emphasize the importance of understanding the local nature of urban violence and its tendency to occur and persist in specific geographic locations. Next, we look at some examples from the region that shed light on, and in some cases, confirm these ideas. Finally, we offer a series of policy options for addressing one of the region's most persistent and vexing challenges Details: Washington, DC: Wilson Center, Latin American Program, 2017. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/citizen_security_policy_brief_final.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/citizen_security_policy_brief_final.pdf Shelf Number: 144739 Keywords: Citizen Security Homicide Neighborhoods and Crime Urban Areas and Crime Urban Violence Violent Crime

Author: Raineri, Luca Title: Organised crime and fragile states: African variations Summary: Exactly how transnational organised crime (TOC) poses a security threat that may undermine the state, including its societal institutions, geopolitical stability and economic prosperity, is a question that has gained traction in public debates over the past decades. And discussions about extra-legal governance - i.e. those political, economic and social arrangements that take shape beyond and against the law - are very much present in Africa, where states are often portrayed as defective. Such discussions are often articulated through dichotomies, such as fragility vs. resilience, good governance vs. ungoverned spaces, and legal vs. criminal activity. Frequently inspired by abstract templates and moral logics, these dichotomies sometimes rest on the use of loose concepts, and hardly convey the meaning given to them by those people who deal with them in their daily lives. Details: Paris: European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), 2017. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue Brief: Accessed April 8, 2017 at: http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Brief_8_Crime_in_Africa.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Africa URL: http://www.iss.europa.eu/uploads/media/Brief_8_Crime_in_Africa.pdf Shelf Number: 144756 Keywords: Armed Violence Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Tarre Briceno, Marcos Title: Como afecta la delincuencia organizada al ciudadano Con la intencion de conocer, investigar e informar sobre el Delito Organizado en Venezuela, nace en el 2012 el Observatorio de Delito Organizado, una accion emprendida por la Asociacion Civil Paz Activa Summary: In this brief manual it is a question of delving into the fact that one of the main problems of Central and South America is precisely Organized Delinquency, whether Transnational or National, which affects the State, society and citizens for being a A multiplier of violence and that, on the other hand, certain types of organized crime directly affect the citizen. Three of these modalities are studied - marked in yellow in the tables - and models are proposed to visualize, to prevent and to disintegrate it. In Venezuela, a nation that in a few years has become the second country in the world with the highest rate of homicide, some experts see a clear parallel between the strengthening of organized crime in the country and the excessive increase in violence. Between 34.4% and 55.1% of the 24,000 homicides recorded per year would be related to organized crime. Details: OBSERVATORIO DE DELITO ORGANIZADO, 2015. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: MONOGRAFIAS VISIBILIZANDO EL DELITO ORGANIZADO No. 1: Accessed April 10, 2017 at: http://observatoriodot.org.ve/cms/images/documentos/odo-manual1-crimorg-web.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Venezuela URL: http://observatoriodot.org.ve/cms/images/documentos/odo-manual1-crimorg-web.pdf Shelf Number: 144767 Keywords: Homicides Murders Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Abodunrin, Hammed Title: A Survey of Violence-Related Deaths in Urue-Offong/Oruko and Udung Uko Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State (2006-2014) Summary: This paper highlights violent deaths in two local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria: Urue Offong/Okubo and Udung Uko, both in Awka-Ibom State. Primary data collected using key informant interviews (KIIs), 40 copies of a questionnaire, and focus group discussions (FGDs) were analysed. The respondents considered their LGAs to be generally peaceful and blamed violent incidents on continual deprivation, youth agitation, and skirmishes experienced as part of everyday life. During the period under study (2006-2014), the main causes of violent deaths in Urue Offong/Okubo and Udung Uko were cult attacks, witchcraft, and motor accidents because of bad roads and inadequate education on traffic laws. Although the predominant religion of the area is Christianity, traditional beliefs still have a strong hold over the populace; and accusations of witchcraft sometimes resulted in the killing of persons considered to be a source of misfortune. The reasons for the non-coverage of violence by the national media in the two LGAs include the following: accessibility problems, fear of attack, lethargic attitude to volunteering information, dearth of published official records, and inadequate personnel. Other factors are the irregular salaries of journalists, the presence of many local tabloids, the poor infrastructural facilities, and illiteracy. Also worthy of note is that security operatives in the areas under review were insufficient and uncooperative in releasing information. Details: Ibadan, Nigeria: FRA Institute of African Studies , University of Ibadan 2015. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: IFRA-Nigeria working papers series, no. 53; Accessed April 11, 2017 at: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP15Abodunrin-Dotun.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP15Abodunrin-Dotun.pdf Shelf Number: 144790 Keywords: Cults Homicides Violence Violent Crime Witchcraft

Author: Munir, A. Title: A Study of Violence-Related Deaths in Gudu, Gwadabawa and Illela Local Government Areas of Sokoto State, and Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State (2006-2014) Summary: This paper highlights the outcome of a study on fatal incidents in four local government areas (LGAs) of northwestern Nigeria: Gwadabawa, Gudu, and Ilella LGAs in Sokoto State, and Sakaba LGA in Kebbi State. Data obtained from 1,083 questionnaires (out of 1,200) reveals that, since 2006, the year 2011 had the highest number of fatalities. Between 2006 and 2014, Gudu LGA recorded the highest number of fatalities and violent incidents, while Sakaba LGA had the lowest. For the period under review, the most frequent cause of fatal incidents was cattle grazing, followed by political clashes. Religion, which is often perceived as a major factor of conflict, contributed quite insignificantly to the overall level of violence in the four LGAs, with a few incidents involving the Yan Shi'a, the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood, and the Yan Izala movement. Finally, the study demonstrates that, just as in the urban centres of Sokoto and Kebbi, there are many fatal incidents in rural areas- yet these are unreported. Some explanations for this omission are discussed in relation to poor road infrastructure. Details: Ibadan, Nigeria: FRA Institute of African Studies , University of Ibadan, 2015. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: IFRA-Nigeria working papers series, no 47; Accessed April 11, 2017 at: http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/publications/e-papers/invisible-violence-project/85-munir-arshad-olojo-akinola-2015-a-study-of-violence-related-deaths-in-gudu-gwadabawa-and-illela-local-government-areas-of-sokoto-state-and-sakaba-local-government-area-of-kebbi-state-2006-2014 Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/publications/e-papers/invisible-violence-project/85-munir-arshad-olojo-akinola-2015-a-study-of-violence-related-deaths-in-gudu-gwadabawa-and-illela-local-government-areas-of-sokoto-state-and-sakaba Shelf Number: 144793 Keywords: Boko Haram Rural Areas Violence Violent Crime

Author: Espach, Ralph Title: The Dilemma of Lawlessness: Organized Crime, Violence, Prosperity, and Security along Guatemala's Borders Summary: For centuries, the Central American region has been among the world's most important transit zones. The Spanish shuttled the gold, silver, and other valuables from Southeast Asia and from South America across the Panamanian isthmus. Later, the French and the Americans competed to control and improve that route with a water canal, either in Panama or Nicaragua. Since the emergence of the United States as a major economy and consumer market, the region has been a key zone for the northward flow of all kinds of products - legal and illegal. Economically, the countries of Central America, particularly northern Central America (including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador), have traditionally been among the most unequal in the Americas. Throughout most of these countries' histories, political power and state resources were controlled by the same families and networks that owned most of the land and industries. Relatively few resources and little state attention were dedicated to improving the lives of the poor, especially in isolated rural areas. Except during infrequent instances of insurgency, civil war, or interstate conflict, border control or even preserving a state presence in rural areas in these regions was not an important concern. In practical terms, national territorial borders were unmarked and did not exist. What is today considered smuggling was a normal, everyday practice. Many border communities had closer economic ties to cities, agricultural zones, or economic infrastructure such as railroads or ports in countries across the border than they did to those within their own country. Moreover, most of the residents of these rural areas were indigenous and largely disconnected from the country in which they lived and the government that notionally had authority over them. In this way, most border zones in these countries have traditionally been "ungoverned," or "undergoverned," in terms of their relations with the national and provincial or departmental governments. Over the decades, numerous groups have taken advantage of the porousness of these borders, and the general lawlessness of these remote areas (many of which are heavily forested and/or mountainous), to elude governments or armed forces. In addition to the ever-present smugglers, armed insurgent groups from both the left and the right, as well as paramilitaries of all stripes, crossed borders to conduct their operations during the Cold War. The most recent, and by some accounts the most dangerous, type of actors to exploit these weakly governed, porous borders in northern Central America have been narcotics trafficking networks. Illegal drugs have been smuggled from the world's foremost coca production zone - the northern Andean foothills - to the world's richest and largest drug consumption market - the United States - since at least the 1980s. Beginning in the 1990s, however, an international crackdown on drug smuggling through the Caribbean region led Colombian cartels to favor overland routes through Central America and Mexico. The Colombians moved product through the region largely by buying the services of local trafficking networks. These networks were particularly well developed in Guatemala as a result of the intelligence and transport networks the military created during that country's civil war from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over time, Mexican trafficking networks grew into competitive cartels themselves and began to fight each other for control over valuable transport and smuggling routes. Mexico's largest cartels-including the Sinaloa Federation, the Gulf Cartel, and the Zeta-grew their operations from merely trafficking the product of others to buying the product upstream and controlling its transit in Central America. Traditionally, Colombian- or Mexican-run trafficking cartels operated in Guatemala by buying the services of local trafficking networks, but around 2008 they began to seek to control routes themselves. Many of these routes lie along the Guatemalan coast, where drugs are brought in by boat and then transferred onto land for transit into Mexico. Other routes enter from Honduras, with the drugs being flown in from Venezuela or brought in via boat. Recently, there has been evidence not only of a broad presence of Mexican drug-trafficking networks across Guatemala but also of the expansion of their operations there, particularly into drug processing. They also sell more of their product in local markets, rather than shipping it onward, fueling local gang activity and urban violence. Details: Arlington, CA: CNA; Quantico, VA: Marine Corps University Press, 2016. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 17, 2017 at: https://www.cna.org/CNA_Files/PDF/TheDilemmaOfLawlessness.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Guatemala URL: https://www.cna.org/CNA_Files/PDF/TheDilemmaOfLawlessness.pdf Shelf Number: 144948 Keywords: Border Security Criminal Cartels Drug Markets Drug Trafficking Gang-Related Violence Organized Crime Smuggling Violence Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: Mafia of the Poor: Gang Violence and Extortion in Central America Summary: Born in the aftermath of civil war and boosted by mass deportations from the U.S., Central American gangs are responsible for brutal acts of violence, chronic abuse of women, and more recently, the forced displacement of children and families. Estimated to number 54,000 in the three Northern Triangle countries - El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras - the gangs' archetypal tattooed young men stand out among the region's greatest sources of public anxiety. Although they are not the only groups dedicated to violent crime, the maras have helped drive Central American murder rates to highs unmatched in the world: when the gangs called a truce in El Salvador, homicides halved overnight. But it is extortion that forms the maras' criminal lifeblood and their most widespread racket. By plaguing local businesses for protection payments, they reaffirm control over poor urban enclaves to fund misery wages for members. Reducing the impact of these schemes, replacing them with formal employment and restoring free movement across the Northern Triangle's urban zones would greatly reduce the harm of gang activity. Charting this route, however, requires a sharp switch in current policies. Ever since mara=related insecurity became visible in the early 2000s, the region's governments have responded through punitive measures that reproduce the popular stigmas and prejudices of internal armed conflict. In programs such as Iron Fist in El Salvador, the Sweep-Up Plan in Guatemala or Zero Tolerance in Honduras, mass incarceration, harsher prison conditions and recourse to extrajudicial executions provided varieties of punishment. The cumulative effects, however, have fallen far short of expectations. Assorted crackdowns have not taken account of the deep social roots of the gangs, which provide identity, purpose and status for youths who are unaccommodated in their home societies and "born dead". The responses have also failed to recognise the counterproductive effects of security measures that have given maras prisons in which to organise and confirmation of their identity as social outcasts. Mass deportation from the U.S. back to these countries risks a repeated upsurge in gang crime. The succession of unsuccessful punitive measures is now coming under closer scrutiny across the Northern Triangle. All three countries are experimenting with new forms of regional collaboration in law enforcement. Guatemala has introduced vanguard measures to combat extortion rackets, many of them run from within jails, and has proposed a range of alternatives to prison terms. Although the collapse of the truce with the maras in 2014 spurred unprecedented violence in El Salvador, murder rates appear to have fallen again, while parts of the maras have proposed fresh talks with an eye to their eventual dissolution - an offer shunned by the government. Mass deportation from the U.S. back to these countries risks a repeated upsurge in gang crime. However, U.S. concern with reducing the migrant flow from Central America has generated significant new funds for development in the region via the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity. At the core of a new approach should stand an acknowledgement of the social and economic roots of gang culture, ineradicable in the short term, alongside a concerted state effort to minimise the violence of illicit gang activity. Focused and sophisticated criminal investigations should target the gangs responsible for the most egregious crimes, above all murder, rape and forced displacement. Extortion schemes that depend on coercive control over communities and businesses, and which have caused the murder of hundreds of transport workers and the exodus of thousands in the past decade, could be progressively transformed through a case-by-case approach. Ad hoc negotiations and transactions with gangs responsible for extortion are not uncommon in the Northern Triangle, and have generated insights into how the maras may be edged toward formal economic activity. Targeted and substantial economic investment in impoverished communities with significant gang presence could reduce the incentives for blackmail. Despite the mistrust bequeathed by the truce as well as El Salvador's and Honduras' classification of maras as terrorist groups, new forms of communication with gangs could be established on the basis of confidence-building signals from both sides, potentially encouraged by religious leaders. Government and donor support for poor communities and for improved prison conditions would ideally be answered by a significant reduction in violence from the maras. A momentous step by the gangs, above all in El Salvador, would be to guarantee free movement of all citizens through gang-controlled territories, as well as a restoration of the veto on violence and recruitment in schools. Rounding up all gang members, or inviting gangs to an open-ended negotiation, represent a pair of extremes that have both proven fruitless in the Northern Triangle. Gangs are both embedded in society and predatory upon it, and both victims and perpetrators. Policies toward them need to recognise their social resilience and find ways to reduce the harm they undeniably cause without branding them enemies of the people. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2017. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 62: Accessed April 17, 2017 at: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/062-mafia-of-the-poor_0.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Central America URL: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/062-mafia-of-the-poor_0.pdf Shelf Number: 144989 Keywords: Gang Violence Gang-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Maras Organized Crime Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: Tomsen, Stephen Title: Homicide and the Night-time Economy Summary: Homicide and social patterns of alcohol use have become matters of wide concern in the Australian community. In recent years there has been particular interest in understanding and preventing attacks in commercial nightlife settings that typically involve high levels of collective drinking. Although overall rates of Australian homicide are in a long-term pattern of decline the Australian Institute of Criminology National Homicide Monitoring Program has produced a series of reports that draw out the persistent role of alcohol in homicide. This study provides evidence that homicides related to the night-time economy are not highly concentrated in locations of nightlife and heavy drinking that are usually understood as problematic sites of assaults and public disorder. Nevertheless, there is a broad persistence of after dark homicides that involve intoxication and are either directly or indirectly related to commercial night leisure. Details: Canberra: Criminology Research Council, 2016. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2017 at: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1617/47-1011-FinalReport.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1617/47-1011-FinalReport.pdf Shelf Number: 145061 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Homicides Licensed Premises Night-time Economy Public Disorder Violent Crime

Author: Heinle, Kimberly Title: Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2016 Summary: This report examines trends in violence and organized crime in Mexico through 2016. Over the years, this series of Justice in Mexico special reports has compiled and attempted to reconcile often imperfect, confusing, and even conflicting information from both official and non-governmental sources regarding trends in violence and organized crime, and particularly "drug-related" violence. As the eighth annual report on Drug Violence in Mexico, this study compiles the latest available data and analysis of trends to help separate the signals from the noise to help better understand the facets, implications, and possible remedies to the ongoing crisis of violence, corruption, and human rights violations associated with the war on drugs. - Mexico has experienced dramatic increases in crime and violence in recent years. The number of intentional homicides documented by Mexico's National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Information (INEGI) declined significantly under both presidents Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) and Vicente Fox (2000-2006), but rose dramatically a year after President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) took office. All told, throughout the Calderon administration, INEGI reported 121,669 homicides, an average of over 20,000 people per year, more than 55 people per day, or just over two people every hour. No other country in the Western Hemisphere saw such a large increase either in its homicide rate or in the absolute number of homicides over the last two decades. - After a decline in 2012-2014, homicides began to rise again in 2015 and jumped 20% in 2016. Official homicide statistics from Mexico's National Security System (SNSP) registered significant decreases in 2012 (about 5%), in 2013 (about 16%), and in 2014 (about 15%), before climbing upwards again in 2015 (+7%) and 2016 (+22%). SNSP reported the number of intentional homicides at 18,650 in 2015 to 22,932 in 2016. The worsening of security conditions over the past two years has been a major setback for President Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018), who pledged to reduce violence dramatically during his administration. - In 2016, increases in cases of intentional homicide were registered in 24 states. Fueling the national increase in homicides were increases in 24 states. Notably, the largest increases were registered in Colima with a 600% increase from 2015 to 2016, Nayarit (500% increase), and Zacatecas (405% increase), all of which have an important role in drug production or trafficking and are contested by rival organized crime groups. Meanwhile, several states registered noticeable decreases, including Queretaro with a 69% decrease in intentional homicides and Campeche with a 24% decrease. - Local officials and journalists remained prime targets of violence in 2016. According to Justice in Mexico's Memoria dataset, seven current or former mayors were killed in 2016 (in comparison five mayoral candidates, two sitting mayors, and one former mayor were killed in 2015). Justice in Mexico also documented 11 journalists and media-support workers killed in 2016 in Mexico, continuing a slight downward trend from the 14 killed in 2015 and 15 killed in 2014. - Mexico's recent violence is largely attributable to drug trafficking and organized crime. What is particularly concerning about Mexico's sudden increases in homicides in recent years is that much or most of this elevated violence appears to be attributable to "organized crime" groups, particularly those involved in drug trafficking. While there are important methodological problems with compiling data on organized crime-related killings, tallies produced over the past decade by government, media, academic, NGO, and consulting organizations suggest that roughly a third to half of all homicides in Mexico bear signs of organized crime-style violence, including the use of high-caliber automatic weapons, torture, dismemberment, and explicit messages involving organized crime groups. In 2016, there was greater disparity in the estimated number of organized crime-style killings documented by some sources (6,325 according to Reforma newspaper and 10,967 according to Milenio), but the proportion of total homicides was at least 25% and perhaps greater than 40%. - "El Chapo" Guzman's arrest and extradition appear to be partly fueling violence. The notorious kingpin leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaqu�n "El Chapo" Guzman, was arrested in early 2016. Guzman had been arrested previously in 2001, after which he escaped prison. He was then arrested in 2014, only to escape again in 2015. After the most recent arrest, demands for Guzman's extradition to the United States where he would face a 17- count indictment came to fruition. In early 2017, Guzman arrived in New York to face charges of organized crime, murder, and drug trafficking, among others. The analysis in this report suggests that a significant portion of Mexico's increases in violence in 2015 and 2016 were related to inter- and intra-organizational conflicts among rival drug traffickers in the wake of Guzman's re-arrest in 2016. - Constitutional deadline for New Criminal Justice System implementation passes. The New Criminal Justice System (NJSP) is in full effect nationwide, with the constitutional deadline for all 32 states to launch the system having passed on June 18, 2016. The justice system's overhaul from the traditional 'mixed inquisitorial' model of criminal procedure to an 'adversarial' model is significant step toward strengthening Mexico's democracy. However, many recognize that substantial further efforts will be needed to bolster the rule of law. - President Pena Nieto's approval rating hits new low amid concerns about corruption. Despite some important achievements, in 2016 President Peea Nieto (2012-2018) received the public's lowest approval rating not just for his first four years in office, but the lowest of all time for any president since Mexico began documenting approval ratings. In addition to accusations of corruption in his government and among fellow PRI politicians, Pena Nieto's unpopularity also reflects dissatisfaction with the country's recent economic and security problems, including the federal government's poor handling of the disappearance and murder of dozens of students from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero in 2014. - President Donald Trump prioritizes counter-narcotics efforts in Mexico. Drug trafficking from Mexico has become a more urgent concern in light of the mounting heroin epidemic in the United States, with the U.S. Center for Disease Control reporting that heroin-related deaths quadrupled to more than 8,200 people from 2002-2013. Initial diplomatic signals suggest that newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump wants to push the Mexican government to reinvigorate its counter- narcotics efforts and also work to increase U.S. security measures along the 2,000 mile Southwest border. However, tensions between the two countries could undermine the close law enforcement and security cooperation achieved under the administrations of presidents George W. Bush (2000-2008) and Barack Obama (2008-2016). Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico, Department of Political Science & International Relations, University of San Diego, 2017. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2017 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017_DrugViolenceinMexico.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017_DrugViolenceinMexico.pdf Shelf Number: 145064 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence (Mexico) Drugs and Crime Homicides Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Seepersad, Randy Title: Crime and Violence in Trinidad and Tobago Summary: This report is part of an IDB Technical Note series on crime and violence in the Caribbean. The overall aim is to establish a baseline of the crime prevention arena against which progress can be assessed. The report compiles the available data from multiple sources in order to provide a diagnosis of the size, characteristics, and changing nature of the problem in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, the report provides a survey of the various crime prevention and suppression policies, programmes, and projects adopted by government, private and non-governmental organisations in recent years. In performing the above-mentioned tasks, the report offers an assessment of the data collection, analysis, and crime response capabilities in Trinidad and Tobago, and makes suggestions about the most effective way forward. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2016. 232p. Source: Internet Resource: IDB Series on Crime and Violence in the Caribbean; (IDB Technical Note ; 1062): Accessed April 27, 2017 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7772/Crime-and-Violence-in-Trinidad-and-Tobago-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Year: 2016 Country: Trinidad and Tobago URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7772/Crime-and-Violence-in-Trinidad-and-Tobago-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Shelf Number: 145171 Keywords: Crime Prevention Crime Rates Crime Statistics Criminal Statistics Criminal Violence Violent Crime

Author: Sutton, Heather Title: Crime and Violence in The Bahamas Summary: his report is part of an IDB technical note series on crime and violence in the Caribbean. The overall aim is to establish a baseline in the crime prevention arena against which progress can be assessed. The report compiles the available data from multiple sources in order to provide a diagnosis of the size, characteristics, and changing nature of the problem of crime and violence in The Bahamas. In addition, the report provides a survey of the various crime prevention and suppression policies, programs and projects adopted by government and private and nongovernmental organizations in recent years. In performing the above-mentioned tasks, the report offers an assessment of the data collection, analysis, and crime response capabilities in The Bahamas, and makes suggestions about the most effective way forward. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2016. 144p. Source: Internet Resource: IDB series on crime and violence in the Caribbean ; (IDB Technical Note ; 1058); Accessed April 27, 2017 at: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7771/Crime-and-Violence-in-The-Bahamas-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Year: 2016 Country: Caribbean URL: https://publications.iadb.org/bitstream/handle/11319/7771/Crime-and-Violence-in-The-Bahamas-IDB-Series-on-Crime-and-Violence-in-the-Caribbean.pdf?sequence=4 Shelf Number: 145172 Keywords: Crime Prevention Crime Rates Crime Statistics Criminal Statistics Criminal Violence Violent Crime

Author: Silbernagl, Tina Title: Systemic Prevention of Youth Violence - a handbook to design and plan comprehensive violence prevention measures Summary: Poverty, the lack of future prospects and social, economical and political marginalization shape the daily lives of many young people and are important structural causes for violence. Overall, young people�s frustration too often results in a propensity for violence and unsafe behavior. As a consequence children and young people become not only victims but also perpetrators of violence. However, young people are also key agents for peace, security and sustainable development and the frame-conditions for their inclusion are created through the development of capacities of state and non-state actors. Youth violence is a complex phenomenon that cannot be addressed and sustainably prevented from a singular perspective. Effective strategies have to follow a systemic approach. This entails to think and act in networks and bring together stakeholders from diverse sectors and administrative levels with the aim to address the context-specific causes of youth violence. The handbook supports the planning, implementation and monitoring of systemic measures to prevent youth violence. Thus, it supports the inclusion of actors from the relevant sectors on all administrative levels. The young individual is perceived as being in the centre of a complex system of actors, who all impact on his/her behavior. Thus, the actors influencing the environment of young people - parents, teachers, the police and social workers, staff of municipal authorities and national ministries � are activated as partners and target groups of the planned violence prevention measure. By systematically utilizing the handbook, a systemic approach to preventing youth violence can be designed and the positive potential of young people be enhanced. Details: Eschborn: German Agency for International Cooperation, GIZ, 2011. 84p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2017 at: http://www.saferspaces.org.za/uploads/files/GIZ-Systemic-Prevention-Youth-Violence-handbook_english_32.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.saferspaces.org.za/uploads/files/GIZ-Systemic-Prevention-Youth-Violence-handbook_english_32.pdf Shelf Number: 145178 Keywords: Crime Prevention Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Ingram, Matthew C. Title: Targeting Violence Reduction in Brazil: Policy Implications from a Spatial Analysis of Homicide Summary: Violence in Latin America generates heavy economic, social and political costs for individuals, communities and societies. A particularly pernicious effect of violence is that it undermines citizen confidence in democracy and in their own government. Responding to public fear, politicians across the region have hastily adopted a wide range of policy responses to violence, ranging from militarizing public security, to 'mano dura' crack downs, to negotiating truces with organized crime, to decriminalizing illicit economic activity. Although many of these policies are politically expedient, few are based on evidence of how public policy actually affects rates of violence. By contrast, this paper examines how violence clusters within a country-Brazil-to study how public policies affect homicide rates and how these policies might be further tailored geographically to have greater impact. Brazil provides a particularly useful case for examining the effectiveness of violence-reduction strategies because of the availability of comparable data collected systematically across 5562 municipal units. This allows for an explicitly spatial approach to examining geographic patterns of violence-how violence in one municipality is related to violence in neighboring municipalities, and how predictors of violence are also conditioned by geography. The key added value of the spatial perspective is that it addresses the dependent structure of the data, accounting for the fact that units of analysis (here, municipalities) are connected to each other geographically. In this way, the spatial perspective accounts for the fact that what happens in nearby units may have a meaningful impact on the outcome of interest in a home, focal unit. Thus, the spatial approach is better able to examine compelling phenomena like the spread of violence across units. We visualize data on six types of homicide-aggregate homicides, homicides of men, homicides of women (i.e., "femicides"), firearm-related homicides, youth homicides (ages 15-29) and homicides of victims identified by race as either black or brown (mulatto), i.e., non-white victims-all for 2011, presenting these data in maps. We adopt a municipal level of analysis, and include homicide data from 2011 for the entire country, i.e., on all 5562 municipalities across 27 states (including the Federal District). This allows us to develop maps that identify specific municipalities that constitute cores of statistically significant clusters of violence for each type of homicide. These clusters offer a useful tool for targeting policies aimed at reducing violence. We then develop an analysis based on a spatial regression model, using predictors from the 2010 census and other official sources in Brazil. This paper finds that areas with higher rates of marginalization and of households headed by women who also work and have young children experience higher rates of homicide, which suggests increased support for policies aimed at reducing both marginalization and family disruption. More specifically, the paper finds that policies that expand local coverage of the Bolsa Familia poverty reduction program and reduce the environmental footprint of large, industrial development projects tend to reduce homicide rates, but primarily for certain types of homicide. Thus, violence-reduction policies need to be targeted by type of violence. In addition, the spatial analysis presented in the paper suggests that violence-reduction policies should be targeted regionally rather than at individual communities - informed by the cluster analysis and the spatial regression. Finally, this paper argues that policies aimed at femicides, gun-related homicides, youth homicides and homicides of non-whites should be especially sensitive to geographic patterns, and be built around territorially-targeted policies over and above national policies aimed at homicide more generally. Details: Washington, DC: Latin America Initiative Foreign Policy at BROOKINGS, 2014. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed April 28, 2017 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Ingram-Policy-Brief.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Brazil URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Ingram-Policy-Brief.pdf Shelf Number: 145192 Keywords: Crime Analysis Crime Clusters Crime Hotspots Femicides Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Ingram, Matthew C. Title: Geographies of Violence: A Spatial Analysis of Five Types of Homicide in Brazil's Municipalities Summary: Objectives: Examine the spatial distribution of five types of homicide across Brazil's 5,562 municipalities and test the effects of family disruption, marginalization, poverty-reduction programs, environmental degradation, and the geographic diffusion of violence. Methods: Cluster analysis and spatial error, spatial lag, and geographically-weighted regressions. Results: Maps visualize clusters of high and low rates of different types of homicide. Core results from spatial regressions show that some predictors have uniform or stationary effects across all units, while other predictors have uneven, non-stationary effects. Among stationary effects, family disruption has a harmful effect across all types of homicide except femicide, and environmental degradation has a harmful effect, increasing the rates of femicide, gun-related, youth, and nonwhite homicides. Among non-stationary effects, marginalization has a harmful effect across all measures of homicide but poses the greatest danger to nonwhite populations in the northern part of Brazil; the poverty-reduction program Bolsa Familia has a protective, negative effect for most types of homicides, especially for gun-related, youth, and nonwhite homicides. Lastly, homicide in nearby communities increases the likelihood of homicide in one's home community, and this holds across all types of homicide. The diffusion effect also varies across geographic areas; the danger posed by nearby violence is strongest in the Amazon region and in a large section of the eastern coast. Conclusions: Findings help identify the content of violence-reduction policies, how to prioritize different components of these policies, and how to target these policies by type of homicide and geographic area for maximum effect. Details: Notre Dame, IN: The Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2015. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Working Paper Series: #405: Accessed April 29, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604096 Year: 2015 Country: Brazil URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2604096 Shelf Number: 145194 Keywords: Crime Analysis Femicide Geographical Analysis Homicides Murders Poverty Spatial Analysis Violent Crime

Author: Arvate, Paulo Title: Lighting and Violent Crime: Evaluating the effect of an electrification policy in rural Brazil on violent crime reduction Summary: This paper estimates the effect of lighting on violent crime reduction. We explore an electrification program (LUZ PARA TODOS or Light for All - LPT) adopted by the federal government to expand electrification to rural areas in all Brazilian municipalities in the 2000s as an exogenous source of variation in electrification expansion. Our instrumental variable results show a reduction in homicide rates (approximately five homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) on rural roads/urban streets when a municipality moved from no access to full coverage of electricity between 2000 and 2010. These findings are even more significant in the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil, where rates of electrification are lower than those of the rest of the country and, thus, where the program is concentrated. In the north (northeast), the number of violent deaths on the streets per 100,000 inhabitants decreased by 48.12 (13.43). This moved a municipality at the 99th percentile (75th) to the median (zero) of the crime distribution of municipalities. Finally, we do not find effects on violent deaths in households and at other locations. Because we use an IV strategy by exploring the LPT program eligibility criteria, we can interpret the results as the estimated impact of the program on those experiencing an increase in electricity coverage due to their program eligibility. Thus, the results represent local average treatment effects of lighting on homicides. Details: Sao Paulo: Sao Paulo School of Economics, 2016. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper no. 408: Accessed April 29, 2017 at: http://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/dspace/bitstream/handle/10438/15094/TD%20408%20-%20CMICRO33.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: http://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/dspace/bitstream/handle/10438/15094/TD%20408%20-%20CMICRO33.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 145196 Keywords: Crime Prevention Homicides Lighting Murders Violent Crime

Author: Moloeznik, Marcos Pablo Title: Security and Justice in Jalisco: Scenarios and proposals Summary: In the year 2015, the escalade of violence closes with a crisis of (in) security in the state of Jalisco which is unparalleled in its recent history. In that context, the demand for public security and justice has become the main concern and request by the citizenry, in accordance with the results of the most reliable opinion polls, as well as of the more diverse and representative sectors of our entity. In view of the State's failure to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the right to security for everyone who lives in our community, the University of Guadalajara, in compliance of all and every one of its substantial functions (teaching, generating knowledge and establishing links), has been systematically carrying out significant contributions in the areas of security, human rights and the justice for years. The work is a compilation of 25 collaborations, divided in five thematic sections. The great majority of the authors identify with the theories of multidimensional and integral security which claim that the phenomena of violence, crime and delinquency are based on structures of socioeconomic difference, contexts of poverty, marginality and weak social cohesion. This interpretation also leads to maintaining that government institutions suffer from notable insufficiencies, among them the lack of professionalism of government employees, corruption, opacity and lack of transparency, as well as the absence of planning and administration of the public budgets. In the first thematic section block, "Strategic vision and critical issues", the four collaborations that make it up study from the historic factors to the problems of implementing public policies in Jalisco as a whole and, in particular, in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara. The topic of the link between public security and penal justice is approached as two factors that should be integrated accompanying each other. The second section "Violence and high-impact crimes", compiles studies that compare homicides at national and state levels; the manifestation of the different kinds of violence and the study of disappearances, kidnapping and torture. These contributions expose how the official statistics are unequal and omit the description of reality, basically with political purposes, in order not to look like a state that has high crime indicators that could tint the image of local government officials, and inhibit tourism or capital investment. The six chapters making up the section "Human Rights and vulnerable groups" make a realistic analysis of the human rights violations in the state, emphasizing the lack of independence of the State Human Rights Commission. They cover the topics of suicide, juvenile delinquency, gender violence and the difficulties migrants face on their route throughout Jalisco. These analyses reflect the vulnerability besetting a lot of sectors of the population. The fourth section is devoted to the "Institutions and capacities of the state of Jalisco". It consists of five chapters that analyze the Judiciary power and the relation among the implementation of the new penal justice system; police corps, their weaknesses and capacities; the public advocacy and the public security system (or systems), which must be encouraged as a State policy. The panorama that is emerging is worrying: The justice system lacks independence and the police bodies, coordination; which has led to the proposal of a unified command, which in Jalisco has been advertised as one of the steps to follow. The articles strongly stress the weaknesses of these institutional subsystems, and they almost take for granted that they do not have the strength to implement the reforms to penal justice and the coordination of police corporations. Furthermore, if these institutional capacities are too weak to confront common crime, all the more reason to believe that they would be unable to do their job, that they would be overpowered rapidly if the cjng were to grow in influence and managed to consolidate in the state of Jalisco. In addition, in the light of the new adversarial Justice system, the aforementioned section includes recommendations made from good practices documented in the last few years in those federated entities that have already implemented them. The final section "Federacion Jalisco in the frame of national security", contains four chapters that close the book with excellent analyses on CJNG penetration and growth and the presence and role of the Army. It is pointed out that due to both, the existence of a criminal group whose name locates it in the state and to the increased presence of the Army and the Federal Police to face it; Jalisco risks a growth in the presence of organized crime, which will force the participation of the federal forces. In short, this work implicitly presents the possible scenarios for Jalisco: An increase of violence that would require the federal forces to head the effort to curb the enemy or, on the contrary, that the Jalisco leaders face reality, become aware of the magnitude of the phenomenon of (in) security, and implement the necessary reforms. This publication makes concrete recommendations, provides tools, raw materials and information to understand the security crisis that can be brewing. It is up to society and government officials to use it to put together a new security agenda. Details: Guadalajara: Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 2016. 259p Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 1, 2017 at: http://www.casede.org/BibliotecaCasede/Novedades-PDF/Security_%20justice_Jalisco.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.casede.org/BibliotecaCasede/Novedades-PDF/Security_%20justice_Jalisco.pdf Shelf Number: 145221 Keywords: Criminal Justice Systems Homicides Public Security Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Fuentes, Johanan Rivera Title: Crime Hype in Mexico: A fierce battle for attention Summary: The way media covers drug-related violence in Mexico generates more violence because it responds to the publicity-seeking behavior of Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs). My analysis shows that excessive media coverage in violent states translates into more narcomantas and that high numbers of narcomantas are positively and strongly correlated with high levels of violence. The incentive for DTOs to 'publish' a narcomanta in response to media coverage in violent states is three times larger than in states with average violence. My projections show that in extremely violent states a shock in coverage generates an average increase of 1.6 narcomantas during the following week. DTOs use media attention to build reputation and increase the perception of insecurity. The way media covers violence in Mexico is generating feelings of fear and danger in the population. The 2011 Survey on Public Safety and Governance in Mexico shows that common offenses such as house robberies and street assaults have not changed much since the early 2000s. However, insecurity perception has increased to the point that, today, over 80 percent of the population is afraid of being victims of these crimes. Fear and insecurity perception can make the population an easy target for extortion, local authorities an easy target for corruption and hinder reporting. The situation is now at a point where action is needed. The best method for promoting a more responsible behavior while protecting media freedom is self-regulation since it originates from a multi-stakeholder open discussion on editorial guidelines and accountability mechanisms. I recommend the following next steps should be taken in the next six months to build a strong self-regulatory media environment: - Create a code of editorial guidelines to reporting on publicity-seeking crimes. Each code of ethics responds to the peculiarities of the media and its context, hence it can be tailored to the sensitivities of the Mexican society and democracy. - Institute a self-regulatory body that oversees completion of the code and has a complaint system open to the public. These bodies can have different forms such as ombudsmen, press councils, editorial committees, etc. - Introduce training programs for journalists. Good reporting on publicity-seeking crimes requires a lengthier and more thoughtful narrative. Additionally, journalists reporting on violence and conflict should know how to assess risks in threatening environments and be trained in digital as well as physical security. - Design a campaign to raise awareness among the population. Raising awareness is about creating civic engagement. Without civil engagement self-regulation compliance becomes almost impossible. Setting up a self-regulatory system will prevent the media from furthering DTOs objectives. This will help raise professional standards, strengthen the social standing of journalism in the country while increasing the quality of information people receive and reducing publicity-seeking violence. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard Kennedy School, 2013. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2017 at: http://ksghauser.harvard.edu/index.php/content/download/66767/1239878/version/1/file/SYPA_JohananRivera_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://ksghauser.harvard.edu/index.php/content/download/66767/1239878/version/1/file/SYPA_JohananRivera_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 145247 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Drug-Related Violence Fear of Crime Homicides Kidnappings Media and Crime Publicity Violent Crime

Author: Perkins, Christina Title: Achieving Growth and Security in the Northern Triangle of Central America Summary: The Northern Triangle of Latin America, consisting of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, has experienced overwhelming challenges to economic growth and development. Gang violence is the root of many of these challenges, and the cost of hiring security forces for individuals and businesses creates a significant tax on the economy of these three countries. Beyond this drain on the region's finances, the Northern Triangle is considered one of the most dangerous places on the planet, excluding active war zones. The interrelated issues of violence, poverty, and slow economic growth have led to high rates of emigration from the region, such as during the summer of 2014 when thousands of unaccompanied minors entered the United States. This study examines these issues and goes on to explore connections to the successes of Plan Colombia. Specifically, it considers the opportunity for a "Plan Colombia for the Northern Triangle" to generate long-term economic growth, personal safety, and political stability and accountability in the region. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies; Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield; 2016. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2017 at: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/161201_Perkins_NorthernTriangle_Web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/161201_Perkins_NorthernTriangle_Web.pdf Shelf Number: 145259 Keywords: Gang-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Plan Colombia Security Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cerqueira, Daniel R.C. Title: Mapa dos Homicidios Ocultos no Brasil Summary: Based on the Mortality Information System (SIM), the number of hidden homicides (HOs) in each Brazilian Federal Unit (UF) was estimated, considering deaths that were erroneously classified as "indeterminate cause". Analyzed the socioeconomic and situational characteristics associated to each of the almost 1.9 million violent deaths occurred in the country between 1996 and 2010. The results of this study indicated that the number of homicides in the country would be 18.3% higher than the official records , Which represents about 8,600 unrecognized homicides each year. As a result, estimates indicated that Brazil surpassed the annual mark of 60,000 deaths from aggression. The calculations also showed that the substantial increase in the homicide rate in many states of Brazil, and particularly in the Northeast, did not occur, but that the official indexes were driven by the decrease in the under-reporting that occurred with the improvement in the quality of the SIM. Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a worrying phenomenon of increasing violent deaths, the intent of which has not been determined. This fact did not occur in a generalized way in the country, but it was circumscribed, mainly, to seven states: Rio de Janeiro; Bay; Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco; Roraima; Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo Details: Instituto de Pesquisa Economica Aplicada � ipea 2013. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: http://www.institutoelo.org.br/site/files/publications/95e3d6a71f009059e3585fc38bbab64b.pdf (Article is in Spanish) Year: 2013 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.institutoelo.org.br/site/files/publications/95e3d6a71f009059e3585fc38bbab64b.pdf Shelf Number: 145403 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides Murders Violent Crime

Author: Human Security Report Project (Simon Fraser University) Title: Human Security Report 2013: The Decline in Global Violence: Evidence, Explanation, and Contestation Summary: During the past decade, an increasing number of studies have made the case that levels of violence around the world have declined. Few have made much impact outside the research community-Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined is a major exception. Published in 2011, Better Angels' central argument-one made over some 700 densely argued pages of text, supported by 70 pages of footnotes-is that there has been an extraordinary but little-recognized, long-term worldwide reduction in all forms of violence-one that stretches back at least to 10,000 BCE. Better Angels has received high praise for its extraordinary scope, its originality, and the breadth and depth of its scholarship. It is engagingly written, powerfully argued, and its claims are supported by a mass of statistical evidence. It has also generated considerable skepticism and in some cases outright hostility. Part I of this Report discusses the central theses of Better Angels and examines the major claims of its critics. Part II presents updated statistics on armed conflicts around the world since the end of World War II, plus post-Cold War trends in assaults on civilians and conflicts that do not involve governments. Details: Vancouver, Canada: Human Security Report Project, 2014. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2017 at: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/178122/HSRP_Report_2013_140226_Web.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/178122/HSRP_Report_2013_140226_Web.pdf Shelf Number: 145152 Keywords: Armed Conflict Crime Statistics Homicides Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Ichite, Christian Title: Land conflicts, population pressure and lethal violence in the Niger Delta (Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta), 2006-2014 Summary: This study relies on the Nigeria Watch database to assess the contributions of land and population pressures to overall lethal violence in the core Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta over an eightyear period (2006-2014). Disaggregated data on land issue-related violent deaths was obtained for each Local Government Area (LGA) of the four states under review. Population densities were computed based on the Nigeria 2006 Census and available or 'real' surface area. The study arrived at two main findings. First, casualties associated with land issues in the core Niger Delta states do not account for a significant contribution to overall lethal violence in the region, contrary to popular claims and declarations based on the unresearched impacts of the Land Use Act of 1978. Fatal land conflicts in Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta result significantly from inter-communal clashes, just as inter-communal clashes over political, religious, and ethnic issues also significantly account for deaths. Second, overall crude death rates (mortality) from multiple causes, including land issues, do not strictly conform to a relationship of direct proportionality with the spatial distribution of population densities within the region. Some LGAs with high population densities record low death rates, and vice versa. Moreover, intercommunal clashes also significantly account for most of the deaths from multiple causes in the LGAs, irrespective of the patterns of population density. The findings, by implication, attest to a deteriorating quality of human conditions and habitat in the Niger Delta, despite existing measures aimed at resolving conflicts in the region. They also make necessary a re-assessment of studies on the region. Such studies hitherto have often been based on simplistic applications of the Malthusian theoretical framework to the relationships between environmental degradation, population density, and lethal violence in the region. A reassessment would involve a renaissance of rigorous research into the causes and drivers of lethal violence in the region - in a disaggregated manner and based on systematic evidence. Such research increasingly requires a hybrid of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Details: Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria: IFRA Nigeria, IFRA Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: IFRA-Nigeria working papers series, no. 48; Accessed May 26, 2017 at: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP1Ichite.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP1Ichite.pdf Shelf Number: 145818 Keywords: Land Conflicts Violence Violent Crime

Author: Jimoh, Akinsola Title: Maritime Piracy and Lethal Violence Offshore in Nigeria Summary: The Nigeria Watch (NW) dataset recorded 18,009 fatalities caused by violence in Nigeria's coastal states from 2006 to 2014. During the same period, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) dataset reported less than 20 deaths resulting directly from piracy attacks; however, the IMB does not record all fatal incidents at sea, near the shore, and in the creeks of the Niger Delta, such as gun attacks on oil offshore services and facilities, clashes among youth cult groups, and militant engagements with naval forces. There is indeed a link between onshore and offshore violence. The spatial distribution of fatalities confirms it. Hence coastal local governments in Lagos State - namely, Apapa, Badagry, and Eti-Osa - accounted for the highest number of offshore deaths, according to NW, among costal states in Nigeria during the period 2006-2014. As for the IMB data, it also shows that most piracy attacks occurred in locations around Lagos, especially at Apapa Port. Details: Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria: IFRA Nigeria, IFRA Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, , 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: IFRA-Nigeria working papers series, no. 51; Accessed May 26, 2017 at: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP2Jimoh.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP2Jimoh.pdf Shelf Number: 145819 Keywords: Maritime Crime Piracy/Pirates Violent Crime

Author: Olojo, Akinola Title: Muslims, Christians and Religious Violence in Nigeria: patterns and mapping (June 2006 - May 2014) Summary: The notion that religious violence in Nigeria is always characterised by conflicts between religions (Muslims versus Christians) is too simplistic. This study shows that between June 2006 and May 2014 the frequency of violent death incidents involving Islamic groups against Islamic groups is 60; a figure higher than 57, which is the frequency of violent death incidents involving Islamic groups against Christian groups or Churches within the same period. A second major point in this paper is that violence involving religious groups is not always caused by religious issues. This explains why the frequency of violent death incidents involving Islamic groups against Christian groups or Churches due to nonreligious issues is as high as 42 between June 2006 and May 2014. Thirdly, it remains inconclusive whether or not more Muslims than Christians (or vice versa) are killed because of violence in general in Nigeria. Finally, the western media frames violence in Nigeria as being mainly inter-religious while lethal incidents involving Islamic groups against Islamic groups are largely underreported. Details: Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria: IFRA Nigeria, IFRA Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, 2014. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2017 at: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP3OLOJOFinal.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.nigeriawatch.org/media/html/WP3OLOJOFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 146428 Keywords: Christian Groups Homicides Islamic Groups Religious Violence Violent Crime

Author: Martinez, Denis Roberto Title: Youth under the Gun: Violence, Fear, and Resistance in Urban Guatemala Summary: This study examines how violence affects youth in marginalized urban communities, focusing on the experiences of three groups of young people: gang members, activists, and the "jovenes encerrados", youth who live confined to their homes due to fear. Based on 14 months of ethnographic research in El Mezquital, an extensive marginalized urban area in Guatemala City, I explore the socio-economic conditions that trigger violence in these communities, the responses of young people and the community to violence, and the State's role in exacerbating violence in impoverished neighborhoods. In this dissertation I argue that gang members and activists are expressing a deep-seated social discontent against the exclusion, humiliation, and social stigmatization faced by young people in marginalized urban neighborhoods. However, the two groups express their discontent in significantly different ways. Initially, gangs used violence to express their discontent, but they gradually resorted to a perverse game of crime, in complicity with the police, and they distanced themselves from their own communities; in this work I analyze gangs' process of transformation and the circumstances that led to this change. Activists express their discontent through community art and public protest, but their demonstrations have limited social impact, since public attention continues to focus on gangs; here I examine activists' motivations, struggles, and obstacles. However, the vast majority of young people live in a state of fear, preferring to keep quiet and withdraw into their homes; here I show how violence, fear, and distrust affect the generation born into postwar Guatemala. This study illustrates the perverse role of the State in impoverished urban neighborhoods and its responsibility for the escalation of urban violence in Guatemala. On the one hand, the State shuns residents from these neighborhoods and systematically denies them basic services; it criminalizes and abuses young people, even forming social cleansing groups to eliminate gang members. On the other hand, the State fosters crime in these communities and acts as gangs' accomplice in extortions, drug trade, and robberies. As in many other Latin American countries, the Guatemalan State penalizes crime, but simultaneously encourages and benefits from it; the State is complicit in crime. Details: Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin, 2014. 263p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 27, 2017 at: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/28318/MARTINEZ-DISSERTATION-2014.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2014 Country: Guatemala URL: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/28318/MARTINEZ-DISSERTATION-2014.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 145831 Keywords: Fear of Crime Gang-Related Violence Gangs Neighborhoods and Crime Poverty Socioeconomic conditions and Crime Urban Areas and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Higginson, Angela Title: Youth gang violence and preventative measures in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review (Part II) Summary: Background Youth gang membership and the crime that it generates is a serious problem in lowa-nd middle-income countries, involving many thousands of young people and resulting in billions of dollars of crime, loss of life, and social disruption. This review assessed the evidence on preventive interventions that focus on increasing social capacity to reduce gang membership or rehabilitate gang members outside of the criminal justice system. Approach We conducted an extensive search of the published and unpublished academic literature, as well as government and non-government organization reports to identify studies assessing the effects of preventive youth gang interventions in low- and middle-income countries. We also included studies assessing the reasons for success or failure of such interventions and conducted a thematic synthesis of overarching themes identified across the studies. Results We did not identify any studies assessing the effect of preventive gang interventions in LMICs using an experimental or quasi-experimental design. Four studies evaluating the reasons for implementation success or failure were included. The limited number of studies included in the review suggests that the findings identified here should provide a direction for future research, rather than any substantive or generalizable claim to best practice. Specifically, the synthesis of reasons for implementation success or failure identified five factors that may be important for intervention design and implementation. Preventive gang interventions may be more likely to be successfully implemented when they include: - a range of program components that appeal to youth, - active engagement of youth, where their agency is embraced and leadership is offered, - programs that offer continuity of social ties outside of the gang, and -a focus on demobilization and reconciliation. Implications The lack of evidence prevents us from making any conclusions about which interventions are most effective in reducing youth involvement in gangs. To identify programs that work and those that do not researchers, practitioners and commissioners should begin to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of preventive gang programs in the field. Details: London: International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, 2016. 223p. Source: Internet Resource: Systematic Review 30: Accessed June 16, 2017 at: http://www.3ieimpact.org/media/filer_public/2016/09/16/sr30-youth-gang-related-violence-part2.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.3ieimpact.org/media/filer_public/2016/09/16/sr30-youth-gang-related-violence-part2.pdf Shelf Number: 146192 Keywords: Gang Violence Gang-Related Violence Violent Crime Youth Gangs

Author: van Schalkwyk, Lin Title: (Re)Framing Gangsterism in the Western Cape: Facilitating a Dialogue between Local Government and Ex-Gang Members Summary: One of the earliest Roman deities was a god named Janus. Within ancient Roman religion, Janus was "the god of the beginnings and the ends" and was believed to preside "over every entrance and departure" (Wasson, 2015, para. 5). Every door and every passageway was thought to be guarded by Janus. He was, (as I like to believe) 'the god of the thresholds'. Insofar as each threshold holds the existence of two worlds, i.e. the world that exists before the threshold and the world that exists beyond it, Janus was also believed to have two faces - one for each of the two worlds he presided over. And so he later became known as "the god who looked both ways" (Wasson, 2015, para. 5). Today, we still refer to Janus and his two-faced nature, although no longer with sole reference to his deity. We now call upon Janus in our attempts to conceive of dissonance. We refer to things as Janus-faced when we assert that it has two (often contradicting sides); sides that each tell a different story and that each look out on a different truth. We call on Janus to describe polarity, to illustrate the existence of two different interpretative spaces, often standing in contrast or tension with one another. And it is here, precisely within the recognition of this modern-day Janus, that I first embarked on the writing of this dissertation. The current dissertation was motivated by a deep-felt acknowledgement of the Janus-faced realities facing my home province in Western Cape, South Africa. Often, as I had worked on this study, I could see in my mind's eye - Janus, standing there - presiding over the social landscapes of the Cape. There I imagined him, guarding the many thresholds that divide social prosperity from social decay; his two faces painted in the style of theatre masks - showing both a laughing and a weeping face. Looking one way, he sees a South African province with foreigners "lounging on palm-lined Camps Bay beach, gazing at the steep mountains framed by gossamer clouds" (Pinnock, 2016, p.2). Looking the other way, he observes countless drug wars, human trafficking, rival gang-shoot-outs and poverty, no more than a stone throw away from where the lounging foreigners sit (Pinnock, 2016). This dissertation is not about the Western Cape's elegance, grandeur or charm. It is about facing the world of tragedy and social decay that lies on the other side. Taken even further, it is about recognizing that there is in fact no 'other side'. There is no 'other world' to be denied or silenced by those in the Western Cape who are lucky enough to not suffer from it. There is only but one Western Cape, albeit one of relentless disparities. And so I argue that there is an urgent need for both these worlds to acknowledge each other; to engage and to be accountable to one another. For as far as the Western Cape belongs to all its citizens, there will be no victory in denial. Details: Tilburg, NETH: Tilburg University, 2016. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed June 16, 2017 at: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=142103 Year: 2016 Country: South Africa URL: http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=142103 Shelf Number: 146203 Keywords: Gangs Violence Violent Crime

Author: Irvin-Erickson, Yasemin Title: A Neighborhood-Level Analysis of the Economic Impact of Gun Violence Summary: National conversations on the economic costs of gun violence tend to focus on the health care costs faced by victims, lost productivity, and the financial burden of gun-related health care, enforcement, and correctional supervision costs on taxpayers. Despite broad interest in estimating the economic costs of gun violence at the national and individual levels, these conversations rarely address the impact of gun violence on the health of local economies. We know little about how local economies respond to increased gun violence, especially sharp and sudden increases (or surges) in gun violence. Do surges in gun violence slow business growth and lower home values, homeownership rates, and credit scores in communities? How do increases in gun violence shape local economic health over time? To answer these important questions, we assembled and analyzed newly available business establishment and credit score data, as well as gunshot and sociodemographic data by census tract, for six cities: Baton Rouge, LA; Minneapolis, MN; Oakland, CA; Rochester, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Washington, DC. Police departments in four of these cities (Minneapolis, Oakland, San Francisco, and Washington, DC) provided gun homicide data. Baton Rouge gun homicide data were retrieved from the Parish of East Baton Rouge Open Data Portal. Gun homicide data were not available for Rochester. Because the gun violence data and economic indicators did not cover the same time period in all six cities, we examined the relationship between gun violence and local economic health differently in different cities, considering the availability of data for each city. Our findings demonstrate that surges in gun violence can significantly reduce the growth of new retail and service businesses and slow home value appreciation. Further, higher levels of neighborhood gun violence can be associated with fewer retail and service establishments and fewer new jobs. Higher levels of gun violence were also associated with lower home values, credit scores, and homeownership rates. We interviewed homeowners, renters, business owners, and representatives of neighborhood associations and other nonprofit organizations in these six cities to see how they perceive and respond to gun violence. Business owners said they were determined to not allow hardships caused by gun violence to put them out of business, but they also detailed the significant costs they incur (in both security expenses and lost revenue) to stay open. Respondents of all types noted that gun violence has led to certain types of retail and service businesses moving out of the areas where they live and work. Across the board, they shared that gun violence hurts housing prices and drives people to relocate from or avoid moving to affected neighborhoods. Homeowners, like business owners, are also financially affected by gun violence and may be compelled to invest in security technologies to protect themselves, their homes, and their families. The data and research findings from this study can lend a new, economically driven lens to responses to gun violence. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 17, 2017 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/90671/eigv_final_report_1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/90671/eigv_final_report_1.pdf Shelf Number: 146237 Keywords: Economic Analysis Economics of Crime Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Campie, Patricia E. Title: Community-Based Violence Prevention Study of Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: An Intervention to Prevent Urban Gun Violence Summary: While the federal government has been steadily increasing support for funding violence prevention activities in urban centers and among older youth involved with guns and gangs, very few states have made this type of violence the focus of their crime prevention efforts. In 2010, Massachusetts invested in the Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI), an initiative launched in eleven cities with the highest per capita rates of violent crime. SSYI aims to reduce violence and promote healthy development and outcomes among young males, ages 14-24 who are at the greatest risk for violent offending and victimization. This report presents results from the Community-based Violence Prevention (CBVP) study of SSYI's impact on violent crime in Massachusetts. The overarching research question we examine is to what extent SSYI influenced changes in violent crime in SSYI communities and whether this influence is sustained over time. We also examine hypothesized factors related to SSYI effectiveness and resultant changes in violent crime. To explore our research questions we conducted: (1) analyses of changes in violent crime outcomes in SSYI communities in comparison with 30 other communities in Massachusetts; (2) examinations of community norms of violence and its relationship to police-community relations within each SSYI community; and, (3) investigations of the relationship between the myriad violence prevention and intervention efforts (including SSYI) and violent crime trends in Boston from 2007 to 2014. Details: Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research, 2017. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2017 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250771.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250771.pdf Shelf Number: 146385 Keywords: Community-Based Programs Crime Trends Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Police-Community Relations Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Havnes, Ingrid Amalia Title: Violence and diversion of prescribed opioids among individuals in opioid maintenance treatment. A complementary methods study of violent crime convictions in a national cohort and qualitative interviews among prisoners Summary: Background: Opioid dependence is linked to crime, morbidity and mortality, directly through drug overdoses and indirectly via drug-related mortality, accidents, suicides and violence. Violence in general is a major health concern worldwide. Opioid maintenance treatment, OMT, is found to reduce mortality, morbidity and criminal behaviour, but less is known about the effect of OMT on violent crime. A possible negative consequence of OMT is diversion of methadone and buprenorphine and rising overdose deaths related to these medications among individuals not enrolled in OMT. The aim of this thesis is to study violent crimes prior to, during and after OMT in a national cohort and to generate new knowledge about OMT-enrolled individuals' experiences and understandings of being both violent and non-violent offenders, the role of substances in such crimes as well as their understandings and motivations related to diversion of prescribed opioids. Materials and methods: Two complementary data collection methods have been used. Violent convictions were investigated by use of cross-registry methods for a complete longitudinal national OMTcohort of 3221 individuals with an observation period of 9 years and a qualitative study among 12 imprisoned, OMT-enrolled individuals. 28 semi-structured interviews were thematically analyzed with a reflexive and interactive approach. Findings: Violent crime rates were significantly reduced during OMT compared with before treatment. The rate of convictions for violent crime during OMT was halved among those who remained in treatment. The reduction was less pronounced for those who left treatment: for this group, the rate of violent convictions after OMT was higher than before treatment. The risk of convictions for violent and non-violent crime during OMT was highest for those with violent convictions prior to treatment. In the qualitative part of the study, it was found that substances and, in particular, high-dose benzodiazepines were deliberately used to induce temporary 'antisocial selves' capable of transgressing individual moral codes and performing non-violent and violent criminal acts, mainly to support costly heroin use prior to OMT. During OMT, impulsive and uncontrolled substance use just prior to the violent acts that the participants were imprisoned for was reported. Benzodiazepines were also used to reduce memories of and alleviate the guilt associated with having committed violent crimes. The study participants maintain moral standards, engage in complex moral negotiations, and struggle to reconcile their moral transgressions. They were found to exhibit a considerable amount of self-control, selfregulation and/or self-initiation of external control related to intake of methadone and buprenorphine in various settings. Their acquired norm of sharing with others in a drug using community was carried along when entering OMT. Several had developed strategies to avoid selling or giving of methadone or buprenorphine to others. Giving one's opioid prescriptions to an individual in withdrawal, was seen as an act of helping. Individuals enrolled in OMT might thus be trapped between practicing norms of helping and sharing and adhering to treatment regulations. Conclusions: Opioid dependent individuals with violent convictions should have access to OMT. Treatment providers should identify individuals with histories of violent behavior. The situation that precede and motivate violent behavior and the potential role of substances prior to and after such crimes should be explored with the patient in question. What appears as a severe antisocial personality disorder may be partly explained by substance use. Treatment providers should explore the living conditions and social lives of individuals applying for and enrolled in OMT. To following OMT guidelines may entail breaking a personal and drug culture norm of sharing and helping by means of providing OMT medications to those in need. Opioid-dependent couples should be encouraged to apply for and enroll in OMT at the same time, if both are motivated for starting treatment. Some individuals might know what particular configurations of internal and external control they need in order to achieve their own treatment goals in OMT. An individual's experience and ability to execute self-control and self-regulation with regard to drug taking may be seen as a resource throughout the course of treatment. Details: Oslo: University of Oslo, 2015. 118p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/42124 Year: 2015 Country: Norway URL: https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/42124 Shelf Number: 146719 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Crime Drug Abuse Treatment Drug Offenders Opioid Epidemic Opioids Prescription Drugs Substance Abuse Treatment Violent Crime

Author: Leshner, Alan I. Title: Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence Summary: Individuals use firearms legally for a variety of activities, including recreation, self-protection, and work. However, firearms can also be used to intimidate, coerce, or carry out threats of violence. Fatal and nonfatal firearm violence poses a serious threat to the safety and welfare of the American public. Although violent crime rates have declined in recent years, the U.S. rate of firearm-related deaths is the highest among industrialized countries. In 2010, incidents in the United States involving firearms injured or killed more than 105,000 individuals; there were twice as many nonfatal firearm-related injuries (73,505) than deaths. Nonfatal violence often has significant physical and psychological impacts, including psychological outcomes for those in proximity to individuals who are injured or die from gun violence. The recent, highly publicized, tragic mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; Oak Creek, Wisconsin; and Tucson, Arizona, have sharpened the public�s interest in protecting our children and communities from the effects of firearm violence. In January 2013, President Obama issued 23 executive orders directing federal agencies to improve knowledge of the causes of firearm violence, the interventions that might prevent it, and strategies to minimize its public health burden. One of these executive orders noted that "in addition to being a law enforcement challenge, firearm violence is also a serious public health issue that affects thousands of individuals, families, Control and Prevention (CDC), along with other relevant federal agencies, to immediately begin identifying the most pressing firearm-related violence research problems." The CDC and the CDC Foundation requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in collaboration with the National Research Council (NRC), convene a committee of experts to develop a potential research agenda focusing on the public health aspects of firearm-related violence - its causes, approaches to interventions that could prevent it, and strategies to minimize its health burden. In accordance with the CDC's charge, the committee did not focus on public health surveillance and potentially related behavioral/mental health issues, as these will be addressed separately. The research program envisioned by the committee, which is designed to produce impacts in 3-5 years, focuses on - the characteristics of firearm violence, - risk and protective factors, - interventions and strategies, - gun safety technology, and - the influence of video games and other media. The committee identified potential research topics by conducting a survey of previous relevant research, considering input received during the workshop, and using its expert judgment. The committee was not asked to consider funding for the research agenda, and in addition to the CDC, it is likely that other agencies and private foundations will also implement the research agenda. Consequently, the committee identified a full range of high-priority topics that could be explored with significant progress made in 3-5 years. Research on these topics will improve current knowledge of the causes of firearm violence, the interventions that prevent firearm violence, and strategies to minimize the public health burden of firearm violence. To allow the research community flexibility in designing the research protocols, the report does not specify the methodologies that should be used to address the research topics. The evidence generated by implementing a public health research agenda can enable the development of sound policies that support both the rights and the responsibilities central to gun ownership in the United States. In the absence of this research, policy makers will be left to debate controversial policies without scientifically sound evidence about their potential effects. Details: Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies, 2013. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 8, 2017 at: http://www.ncdsv.org/images/IOM-NRC_Priorities-for-Research-to-reduce-the-threat-of-firearm-related-violence_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncdsv.org/images/IOM-NRC_Priorities-for-Research-to-reduce-the-threat-of-firearm-related-violence_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 129667 Keywords: Firearms Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Chioda, Laura Title: Stop the Violence in Latin America : A Look at Prevention from Cradle to Adulthood Summary: The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has the undesirable distinction of being the world's most violent region, with 24.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. The magnitude of the problem is staggering and persistent. Of the top 50 most violent cities in the world, 42 are in LAC. In 2010 alone, 142,302 people in LAC fell victim to homicide, representing 390 homicides per day and 4.06 homicides every 15 minutes. Crime disproportionately affects young men aged 20 to 24, whose homicide rate of 92 per 100,000 nearly quadruples that of the region. The focus of Crime Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean is to identify policy interventions that, whether by design or indirect effect, have been shown to affect antisocial behavior early in life and patterns of criminal offending in youth and adults. Particular attention is devoted to recent studies that rigorously establish a causal link between the interventions in question and outcomes. This publication adopts a lifecycle perspective and argues that as individuals progress through different stages of the lifecycle, not only do different sets of risk factors arise and take more prominence, but their interactions and inter-dependencies shape human behavior. These interactions and the relative importance of different sets of risk factors identify relevant margins that can effectively be targeted by prevention policies, not only early in life, but throughout the lifecycle. Indeed prevention can never start too early, nor start too late, nor be too comprehensive. Details: Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2017. 425p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2017 at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/25920 Year: 2017 Country: Latin America URL: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/25920 Shelf Number: 146988 Keywords: Crime Prevention Drug Trafficking Homicides Organized Crime Political Corruption Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Casas-Zamora, Kevin Title: The Besieged Polis: Citizen Insecurity and Democracy in Latin America Summary: Latin America remains a region plagued by high levels of violent crime and widespread perceptions of insecurity, threats that jeopardize democratic stability and state viability. In a new Brookings monograph, The Besieged Polis: Citizen Insecurity and Democracy in Latin America, former senior fellow and current OAS Secretary for Political Affairs Kevin Casas-Zamora examines the nexus of citizen insecurity and democracy. He argues that democratic consolidation in Latin America requires a sustained and multi-pronged effort to reduce crime rates. The monograph, co-published with the Organization of American States, focuses on the inverse relationship between perceived insecurity and trust in government institutions, and presents alarming findings regarding the state of insecurity and democracy in the region: The perception of insecurity in Latin America is extremely acute, homogenous, and on the rise, according to all available indicators. Victimization and perceived insecurity are inversely correlated to support for democracy and trust in government institutions, negatively correlated to levels of social tolerance and trust between neighbors, and positively correlated with support for "iron-fisted" solutions - including coups d'etat - to national problems. The region's obvious vulnerabilities (inequality in income distribution; a severe lack of trust in police and judicial institutions; lack of social integration opportunities for young people) seem to be associated with the high levels of violent crime. Widespread crime compromises the state's monopoly of legitimate coercion, evidenced by the rapid growth of weakly regulated private security companies and the proliferation of "black spots" where the state's authority has been seriously compromised. A course correction is clearly needed. The Besieged Polis offers concrete and comprehensive policy recommendations to address citizen insecurity and ensure a better future for democracy in Latin America. These include: Reframing the discussion about crime to include more comprehensive strategies for social development, especially for youth; Democratizing the debate on ways to address crime to include parliaments and other key actors; Boosting horizontal and vertical coordination of citizen security policies; Modernizing law enforcement institutions and investing in information; Improving policy-community relations; and Increasing the presence of state authorities in problem areas. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. Latin America Initiative; Organization of American States, 2013. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2017 at: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/citizen-insecurity-casas-zamora.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/citizen-insecurity-casas-zamora.pdf Shelf Number: 147036 Keywords: Citizen Security Law Enforcement Police Violent Crime

Author: Berk-Seligson, Susan Title: Impact Evaluation of USAID's Community-Based Crime and Violence Prevention Approach in Central America: El Salvador Country Report Summary: El Salvador, and its neighboring countries in Central America, Guatemala and Honduras, are among the most criminally violent nations in the world. The USAID Missions (specifically, Democracy and Governance (DG) and other offices within the Missions) in five Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) have administered and overseen the execution of the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) interventions-a set of programs with the objective of reducing crime rates and improving security in Central America by strengthening community capacity to combat crimes and creating educational and employment opportunities for at-risk youth. USAID/Washington, via its Cooperative Agreement with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University, asked LAPOP to design and carry out an impact evaluation of the CARSI interventions in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama, as part of a broader effort to establish the effectiveness of USAID democracy and governance interventions through scientifically rigorous studies such as those recommended in the comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council 2008). LAPOP has had more than 20 years of experience in carrying out policy-relevant surveys in Latin America, having conducted hundreds of country-based surveys, including many specialized studies designed to evaluate programs. This impact evaluation was designed to measure the overall impact of the interventions, not to distinguish among the specific types of interventions, nor to evaluate the implementing partners, per se. To have done so would have required a very different (and more costly) research design, and most likely would have duplicated at least some of the evaluation efforts involved in each implementing partner's contract with USAID. Nonetheless, as noted later in this report, statistical tests performed clearly suggest that the impacts found were generalizable and not confined to one implementing partner versus the other. Ultimately, however, the initial decision made to limit each implementing partner's scope to specific, non-overlapping municipalities makes it impossible to disaggregate statistically the impact of the partner's efforts vs. the conditions of the municipalities in which it operated. That is to say, all of the treated communities in a given municipality experienced the same treatment approach, while all of those of a different municipality received a different partner's treatment. Thus municipal conditions and implemention are indistinguishable. Moreover, because a variety of interventions were used in the neighborhoods (some of which were used by both implementing partners), it is impossible to disentangle the effect of each type of intervention from any other. Details: Nashville, TN: The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), Vanderbilt University , 2014. 299p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2017 at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/El_Salvador_v22_English_W_2_04.08.15.pdf Year: 2014 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/El_Salvador_v22_English_W_2_04.08.15.pdf Shelf Number: 147037 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Community-Based Programs Crime Prevention Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Berk-Seligson, Susan Title: Impact Evaluation: Panama Country Report Summary: Central America, especially Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, are among the most criminally violent nations in the world. The USAID Missions (specifically, the Democracy and Governance (DG) and other offices within the Missions) in five Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) have administered and overseen the execution of the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) interventions-a set of programs with the objective of reducing crime rates and improving security in Central America by strengthening community capacity to combat crimes and creating educational and employment opportunities for at-risk youth. USAID/Washington, via its Cooperative Agreement with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt University, asked LAPOP to design and carry out an impact evaluation of the CARSI interventions in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama, as part of a broader effort to establish the effectiveness of USAID democracy and governance interventions through scientifically rigorous studies such as those recommended in the comprehensive study by the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council 2008). LAPOP has had more than 20 years of experience in carrying out policy-relevant surveys in Latin America, having conducted hundreds of country-based surveys, including many specialized studies designed to evaluate programs. The CARSI approach has been focused on community -based violence prevention, of which the CARSI program in Panama that is the subject of this report, is an example. Two factors, however, made the CARSI impact evaluation LAPOP conducted in Panama different from the impact evaluations carried out elsewhere in Central America. First, unlike in the "northern triangle" countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the level of crime in Panama is not especially high for the Latin American region. Therefore, since the starting base for crime is so much lower in Panama than in the other countries included in this impact evaluation, crime rates there have far less to fall, and impact will, of necessity, be lower. Second, the sample size of communities for the quantitative data obtained from the treated Panamanian communities is too small to justify treating the Panama sample as adequate for country-level analysis. In the other countries covered by the LAPOP CARSI impact evaluation, the minimal sample size of communities was met or exceeded, and therefore justified a country-level analysis of the quantitative data, and for each of those countries, such a report was written and is available on-line at www.LAPOPsurveys.org. In the case of Panama, the quantitative data obtained there have been added to the Central Americawide pooled data base and are reported on only in the regional report of the LAPOP impact evaluation. Third, program implementation lagged in Panama, and in some of the treatment communities the central treaments had not been applied by the end of the impact evaluation surveys. For this reason alone, measurement of impact in those communities would not have meaning. Finally, a number of the key elements of the community-based violence prevention programs initiated by CARSI in the other countries in which this evaluation has taken place were already in place by the time the baseline data were collected, put there by the govnment of Panama and cooperating agencies and NGOs. Therefore, a baseline of "untreated" communities was less meaningful than in the other countries. Details: Nashville, TN: The Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), Vanderbilt University , 2014. 241p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2017 at: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/CARSI_Panama_v3_FinalV_W_02.17.16.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Panama URL: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/carsi/CARSI_Panama_v3_FinalV_W_02.17.16.pdf Shelf Number: 147038 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Community-Based Programs Crime Prevention Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Falk, Armin Title: Status Inequality, Moral Disengagement and Violence Summary: This paper studies the causal effect of status differences on moral disengagement and violence. To measure violent behavior, in the experiment, a subject can inflict a painful electric shock on another subject in return for money. We exogenously vary relative status in the realm of sexual attractiveness. In three between-subject conditions, the assigned other subject is either of higher, lower or equal status. The incidence of electric shocks is substantially higher among subjects matched with higher- and lower-status others, relative to subjects matched with equal-status others. This causal evidence on the role of status inequality on violence suggests an important societal cost of economic and social inequalities Details: Bonn, Germany: IZA - Institute of Labor Economics, 2017. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA DP No. 10921: Accessed September 7, 2017 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp10921.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Germany URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp10921.pdf Shelf Number: 147143 Keywords: Inequality Morality Socioeconomic Status and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Britto, Paulo Augusto P. de Title: The Effects of Wage and Unemployment on Crime Incentives - An Empirical Analysis of Total, Property and Violent Crimes Summary: Using quarterly data of the U.S economy and based on cointegration analysis, we built a relatively simple error correction model focusing on a few key variables that can help prove that crime is an induced response to economic incentives. In particular, we found causality summing from unemployment and wage levels to total crime in the long-run, and causality from wage to total crime in the short-run. For property crime, we found the above relationships plus a short-run causality from unemployment. Finally, violent crime seems not to be explained by economic variables. Details: Brazil: University of Brasilia, Economics and Politics Research Group, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Economics and Politics Working Paper 46/2014 : Accessed October 6, 2017 at: https://econpolrg.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/eprg-wp-2014-46.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://econpolrg.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/eprg-wp-2014-46.pdf Shelf Number: 147598 Keywords: Economics of Crime Property Crime Unemployment and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Morgan, Rachel E. Title: Race And Hispanic Origin Of Victims And Offenders, 2012-15 Summary: Presents estimates of violent victimization (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) by the race and Hispanic origin of victims and offenders during the 4-year period from 2012 through 2015. This report examines victim, offender, and incident characteristics, such as crime type, victim-offender relationship, and reporting to police. Findings are based on data from BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey, which collects information on nonfatal crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older. Highlights: During 2012-15, half (51%) of violent victimizations were intraracial, that is both victims and offenders were the same race or both were of Hispanic origin. In the majority of violent victimizations, white victims' offenders were white (57%) and black victims' offenders were black (63%). The rates of total violent crime, serious violent crime, and simple assault were higher for intraracial victimizations than for interracial victimizations. From 1994 to 2015, white-on-white violence (down 79%) and black-on-black violence (down 78%) declined at a similar rate. During 2012-15, there were no differences among white, black, and Hispanic intraracial victimizations reported to police. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2017. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2017 at: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rhovo1215.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rhovo1215.pdf Shelf Number: 147744 Keywords: Crime Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey Race and Crime Rape Robbery Sexual Assault Victimization Victims Violent Crime

Author: Higginson, Angela Title: Investigating serious violent crime: what works, what doesn't and for what crime types? Summary: Serious violent crime is a persistent and significant criminal justice issue (see Eisner, 2003; Fuller, 2013; Truman, Langton, & Planty, 2013; Wallace et al., 2009). In 2003 and 2008, the Australian Institute of Criminology delivered a clear message: despite the relatively low number of incidents compared to non-violent crime, serious violent crime offences account for a substantial portion of the costs of crime in Australia (Mayhew, 2003; Rollings, 2008). Moreover, a number of scholars have demonstrated a decline in police clearance of serious violent crime over recent decades (Horvath et al., 2001; Litwin & Xu, 2007; Riedel, 2008). Although investigation and responding to serious violent crime are core components of police work, the evidence-base for police investigative techniques for serious violent crime lacks the level of evaluation and synthesis seen for other policing interventions which have been predominantly assessed according to their impact on general crime and disorder. This systematic review aims to redress this imbalance by conducting the first ever systematic review focusing on the effectiveness of techniques that police use to investigate serious violent crime. Our review examines the evidence on police investigative techniques for serious violent crime to determine what works, what doesn't, and for what crime types. Specifically, we systematically evaluate the impact of police investigative techniques on key police outcomes in the context of serious violent crime: offender identification, arrests, elicitation of confessions, convictions and case closure. Details: Sydney: Criminal Research Advisory Council, 2017. 89p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2017 at: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1718/43-1314-FinalReport.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://crg.aic.gov.au/reports/1718/43-1314-FinalReport.pdf Shelf Number: 147966 Keywords: Criminal Investigations Police Investigations Violent Crime

Author: Higginson, Angela Title: Police techniques for investigating serious violent crime: A systematic review Summary: Police use a variety of techniques in their investigation of serious violent crimes, such as homicide, robbery, assault and sexual assault. This paper systematically reviews experimental and quasiexperimental research on the effectiveness of these investigative techniques. Meta-analysis was used to combine effect sizes across multiple studies examining the same technique, crime and outcome. Eighteen studies on 10 broad categories of investigative techniques were identified, with the largest number of studies examining specialised investigative techniques for sexual assault and the collection or testing of DNA and other physical evidence. While there were some promising findings, findings were mixed and, in some areas, there is limited evidence on which to draw strong conclusions. Given the significant investment of police resources in the investigation of serious violent crime, the results highlight the need for more methodologically rigorous empirical research on both new and established investigative techniques available to law enforcement. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2017. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 539: Accessed November 2, 2017 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi539.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi_pdf/tandi539.pdf Shelf Number: 147973 Keywords: Criminal Investigations Police Investigations Violent Crime

Author: Dougherty, Jamie Title: Examining the New York State Gun Involved Violence Elimination Initiative's Alignment with Several Theoretical Perspectives Summary: This research examines how well New York State's Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative aligns with four theoretical domains: subculture of violence, deterrence, rational choice/situational crime prevention, and implementation theories. It reviews how procedural justice and community integration align with these theories and the evidence-based strategies that GIVE sites implement. Sites are grouped for analysis, and their characteristics are described. The literature review describes each theoretical domain's core principles as they pertain to GIVE. It shows that the theories can be compatible and that their integration is difficult but would likely make the initiative more effective. The primary research questions pertain to how closely GIVE aligns with each of these theories, as well as whether sites with similar characteristics utilize these theoretical perspectives differently. The data collection and analysis methods are described. The analysis finds that theories and strategies that readily align with traditional law enforcement functions are the most likely to be fully adopted by law enforcement agencies, so street outreach strategies tend to be under-utilized while deterrence strategies are most embraced. Larger sites with higher shooting rates tend to have more comprehensive GIVE programs and align better with theory due to having gun violence problems characterized by subcultures of violence and other principles on which the strategies are built. However, medium sized sites tend to deliver strategies with effective dosage; larger sites struggle to deliver enough resources. GIVE implementation could be improved with more integration among strategies, community integration, and deeper recognition of the theoretical insights presented here. Details: Rochester, NY: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2017. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed November 4, 2017 at: http://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10626&context=theses Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10626&context=theses Shelf Number: 148030 Keywords: Gun Policy Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn Title: Mistrust and Ambivalence between Residents and the Police: Evidence from Four Chicago Neighborhoods Summary: Violence in Chicago has been national news as shootings and homicides have increased over the past year. Total homicides in 2016 reached levels the city has not experienced since the late 1990s (University of Chicago Crime Lab 2017); meanwhile, homicides in other large US cities have been declining or remaining steady (Freidman, Grawet, and Cullen 2016). Chicago residents have been demanding reforms to the ways police treat and interact with the public; this issue, which has been a persistent one particularly for residents of high-crime neighborhoods with heavy police presence, has been given renewed visibility after the release of video showing the killing of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer. A subsequent US Department of Justice investigation of the Chicago Police Department revealed the department has problems with use of force and accountability that contribute to a lack of community trust in the department (US Department of Justice and US Attorney"s Office 2017). These issues are no doubt related: community trust in the police is an important contributor to effective crime control. While this brief is not intended to weigh in on what caused the most recent crime spike in Chicago, it does present findings that show the fractured relationship between residents of high-crime neighborhoods and the police that serve those communities. The data are based on surveys collected before the recent crime spike from residents and officers living or working in four Chicago neighborhoods that have had consistently high crime rates relative to other parts in the city. Because of the sampling methodology used for this study, our findings provide new insights on a topic that has received much empirical scrutiny: the criticality of police-citizen relationships. This brief discusses the level of mutual mistrust between residents (including those recently involved with the criminal justice system) and police officers in Chicago's 5th, 10th, 15th, and 25th police districts. Drawn from surveys of both officers and residents, the data demonstrate ambivalence between the police and the residents they serve. While the results are generally sobering, we find some potential for repairing the mistrust and pathways for building stronger police-community relationships. This brief proceeds in four sections. First, we discuss the importance of strong police-resident relationships; then, we outline the study methodology and the demographic characteristics of the sampled groups. Next, we present key findings on residents' perceptions of procedural fairness of police and support for officer behavior and actions, residents' perceptions of unreasonable stops, residents' willingness to participate in crime control, and police officers' perceptions of community cooperation and community trust. A final section summarizes the key findings and discusses the implications of our findings for police-community relationships and crime control, which are most relevant for the people living in the neighborhoods we studied and executive staff and patrol officers in the Chicago Police Department. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 6, 2017 at: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/92316/2017.07.31_legitimacy_brief_finalized_0.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/92316/2017.07.31_legitimacy_brief_finalized_0.pdf Shelf Number: 148042 Keywords: Homicides Neighborhoods and Crime Police Legitimacy Police-Citizen Interactions Police-Community Relations Violent Crime

Author: Delgado, Sheyla A. Title: Denormalizing Violence: The Effects of Cure Violence in the South Bronx and East New York, Brooklyn Summary: New York City launched its first Cure Violence program - which uses community outreach to interrupt violence - in 2010 with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. Today, there are 18 programs around the city. This report examines two of them: Man Up! Inc. in East New York, Brooklyn; and Save Our Streets South Bronx. Each of the two neighborhoods was compared with another neighborhood that had similar demographics and crime trends but no Cure Violence program. As detailed in this report, the comparisons provide promising evidence that the public health approach to violence reduction championed by Cure Violence may be capable of creating safe and healthy communities. The Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (JohnJayREC) began an evaluation of Cure Violence in 2012 with support from the New York City Council. Researchers visited program sites and interviewed staff about the Cure Violence model. They also assembled data about violent incidents in the city from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the New York State Department of Health (DOH). Between 2014 and 2016, the study team also conducted annual surveys of young men living in a dozen neighborhoods, some with and some without Cure Violence programs. During the study period, New York City's various Cure Violence programs received financial and administrative support from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York City Council, New York State's Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of Princeton, New Jersey. Cure Violence is a neighborhood-based, public-health oriented approach to violence reduction. The program relies on the efforts of community-based "outreach workers" and "violence interrupters" in neighborhoods that are the most vulnerable to gun violence. These workers use their personal relationships, social networks, and knowledge of their communities to dissuade specific individuals and neighborhood residents in general from engaging in violence. When Cure Violence strategies are implemented with high levels of fidelity, the program may theoretically begin to "denormalize" violence in entire communities (Butts et al. 2015). As of 2016, New York City's Cure Violence programs employed approximately 130 workers, including two dozen program managers and directors, at least 15 supervisors, and more than 80 front-line workers. Before joining Cure Violence, staff members typically undergo a 40-hour training workshop by the National Cure Violence training team, which is based in Chicago. Additional training sessions are provided in New York City by locally based trainers. During their training, Cure Violence workers learn about active listening, conflict mediation, suicide prevention, and motivational interviewing tactics as well as procedures for record keeping and database management. Staff members at some Cure Violence programs, including those operated by the Center for Court Innovation in New York City, receive additional training in human resources policy, organizational management, and staff supervision techniques. Details: New York, NY: Research & Evaluation Center, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2017. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 16, 2017 at: https://johnjayrec.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CVinSoBronxEastNY.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://johnjayrec.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CVinSoBronxEastNY.pdf Shelf Number: 148198 Keywords: Cure Violence Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Violent Crime Violent Offenders Young Adult Offenders

Author: Taylor, A.Y. Title: This isn't the life for you: Masculinities and nonviolence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Results from the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) with a focus on urban violence Summary: Homicide and other forms of violence persist at high levels in Rio de Janeiro. This violence overwhelmingly affects low-income, young black men. Past research has rarely examined the relationship of this violence to gender norms nor has it focused on the interplay between urban violence and family and intimate partner violence (IPV). While most studies focus on pathways into violence, only a few studies examine at factors that encourage nonviolence. In favelas3 and other low-income, marginalized neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, boys are exposed from an early age to multiple forms of violence in the household and in their communities. At critical points in life, boys and young men who lack attractive economic opportunities are invited to participate in drug trafficking and, oftentimes, encouraged to use arms or use violence in everyday life. Amidst high levels of urban violence, how do many men adopt and sustain nonviolence in their lives? This research led by Promundo seeks to address two key questions: 1. What factors support groups of men who are surrounded by social and economic inequality, high exposure to violence, and incentives to use violence (e.g., members of drug gangs and the police) in avoiding, abandoning, or lessening their use of violence in complex urban settings? 2. How does higher and lower exposure to urban violence (defined by homicide rates) influence construction of masculinities, experiences of violence during childhood, attitudes and self-reported behaviors about gender among the broader population? Promundo examines these questions in "IMAGES-Urban Violence", a study that adapts IMAGES, the International Men and Gender Equality Survey, to focus on gender and urban violence and the interactions between violence in the public and private spheres in Rio de Janeiro. IMAGES is a comprehensive, multi-country study on men's practices and attitudes toward gender norms, gender equality policies, household dynamics, caregiving and involvement as fathers, intimate partner violence, sexual diversity, and health and economic stress. Promundo's offices in Brazil and the United States coordinated the study, which was part of Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC), an initiative of Canada's International Development Research Centre and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. IMAGES STUDY ON URBAN VIOLENCE IN RIO DE JANEIRO - 1,151 household surveys were conducted with adult men and women in two sites: "South," in the city's southern zone where homicide rates are lower, and "North," predominately in the city's northern zone where homicide rates are high. The sample was drawn using public security administrative areas. - 14 key informant interviews and 45 in-depth life history interviews were carried out. The in-depth interviews sought to capture factors that promote men's trajectories away from the use of violence in complex urban settings. Former drug traffickers, members of the police force, and local activists were invited to participate because these groups of men play crucial roles in using and experiencing of violence and nonviolence in the city. Female partners and family members were also interviewed. Details: Washington, DC and . Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Promundo, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 18, 2017 at: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/56228/IDL-56228.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/56228/IDL-56228.pdf Shelf Number: 148263 Keywords: Family Violence Homicides Intimate Partner Violence Masculinity Urban Areas and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Title: Community Violence as a Population Health Issue: Proceedings of a Workshop Summary: On June 16, 2016, the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement held a workshop at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Brooklyn, New York, to explore the influence of trauma and violence on communities. George Isham, co-chair of the roundtable, welcomed participants and explained that hanging behind the podium was a peace quilt created by children of the church congregation. The quilt included several quotes, such as "Love and Open Your Hearts to Others" and "Peace Begins with Me." Isham pointed out that this was a significant backdrop, both physically and metaphorically for the conversation of the day. As participants were painfully aware, though the workshop on community violence as a population health issue had been in the planning stages for several weeks, just a few days earlier, on June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and injured 53 others at Pulse, a gay nightclub located in Orlando, Florida. Isham said it was appropriate to keep this tragic national event and the loss of lives and injured people in mind, as well as to think of the families, loved ones, and others in the community affected by this violence. In his introductory comments, Isham said that since February 2013, the roundtable has served as a venue for leaders to meet and discuss the leverage points and opportunities arising from changes in the social and political environment for advancing better population health. At previous workshops held by the roundtable, "The Role and Potential of Communities in Population Health Improvement: A Workshop" (IOM, 2015) and "Supporting a Movement for Health and Health Equity: Lessons from Social Movements: A Workshop" (IOM, 2014), several individual workshop speakers emphasized that safe and healthy communities are central to health equity and improving population health. Individual speakers also conveyed the message that community engagement and organizing are important approaches to addressing the social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and violence. Isham added that also relevant was the workshop "Framing the Dialogue on Race and Ethnicity to Advance Health Equity: A Workshop" (NASEM, 2016b), in which Gilbert C. Gee discussed how racism contributes to shorter lives for people of color and inequities in life expectancy. This workshop builds on those insights and seeks to explore ways in which communities are addressing violence and building safe, healthy, and resilient communities. Details: Washington,DC: The National Academies Press, 2017. 117p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2017 at: https://www.nap.edu/download/23661 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.nap.edu/download/23661 Shelf Number: 148531 Keywords: Communities and Crime Community Violence Violence Violent Crime

Author: Martinez, Cesar Title: Security Policy in Mexico: Recommendations for the 2018 Presidential Election Summary: For over ten years, Mexico's security situation has been a consistent public concern and policy priority. Since the 2000 democratic transition, the country's criminal landscape has changed dramatically. The dissolution of implicit organized-crime political agreements, a move toward more confrontational security strategies, and intra- and inter-group fighting have shattered criminal groups, pushed criminal activity into new industries and exploitative practices, and forced the Mexican government to rethink and continuously adjust its security strategy. The result of these changes is that today's organized criminal groups look different from their historic predecessors, which dedicated their time and energy primarily to transporting and cultivating drugs and keeping a low profile. Today's groups experiment with a range of illicit revenue-generating activities and have adopted shockingly brutal and violent tactics. These profits are then funneled into corrupting political institutions at every level, weakening the government's ability to fulfill its mandate and decimating public trust. The overall insecurity also hurts the country's economy, with estimates that it slashes 1.25 percent off the country's GDP every year. In July 2018, Mexico will elect its next president for the following six years. In the backdrop, the country's homicide level is once again on the rise after a two-year drop. Further, almost 60 percent of the population reported in 2016 that insecurity or delinquency was Mexico's principal problem. These ongoing challenges and concerns will ensure that public security features prominently in the upcoming presidential campaigns and will be a central issue for the incoming administration. To address some of these issues, this Policy Research Project on Mexico's security policy- sponsored by the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law-will address Mexico's major security challenges and offer a series of policy recommendations. The report is divided into four chapters, focusing on the overall security strategy, important domestic and international security issues, illicit economic markets, and civil society efforts. Within each chapter, the authors identify the current policies, evaluate their effectiveness, and provide steps for a path forward to a safer and more secure Mexico. Details: Austin, TX: Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, 2017. 166p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Research Project Report Number 193 ; Accessed December 6, 2017 at: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/61475/prp_193-security_policy_in_mexico-2017.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y Year: 2017 Country: Mexico URL: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/61475/prp_193-security_policy_in_mexico-2017.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 148728 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Homicides Illegal Markets Illicit Markets Murders Organized Crime Public Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Eades, Chris Title: 'Knife Crime': A Review of evidence and policy. Second edition Summary: A coherent evidence based strategy that recognises the deeper structural causes of inequality, poverty and social disaffection is needed to address knife related offending according to a report published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. The report argues that enforcement and punitive action to tackle knife carrying and knife use, such as harsher sentences, fail to take account of the fact that it is 'merely one expression of interpersonal violence'. Success in tackling knife crime will only come with success in dealing with the underlying causes of violence, fear and insecurity. 'Knife Crime' A review of evidence and policy is the second edition of a report originally published in August 2006. It includes the latest official data and a more detailed statistical analysis to determine possible trends in offences involving knives. The comprehensive review of evidence and policy states that: Knife carrying, especially amongst young men, is not unusual but there is insufficient evidence on the extent, nature, motivation, frequency and possible growth of knife carrying. Without further research, designing and implementing programmes to reduce the incidence of knife carrying will be difficult. According to official statistics the number of violent crimes involving knives in England and Wales has remained stable in recent years and it is impossible to establish either an upward or down ward trend in the number of actual incidents. Within particular offence categories there is no substantial evidence of a significant change in the proportions of knife use. Sharp instruments, which includes knives, are the most common weapon in a homicide. But as a proportion of all homicides the use of sharp instruments has fallen over the past decade, accounting for less than thirty per cent of homicides in 2005/2006 compared to nearly forty percent in 1995. There is limited research on the motivations for knife carrying but children who have been a victim of crime are more likely to carry knives. There appears to be a link between knife carrying and whether or not young people feel safe from crime and victimisation. The available research shows that children, young people, those living in poor areas and members of black and minority ethnic communities are more likely to be the victims of knife offences. Details: London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2007. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 8, 2017 at: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/ccjs_knife_report.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/ccjs_knife_report.pdf Shelf Number: 110511 Keywords: Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime

Author: Kleinfeld, Rachel Title: Reducing All Violent Deaths, Everywhere: Why the Data Must Improve Summary: The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a target to "Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related deaths everywhere." Given the vast decline in violence since the Middle Ages, particularly since the end of the Cold War, this ambitious target is achievable. But policymakers know the least about the countries receiving the most aid. To ensure that aid and policy are effective, current data gaps and deficiencies must be fully understood and improved. Equally important, the target must include indicators that capture all the main types of violence, not just homicide. The Data Problem - Current statistics are marred by problems that make them incomparable across countries. Policymaking that ignores flawed data may focus on less effective goals or assume programs are working when, in fact, violence is being hidden through statistical manipulation. - Policymakers know the least about the countries receiving the most aid. Among the top ten British aid recipients, four have reported no homicide statistics or have had only one data point in twenty-seven years. Eight of the top ten U.S. aid recipients have no reported homicide statistics for the past four years. Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan have no reported homicide statistics since the Arab Awakening. - Failure to accurately count different types of violence obscures possible relationships among them. For instance, these include connections between the end of civil war and rising homicide, between state brutality and increased insurgency, and possible connections between state repression and homicide. The Way Forward - A global violence dataset that accounts for "all violent deaths everywhere" should include four disaggregated types of data: homicides, deaths among armed groups in conflict, deaths of unarmed civilians perpetrated by state or nonstate actors, and deaths caused by on-duty government security forces. - The international community needs accurate data across these categories to know which programs and policies actually reduce violence, rather than simply alter the form violence takes. - If the international community does not explicitly include state repression and terrorist killings in the SDG 16.1 target, it opens a loophole to politicizing numbers through reclassification and the use of state violence to try to reduce homicide and rebellion. - International actors should press for a comprehensive set of indicators for SDG 16.1, which currently only include homicides. - Data reporting and collection could be improved by investing in independent observatories, standardization of definitions and methodologies, and other crucial steps. - These decisions are not technical, but political. Statistical manipulation is inevitable and occurs in countries from the United States to Russia. Impartial, trained, and internationally funded violence observatories can assist in gaining accurate statistics so resources can target the most effective place and programs. Details: Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2017. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 22, 2018 at: http://carnegieendowment.org/files/CP_297_Kleinfeld_Crime_Final_Web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://carnegieendowment.org/files/CP_297_Kleinfeld_Crime_Final_Web.pdf Shelf Number: 148900 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides Murders Violence Violent Crime

Author: Alpers, Philip Title: El Salvador -- Gun Facts, Figures and the Law Summary: Provides a bibliography of 153 short references on gun violence in El Salvador. Details: Sydney: University of Sydney, School of Public Health, 2018. Source: Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney. GunPolicy.org, 8 December. Accessed 31 January 2018. at: http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/el-salvador Year: 2018 Country: El Salvador URL: http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/el-salvador Shelf Number: 148933 Keywords: Crime Statistics Gang-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Investigation Title: Active Shooter Incidents in the United States from 2000-2016 Summary: This document contains a list of active shooter incidents in the United States that have been identified by the FBI from 2000 through the end of 2016. Details: Washington, DC: FBI, 2017. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 31, 2018 at: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooter_incidents_2001-2016.pdf/view Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/activeshooter_incidents_2001-2016.pdf/view Shelf Number: 148945 Keywords: Active Shooter Incidents Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence (U.S.) Homicides Mass Homicides School Violence Violent Crime Workplace Violence

Author: Organization of American States. Secretariat for Multidimensional Security Title: Report on Citizen Security in the Americas/ Official Statistical Information on Citizen Security provided by the OAS Member States - Informe sobre Seguridad Ciudadana en las Americas 2012 Summary: In 2009, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) created Alertamerica, the OAS Hemispheric Observatory on Security, which authorities, security specialists and the general public can visit at www.alertamerica.org. The OAS Hemispheric Observatory on Security contains official data from OAS Member States which is sub-divided into 122 indicators that encompass the totality of areas related to the social phenomena of crime and violence, as well as information on the initiatives undertaken by Member States to control and sanction these. The indicators constitute the widest possible repertoire of official information on these themes in the Americas. It is hoped that they will act as a cause for reflection and debate on a topic which has become the principal source of concern for citizens in our region. It constitutes, moreover, the most appropriate indicators and points of reference for the short, medium, and long-term policies which the American countries have implemented with a view to improving citizen security. The document which the reader has in his/ her hands, The Report on Citizen Security in the Americas 2012, is the second version of the General Secretariat's Annual Report comprising the information available through Alertamerica. The reader will find a synthesis of the current citizen security situation in the Americas, broken down into eighty-two statistical tables, as well as the opinions of renowned experts from throughout the continent on the principle areas of regional concern in this field. Details: Washington, DC: OEA, 2012. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 2, 2018 at: http://www.oas.org/dsp/alertamerica/Report/Alertamerica2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: South America URL: http://www.oas.org/dsp/alertamerica/Report/Alertamerica2012.pdf Shelf Number: 148985 Keywords: Crime Statistics National Security Violence Violent Crime

Author: Fowler, Katherine A. Title: Surveillance for Violent Deaths -- National Violent Death Reporting System, 18 States, 2014 Summary: Problem/Condition: In 2014, approximately 59,000 persons died in the United States as a result of violence-related injuries. This report summarizes data from CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) regarding violent deaths from 18 U.S. states for 2014. Results are reported by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, marital status, location of injury, method of injury, circumstances of injury, and other selected characteristics. Reporting Period Covered: 2014. Description of System: NVDRS collects data from participating states regarding violent deaths. Data are obtained from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and secondary sources (e.g., child fatality review team data, supplemental homicide reports, hospital data, and crime laboratory data). This report includes data from 18 states that collected statewide data for 2014 (Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin). NVDRS collates documents for each death and links deaths that are related (e.g., multiple homicides, a homicide followed by a suicide, or multiple suicides) into a single incident. Results: For 2014, a total of 22,098 fatal incidents involving 22,618 deaths were captured by NVDRS in the 18 states included in this report. The majority of deaths were suicides (65.6%), followed by homicides (22.5%), deaths of undetermined intent (10.0%), deaths involving legal intervention (1.3%) (i.e., deaths caused by law enforcement and other persons with legal authority to use deadly force, excluding legal executions), and unintentional firearm deaths (<1%). The term "legal intervention" is a classification incorporated into the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) and does not denote the lawfulness or legality of the circumstances surrounding a death caused by law enforcement. Suicides occurred at higher rates among males, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN), non-Hispanic whites, persons aged 45-54 years, and males aged ≥75 years. Suicides were preceded primarily by a mental health, intimate partner, substance abuse, or physical health problem or a crisis during the previous or upcoming 2 weeks. Homicide rates were higher among males and persons aged <1 year and 15-44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males. Homicides primarily were precipitated by arguments and interpersonal conflicts, occurrence in conjunction with another crime, or related to intimate partner violence (particularly for females). When the relationship between a homicide victim and a suspected perpetrator was known, it was most often either an acquaintance/ friend or an intimate partner. Legal intervention death rates were highest among males and persons aged 20-44 years; rates were highest among non-Hispanic black males and Hispanic males. Precipitating factors for the majority of legal intervention deaths were alleged criminal activity in progress, the victim reportedly using a weapon in the incident, a mental health or substance abuse problem, an argument or conflict, or a recent crisis. Deaths of undetermined intent occurred more frequently among males, particularly non-Hispanic black and AI/AN males, and persons aged 30-54 years. Substance abuse, mental health problems, physical health problems, and a recent crisis were the most common circumstances preceding deaths of undetermined intent. Unintentional firearm deaths were more frequent among males, non-Hispanic whites, and persons aged 10-24 years; these deaths most often occurred while the shooter was playing with a firearm and were most often precipitated by a person unintentionally pulling the trigger or mistakenly thinking the firearm was unloaded. Details: Atlanta: e Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Surveillance Summaries / Vol. 67 / No. 2: Accessed February 6, 2018 at: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/pdfs/ss6702-H.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/ss/pdfs/ss6702-H.pdf Shelf Number: 149005 Keywords: Domestic Violence Family Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicide Murders Suicides Violence-Related Injuries Violent Crime

Author: Koper, Christopher S. Title: The Impact of Policing and Other Criminal and Juvenile Justice Trends on Juvenile Violence in Large Cities, 1994-2000 Summary: This paper reports research that was conducted as part of the University of Pennsylvania's project on "Understanding the 'Whys' Behind Juvenile Crime Trends." The "Whys" project, which was funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, was conducted to develop a better understanding of the downturn in juvenile crime that occurred in the 1990s and to use this knowledge to help practitioners and policymakers understand potential leading indicators of turning points in local juvenile crime trends. The main volume of the Whys report (which is available online at https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/248954.pdf and at www.whysproject.org) discusses juvenile violence trends from the 1980s through the early 2000s and assesses evidence on a wide variety of community, developmental, cultural, and policy factors that have been hypothesized as possible causes of juvenile crime trends during this period. (Primary contributors to the main Whys report include Jeffrey Roth (project director), Reagan Daly, Christopher Koper, James Lynch, Howard Snyder, Monica Robbers, and other staff of CSR Incorporated.) The study reported in this paper was conducted as a complement to Chapter 5 of the Whys report, which examines national trends and research on public policies and practices, including those in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, that may have affected juvenile violence during the 1990s. (Readers interested in this background material, which is not reviewed here, should consult Chapter 5 of the Whys report.) As an extension of that work, this paper presents original research examining whether and how changes in criminal and juvenile justice practices and policies affected juvenile violence in urban areas during the 1990s. As discussed in the Whys report, there has been relatively little research directly testing the effects of changes in criminal and juvenile justice practices on the crime drop of the 1990s. Much of the evidence on these matters is indirect. This is particularly true with respect to the drop in juvenile violence. To address this gap in our understanding of the juvenile crime drop, we directly examine whether selected changes in policing, adult incarceration, juvenile detention, and juvenile waivers to adult court reduced juvenile violence in a sample of large U.S. cities from 1994 to 2000, controlling for changes in a variety of community characteristics. In sum, we find indications that police resources and strategies helped to reduce juvenile violence during the 1990s, but we find little or no evidence of beneficial effects from adult incarceration, juvenile detention, or waivers of juveniles to adult court. Details: Report to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention , 2011. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 6, 2018 at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f68c/54d6c45a27c2358f2a27e35c92894ce3f848.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f68c/54d6c45a27c2358f2a27e35c92894ce3f848.pdf Shelf Number: 149007 Keywords: Crime Trends Juvenile Crime Juvenile Offenders Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Delaware Criminal Justice Council. Statistical Analysis Center Title: Crime in Delaware 2012 - 2016: An Analysis of Serious Crime in Delaware Summary: Crime in Delaware is the official report of serious crime known to Delaware law enforcement agencies. This report provides information about 24 Violent, Serious Property, Drug/Narcotic and Other Property and Social offenses reported in Delaware's implementation of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) operated by the State Bureau of Identification of the Delaware State Police. Data for the years 2012 through 2016 are included in this report. Also, as appropriate, data for the years 2005 through 2011 are included to illustrate long term trends. The report includes a summary of data on serious offenses, clearances, adult and juvenile arrests, and crimes against law enforcement officers at the state and county levels, followed by a detailed data section organized by state and county. Key Findings/Trends Overall, the occurrence of serious crime has decreased notably since 2012. The number of serious criminal offenses known to police in 2012 was 93,756 compared with 83,342 in 2016, a decrease of 11.1%. There was a small increase from 2015 to 2016 of .3%. Violent crime in the State decreased 15% from 2012 to 2016, continuing a long term decline in overall offenses. Homicides show a 5% increase from 2012 to 2016. The number of Homicides in 2016 (61) was lower than the high point in 2015 (66). From 2012 to 2016, New Castle County decreased by one, Sussex County increased by one and Kent County increased by three (roughly a 60% increase). Serious Property Offenses decreased 15% between 2012 and 2016. Burglary offenses decreased 33% but showed a 3% increase from 2015 to 2016. Drug/Narcotic Offenses increased 10% between 2012 and 2016. Actual drug offenses increased 23% while drug equipment-related offenses decreased 9%. Other Property and Social Offenses decreased more than 10% between 2012 and 2016. There has been a decline from 2012 to 2015 with an increase from 2015 to 2016. Two of the most frequently reported crimes-Assault offenses and Destruction, Damage, and Vandalism of Property offenses-showed distinct downward trends from 2012 to 2016. From 2015 to 2016, Destruction, Damage and Vandalism showed a recent increase from 2015. Based on 2016 data, offenses in all crime categories were cleared by law enforcement officers at rates comparable to or better than the rates from 2012 through 2016. Overall, 52.7% of offenses in 2016 were cleared by the end of the calendar year. Violent crime against law enforcement officers decreased by 7% between 2012 and 2016. No officers were killed in 2016, but 19% of the 414 assault-related offenses committed against officers resulted in injuries, which is a five year high. Details: Dover: Delaware Criminal Justice Council, 2017. 217p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 19, 2018 at: https://sac.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2017/04/Crime-in-Delaware-2012-2016.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://sac.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/64/2017/04/Crime-in-Delaware-2012-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 149509 Keywords: Crime Statistics (Delaware) Violence Violent Crime

Author: Allen, Grahame Title: Knife crime in England and Wales Summary: Summary Recorded crime -- In the year ending March 2017, there were 34,700 (selected) offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales. This is the highest number in the seven-year series (from year ending March 2011) the earliest point for which comparable data are available. This is directly related with improvements in recording practices. Homicide -- In 2016/17 there were 215 homicides currently recorded using a sharp instrument, including knives and broken bottles, accounting for 30% of all homicides - a similar number as recorded in 2015/16 (213). Knife crime by police force area -- London recorded the highest rate of 137 offences involving a knife per 100,000 population in 2016/17, an increase of 23 offences from 2015/16. Surrey had the lowest rate of 4 offences per 100,000 individuals (down 2 from 2015/16). Proven offences and offenders -- In 2017, there were just under 20,982 disposals given for possession of a knife or offensive weapon. Juveniles (aged 10-17) were the offenders in 21% of cases. Hospital admissions -- There were 4,434 finished consultant episodes (FCE) recorded in English hospitals in 2016/17 due to assault by a sharp object. This was an increase of 7.1% compared to 2015/16 and 21% higher than in 2014/15. Details: London: House of Commons Library, 2018. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper No. SN4304: Accessed March 27, 2018 at: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN04304 Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN04304 Shelf Number: 149583 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicide Knife Crime Knives Violent Crime

Author: Hsiao, Celia Title: Reducing violence in South Africa: From research to action Summary: Preventing and reducing violence in South Africa must be a national priority if the country is to realise the development goals set by the National Development Plan 2030. Violence exacts an enormous cost - both directly and indirectly - and will undermine and hamper efforts to reduce poverty and inequality and to grow the economy. In December 2017 South Africa joined 15 Pathfinding countries under the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children. Being a Pathfinding country commits South Africa to realise the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 16.2: to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence and torture against children. It also commits the country to ensuring that all sectors - government, civil society and the private sector - work together to end violence against children. But ending violence experienced by children requires us also to end violence against women. Not only is this important because it will reduce children's exposure to violence, but also because violence against women is a human rights violation that impacts negatively on the society in which children are raised. Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2017. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief, Accessed April 9, 2018 at: https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/plicybrief108-v2.pdf Year: 2017 Country: South Africa URL: https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/plicybrief108-v2.pdf Shelf Number: 149735 Keywords: Children Exposed to Violence Crime and Development Crime Prevention Evidence-Based Programs Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime Violent Prevention

Author: Haugaard, Lisa Title: Between a Wall and a Dangerous Place: The Intersection of Human Rights, Public Security, Corruption & Migration in Honduras and El Salvador Summary: In January 2018, the Trump Administration made the decision to terminate in 18 months the special immigration protections, Temporary Protected Status, which allowed some 200,000 Salvadoran men and women to work and live legally in the United States, following natural disasters affecting their country. In May 2018, the administration will determine the fate of some 57,000 Hondurans under the same program. Salvadorans and Hondurans in the United States are also dramatically affected by other new restrictions and uncertainties on immigration policies, including the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (the DACA program) for the young people known as the Dreamers-some 50,000 of whom are from these two countries. Hondurans and Salvadorans fleeing violence today and seeking refuge in the United States face increased difficulties in accessing protections at the border and applying for asylum. Back in their home countries, gang violence and organized crime grimly affect Hondurans' and Salvadorans' daily lives and force them to go into hiding or leave their homes. Their governments' failures to adequately protect their citizens, and indeed, state security forces pursuing hardline strategies that put people, especially young men, at risk, add to the harsh facts of life in El Salvador and Honduras. Women face additional risks from gangs and from domestic violence, and LGBTI persons face violence motivated by societal prejudice-including from police. To this dangerous mix is added another trauma in Honduras: following a disputed presidential election, state violence against protestors left over two dozen people dead and President Juan Orlando Hernandez's government is moving to close space for citizens to defend their rights. This report is a series of blog posts written from October 2017 through March 2018 about the dangers and challenges faced by Honduran and Salvadoran citizens in their home countries, even as the Trump Administration moves to deport more Honduran- and Salvadoran-born people in the United States back to home countries they may no longer know and restrict protections to those fleeing. The series, based on interviews with activists, government officials, journalists, humanitarian workers, diplomats, and academics, shows how the dangers that propel children, teenagers, women, and men from those countries to seek refuge in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere have not ended. Details: Washington, DC: Latin America Working Group Education Fund, 2018. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 10, 2018 at: http://lawg.org/storage/documents/Between_a_Wall_and_a_Dangerous_Place_LAWGEF_web.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Latin America URL: http://lawg.org/storage/documents/Between_a_Wall_and_a_Dangerous_Place_LAWGEF_web.pdf Shelf Number: 149747 Keywords: Corruption Gangs Human Rights Immigration Organized Crime Public Security Violent Crime

Author: Great Britain. Home Office Title: Serious Violence Strategy Summary: The Government is determined to do all it can to break the deadly cycle of violence that devastates the lives of individuals, families and communities. This strategy sets out how we will respond to serious violence. The strategy consolidates the range of very important work already being taken forward and renews our ambition to go further, setting out a number of significant new proposals. We want to make clear that our approach is not solely focused on law enforcement, very important as that is, but depends on partnerships across a number of sectors such as education, health, social services, housing, youth services, and victim services. In particular it needs the support of communities thinking about what they can themselves do to help prevent violent crime happening in the first place and how they can support measures to get young people and young adults involved in positive activities. Our overarching message is that tackling serious violence is not a law enforcement issue alone. It requires a multiple strand approach involving a range of partners across different sectors. The strategy sets out our analysis of the evidence and the trends and drivers of serious violent crime. The evidence shows that while overall crime continues to fall, homicide, knife crime and gun crime have risen since 2014 across virtually all police force areas in England and Wales. Robbery has also risen sharply since 2016. These increases have been accompanied by a shift towards younger victims and perpetrators. Most of the violence is also male on male. About half the rise in robbery, knife and gun crime is due to improvements in police recording. For the remainder, drug-related cases seem to be an important driver. Between 2014/15 and 2016/17, homicides where either the victim or suspect were known to be involved in using or dealing illicit drugs increased from 50% to 57%. Crack cocaine markets have strong links to serious violence and evidence suggests crack use is rising in England and Wales due to a mix of supply and demand factors. Drug-related cases also seem to be one of the driving factors in the homicide increase in the United States. Drug-market violence may also be facilitated and spread to some extent by social media. A small minority are using social media to glamorise gang or drug-selling life, taunt rivals and normalise weapons carrying. There has also been an increase in vulnerable groups susceptible to the related exploitation and/or drug use. The strategy is framed on four key themes: tackling county lines and misuse of drugs, early intervention and prevention, supporting communities and partnerships, and an effective law enforcement and criminal justice response. This strategy represents a step change in the way we think and respond to serious violence, establishing a new balance between prevention and law enforcement. Given the strong link between drugs and serious violence and the related harm and exploitation from county lines, we have set out the action we will take to tackle this violent and exploitative criminal activity. The Home Office is supporting the development of a new National County Lines Co‑ordination Centre. We will continue to raise awareness of county lines and the related exploitation, and we will provide funding to support delivery of a new round of Heroin and Crack Action Areas. Our work on early intervention and prevention is focused on steering young people away from crime and putting in place measures to tackle the root causes. The Home Office has committed $11 million over the next two years through a new Early Intervention Youth Fund to provide support to communities for early intervention and prevention with young people. We will support Redthread to expand and pilot its Youth Violence Intervention Programme outside London, starting with Nottingham and Birmingham, and to develop its service in major London hospitals. We will also continue to fund Young People's Advocates working with gang-affected young women and girls, and exploring whether the model should be expanded. The Home Office will work with the Department for Education and Ofsted to explore what more can be done to support schools in England to respond to potential crime risks and to provide additional support to excluded children. We need an approach that involves partners across different sectors, including police, local authorities and the private and voluntary sector. Communities and local partnerships will be at the heart of our response. This issue must be understood and owned locally so that all the relevant partners can play their part. We will support local partnerships, working with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), to galvanise the local response to tackling serious violence and ensure that they are reflecting local challenges within their plans. We have launched a new media campaign raising awareness about the risks of carrying knives. To help communities tackle knife crime, the Home Office is providing up to $1 million for the Community Fund in both 2018/19 and 2019/20, in addition to continuing the Ending Gang Violence and Exploitation (EGVE) Fund and EGVE review programme. We are clear that tackling serious violence is not a law enforcement issue alone and requires partnerships across a range of agencies; however we want to ensure that we are providing the tools to support the law enforcement and criminal justice response. We are planning new legislation to strengthen our controls on knives, corrosive substances and firearms. The Home Office will also work with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) to ensure their PEEL inspections focus on serious violence and support a HMICFRS thematic inspection of county lines in 2018/19. The Home Office has commissioned the Centre for Applied Science and Technology to ensure that the police have the capability to undertake street testing for corrosives. Finally, we will ensure that there is a framework in place to support delivery of the strategy. The Home Office will establish a new cross sector Serious Violence Taskforce with key representatives from a range of national, local and delivery partner agencies to oversee delivery and challenge the impact of delivery of the Serious Violence Strategy. The current Inter-Ministerial Group on Gangs will be refocused to oversee and drive delivery of the strategy. The Home Secretary will also hold an International Violent Crime Symposium to bring together the international academic community to understand the trends in serious violence in different parts of the world. Details: London: Home Office, 2018. 111p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2018 at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/698009/serious-violence-strategy.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/698009/serious-violence-strategy.pdf Shelf Number: 149794 Keywords: Crime Prevention Drug-Related Violence Gang Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Crime and Development in Africa Summary: Our knowledge on the state of crime in Africa is limited. Given the many development challenges facing the continent, it is not surprising that little attention has been given to crime. But Africa's development challenges are precisely the social factors found to be associated with high crime situations internationally. For example: - Income inequality is one of the most robust quantitative correlates of official crime rates, and Africa hosts some of the most unequal countries in the world: on average, the richest 10% earn 31 times more than the poorest 10%. - Throughout the world, teenaged and young adult males commit most of the crime, and Africa's youthful population (43% under the age of 15) means that a greater part of the society falls into this pool of potential offenders. Many of these young people are not enrolled in educational programmes and cannot find employment. - Rapid rates of urbanisation, a factor that combines elements of population density, cultural clash, and population instability, is also a strong correlate of crime rates. Africa is urbanising at about 4% a year, about twice the global average. - Poor countries have poorly-resourced criminal justice systems, and Africa suffers from the world's least favourable police- and judge-to-population ratios. This ultimately impacts on conviction rates; even if the police perform optimally, offenders in Africa are much less likely to be punished for their wrongdoings than those in the rest of the world. Such a system cannot effectively deter, incapacitate, or rehabilitate criminals. - The proliferation of firearms, related in part to the recurrence of conflict in all regions of the continent and in part to a growing sense of public insecurity, enables and aggravates violent crime. While none of these factors alone causes crime, their presence together does make it more probable that crime will occur, all other things being equal. This does not mean that the continent is doomed to criminality. Rather, it means that crime needs to be anticipated and that development planning should proceed with these dynamics in mind. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2005. 160p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2018 at: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/African_report.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Africa URL: http://www.unodc.org/pdf/African_report.pdf Shelf Number: 149797 Keywords: Developing Countries Gun-Related Violence Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Thomas, Kim Title: The Rule of the Gun: Hits and assassinations in South Africa, 2000-2017 Summary: This report presents an analysis of data on hits (contract killings) carried out in South Africa. The data has been compiled as part of the work of a collaborative project, Assassination Witness. The data that informs the report spans the period from 2000 to 2017 and the findings allow certain conclusions to be drawn about the evolving nature of the phenomenon of paid-for assassinations. The targeted killing of people - a form of organized crime that escalated rapidly towards the end of the data period - has a highly detrimental impact on South Africa's ongoing democratic project and often fragile governance systems. The study found that a large proportion of assassinations in South Africa are contracted for political, economic or social gain, and that commissioned killings also targeted professionals in the country's criminal-justice system. There are segments of the economy that nurture and feed this criminal market, notably South Africa's notoriously violent taxi industry, which provides a recruitment pool where hitmen can be hired. The findings of this report aim to inform a more effective policy response to the phenomenon of contract killings in South Africa in order that more can be done about it. Posted on: 14 March 2018 Share this article FacebookTwitterGoogle GmailOutlook.comPinterestLinkedInSkypeEvernoteWhatsAppEmailShare SummaryThis report presents an analysis of data on hits (contract killings) carried out in South Africa. The data has been compiled as part of the work of a collaborative project, Assassination Witness. The data that informs the report spans the period from 2000 to 2017 and the findings allow certain conclusions to be drawn about the evolving nature of the phenomenon of paid-for assassinations. The targeted killing of people - a form of organized crime that escalated rapidly towards the end of the data period - has a highly detrimental impact on South Africa's ongoing democratic project and often fragile governance systems. The study found that a large proportion of assassinations in South Africa are contracted for political, economic or social gain, and that commissioned killings also targeted professionals in the country's criminal-justice system. There are segments of the economy that nurture and feed this criminal market, notably South Africa's notoriously violent taxi industry, which provides a recruitment pool where hitmen can be hired. The findings of this report aim to inform a more effective policy response to the phenomenon of contract killings in South Africa in order that more can be done about it.Various international studies provided the terminology, framework and background to understanding how and why contract killings become prevalent. But these analyses are largely focused on developed countries. It is important to note that the South African context, as is the case with other developing countries, is different from that of the Global North. In South Africa, the sheer number of hits is greater, the urgency of collecting the data more apparent and the need to act more pressing. Various international studies provided the terminology, framework and background to understanding how and why contract killings become prevalent. But these analyses are largely focused on developed countries. It is important to note that the South African context, as is the case with other developing countries, is different from that of the Global North. In South Africa, the sheer number of hits is greater, the urgency of collecting the data more apparent and the need to act more pressing. Key recommendations - Improve firearm control to reduce the flow of illicit arms.Focus on reducing violent competition within the taxi industry.Erode the 'nurseries of violence' that provide a supply of hitmen for hire. Bolster prosecution-led investigations.Expand efforts at monitoring assassinations and disaggregate homicide data, so that better-quality statistics on contract killings are made available. Details: Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 2018. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 30, 2018 at: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-rule-of-the-gun_Assassination-Witness_-1.pdf Year: 2018 Country: South Africa URL: http://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-rule-of-the-gun_Assassination-Witness_-1.pdf Shelf Number: 149960 Keywords: Assassinations Contract Killings Gun Control Homicides Mafia Violent Crime

Author: Greater London Authority Title: A Safer City for Women and Girls: The London Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2018-2021 Summary: Measures in the Mayor's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy include: Prevention A wide-ranging programme to improve safety in public spaces at all times of day and night including a new Women's Night Safety Charter, partnership to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on the transport network and a new campaign to tackle attitudes of everyday sexism and misogyny Working with partners across London to gain accreditation to the UN Women's Safer Cities and Safe Public Spaces initiative Work to encourage positive attitudes, behaviours and healthy relationships amongst children and young people with specialist advocates in schools and pupil referral units, Safer Schools Officers and a whole school prevention pilot in Croydon Supporting a Good Work Standard to address the #MeToo phenomenon and ensure abuse is not tolerated in the workplace Tackling perpetrators Working with police and criminal justice partners to ensure the most effective handling of dangerous individuals including over $3m to expand the rehabilitative Drive project which provides additional support to help reform the behaviour of perpetrators New measures to tackle stalking Calling on the Government to create a register for perpetrators of domestic abuse and violence, and for tougher sentences for image-based offenses such as 'upskirting' and 'revenge porn' Protection and support for victims $200,000 to support the London Councils Harmful Practices programme - training nurses, midwives and social workers to recognize abuses such as FGM and intervene A complete review of adherence to the Victims' Code of Practice, a new online portal for victims of crime, and a study into rape cases from a victim's perspective Significant investment in general and specialist services for victims including $13m for sexual violence services, $5m for Domestic Violence services, and over $9m for services in London's boroughs The Strategy was informed by a major consultation exercise which included: Consultation with survivors - 15 focus groups with 133 survivors of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), 19 one-to-one interviews and an online survey with 90 respondents. 12 consultation workshops on evidence and data sharing, female offenders, BAME, perpetrators, prevention, enforcement, support for victims, prostitution, harmful practices, priority boroughs plus a roundtable with survivors and another with partners and stakeholders. 400 face-to-face interviews with members of the public across the areas of London where VAWG is most prevalent. Details: London: GLA, 2018. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2018 at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/vawg_strategy_2018-21.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/vawg_strategy_2018-21.pdf Shelf Number: 150056 Keywords: Gender-Based Violence Revenge Pornography Stalking Violence Prevention Violent Against Women, Girls Violent Crime

Author: Greater London Authority Title: The London Knife Crime Strategy Summary: What do we mean by knife crime? Since 2008, knife crime has been defined as any offense that satisfies both of the following criteria: - Is classified as an offense of homicide, attempted murder, assault with intent to cause harm, assault with injury, threats to kill, sexual offenses (including rape) and robbery; - Where a knife or sharp instrument has been used to injure, used as a threat, or the victim was convinced a knife was present during the offense. Knife possession offenses have been defined as: - Having an article with blade or point in a public place (including school); - Threatening with a blade or sharply pointed article in a public place (including school); - Possession of offensive weapon; - Using someone to look after an offensive weapon; - Threatening with an offensive weapon. How many knife crimes are there? Who are the offenders and who are the victims? Knife crime is on the rise across the country. In 2016, London (excluding the City) accounted for around three in ten recorded knife offenses nationally. In the 12 months to March 2017, over 12,000 knife crime offenses were recorded in London. In 2016 knife crime across England and Wales rose by 14 per cent, compared to 11 per cent in London. The majority of knife crimes in London are related to street violence and robbery. Analysis of Metropolitan Police crime data for 2016/17 indicates that 75 per cent of victims of knife crime are male and frequently aged less than 25 years of age.3 Almost half of all victims of knife crime were from BAME backgrounds. Those recorded as black ethnicity represented one in five of all victims of knife crime in the last year. For offenders, almost ninety per cent were male and of those, 62 per cent were from BAME backgrounds. Details: London: GLA, 2017. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed May 4, 2018 at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_knife_crime_strategy_june_2017.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mopac_knife_crime_strategy_june_2017.pdf Shelf Number: 150059 Keywords: Homicides Knife Crimes Robbery Violent Crime

Author: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Title: Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2016 and 2017 Summary: The FBI has designated 50 shootings in 2016 and 2017 as active shooter incidents. Twenty incidents occurred in 2016, while 30 incidents occurred in 2017. As with past FBI active shooter-related publications, this report does not encompass all gun-related situations. Rather, it focuses on a specific type of shooting situation. The FBI defines an active shooter as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter's use of one or more firearms. The active aspect of the definition inherently implies that both law enforcement personnel and citizens have the potential to affect the outcome of the event based upon their responses to the situation. This report supplements two previous publications: A Study of Active Shooter Incidents in the United States Between 2000 and 20132 and Active Shooter Incidents in the United States in 2014 and 2015.3 The methodology articulated in the 2000-2013 study was applied to the 2016 and 2017 incidents to ensure consistency. Excluded from this report are gang- and drug-related shootings and gun-related incidents that appeared not to have put other people in peril (e.g., the accidental discharge of a firearm in a bar). Analysts relied on official law enforcement investigative reports (when available), FBI holdings, and publicly available resources when gathering data for this report. Though limited in scope, this report was undertaken to provide clarity and data of value to federal, state, tribal, and campus law enforcement as well as other first responders, corporations, educators, and the general public as they seek to neutralize threats posed by active shooters and save lives during such incidents. Details: Washington, DC: FBI, 2018. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 7, 2018 at: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-us-2016-2017.pdf/view Shelf Number: 150072 Keywords: Active Shooter Incidents Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence (U.S.) Homicides Mass Homicides School Violence Threat Assessment Violent Crime Workplace Violence

Author: Parsons, Chelsea Title: America's Youth Under Fire: The Devastating Impact of Gun Violence on Young People Summary: On February 14, 2018, 14 students and three staff members were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, by a single shooter armed with an assault rifle. This horrific massacre galvanized the nation's attention to the issue of gun violence, particularly as it affects young people in this country. However, the scope of gun violence as it affects America's youth is much vaster than this most recent mass shooting. Gunfire has officially overtaken car accidents as one of the leading killers of young people in the United States. As of publication time, since the beginning of 2018, 820 teens ages 12 to 17 have been killed or injured with a gun. As mass shootings become more common and more deadly, a staggering 57 percent of teenagers now fear a school shooting. The epidemic of gun violence against America's youth is more than just a disturbing data point. For each bullet fired, there are multiple stories of lives changed forever. When he was just 6 years old, Missouri State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. saw his brother shot in front of their neighbor's home. Nevada activist Mariam El-Haj witnessed the shooting of her mother by her estranged father, who then turned the gun on Mariam. Oregon youth mentor Jes Phillip's siblings have all had close calls-she has three younger sisters who were present at the Reynolds High School shooting in Troutdale, Oregon, and two bullets landed next to her brother's bed when they came through her family's apartment wall during a neighborhood shooting. Nineteen- year-old student Eli Saldana, a member of the Native American community living in Chicago, was shot on his walk home from work. These stories of gun violence are all too common among young Americans. The United States' gun violence epidemic disproportionately ravages young people, particularly young people of color. In short, gun violence is shattering a generation. Young people are not simply victims of gun violence in this country, they are among the leading voices calling for change to the nation's weak gun laws and deadly gun culture. Organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement; survivors of the Parkland shooting; youth organizers working in cities hardest hit by gun violence, such as Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis, have all lent their voices to an increasingly loud call to action. These young people do not just want to reform gun laws-they are also demanding that the issue of gun violence be examined as part of a complex and intersectional web of issues that also include community disinvestment, criminal justice reform, and policing. They are advocating not only for solutions to make schools safer from mass shootings but also for holistic and intersectional solutions that will help make all communities safer. This report breaks down how gun violence is affecting young people, and how young activists are rising to build an intersectional movement working for solutions. It examines the specific impact of gun violence on young people and considers both how young people as a collective are disproportionately affected and how different communities of young people share different aspects of the burden of this violence. This report also highlights examples of young people leading the advocacy efforts around this issue and discusses a number of policy solutions that are crucial to reducing gun violence, reforming the criminal justice system, improving police-community relations, and encouraging reinvestment in impacted communities. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress; Generation Progress, 2018. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: http://genprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/03163735/2018-YouthUnderFire-report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://genprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/03163735/2018-YouthUnderFire-report.pdf Shelf Number: 150119 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Mass Shootings Violent Crime

Author: Weisser, Michael Title: Where are all the Guns? Summary: A detailed analysis of background check data correlated with gun-violence rates and gun laws for all 50 states. Paper shows that gun-violence rates may correlate more positively with gun ownership rates than with the strength of gun regulations. Paper also covers relevant bibliography. Details: Unpublished paper, 2018. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3167983 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3167983 Shelf Number: 150124 Keywords: Crime Rates Criminal Background Checks Gun Policy Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Right to Carry Violent Crime

Author: Ellis, Geoffrey A. Title: Evaluating common hypotheses for violence in Central America Summary: This thesis endeavors to bring analytical clarity to the assumptions that inform proposed policy solutions to the alarming rise in violence in Central America. The thesis evaluates three of the most common hypotheses for citizen insecurity in the region: the impact of structural economic problems like poverty and inequality; the efficacy of state criminological approaches; and the effectiveness of internal security institutions. To evaluate each hypothesis, the thesis uses a comparative case analysis of Nicaragua and El Salvador. In spite of dramatic divergence in violence outcomes, the two countries share many variables including geographical proximity, economic development challenges, a history of civil conflict, and democratic transition in the 1990s. Using homicide rates as the most reliable indicator of violence, the findings reveal that structural economic problems like poverty and inequality have only an imperfect correlation with citizen security. On the contrary, variables that correlate more closely with peaceful security outcomes include the effectiveness of security institutions-characterized by sophisticated plans, sound structures, and adequate resources-and rigorous criminological approaches as characterized by community involvement, efficient intelligence-gathering mechanisms, and recidivism reduction programs. The thesis's implications pertain not only to Central America but also to troubled regions throughout the world. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2016. 124p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 9, 2018 at: https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/51687 Year: 2016 Country: Central America URL: https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/51687 Shelf Number: 150130 Keywords: Citizen Security Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Chavez Villegas, Cirenia Title: Youth and Organised Crime in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: An exploration of contributing factors Summary: This research explores why young men participate in organised crime in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. From an ecological perspective, decisions are the result of a combination of factors at the macro, micro, and individual levels. The research explores factors at each of these levels, particularly the role of unfulfilled aspirations, the family and community environments, as well as different dimensions of poverty. In doing so, it uses an original survey covering a sample of 180 delinquent young men aged 12 to 29, who were in prison for organised criminal activity, and a sample of 180 non-delinquents with the same age, social background, and geographical origin in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Twenty in-depth interviews were also carried out with a subsample of delinquents. To my knowledge, this is the first study to use a quasi-experimental approach to understand why young men in Mexico participate in organised crime that considers their aspirations and measures multidimensional poverty amongst a population that is commonly excluded from census data. The thesis draws on several theoretical frameworks from the fields of criminology and sociology, including anomie and attachment theories. The findings lend support to the importance of aspirations at the individual level. Opportunity constraints predict criminal participation and delinquents tend to place greater value on material items than their nondelinquent counterparts, which calls for the co-creation and management of aspirations of former delinquents and at-risk youth with the aid of counsellors. In the family environment, being raised in a single parent household was a significant predictor of participation in organised crime. As these households are often headed by women, greater support for working mothers is pressing, as work in the assembly plants in Juarez (the prime source of employment) is not accompanied with childcare. More involved fathers who constitute positive role models are necessary to mitigate the risks of criminal participation. In the community environment, regularly spending time in a gang significantly predicted organised crime participation. Although gangs constitute a gateway, they do not unequivocally lead to organised crime. This calls for an adequate assessment of gangs, a phenomenon that is still poorly understood in Mexico. At the macro level, the findings reveal that those who are more income deprived have a lower probability of having participated in crime, suggesting that participation reduces income poverty marginally. However, a higher proportion of delinquent participants are vulnerable due to deprivation in several social indicators and most delinquent participants are still multidimensionally poor, despite their participation in organised crime. This indicates that participating in crime does not constitute an effective or sustained pathway out of poverty, a message that should be communicated to at-risk youth. A more robust poverty and inequality reduction program accompanied by fiscal reform and higher minimum wages are also among the key policy recommendations. Details: Cambridge, UK: Queens' College, University of Cambridge, 2018. 266p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 10, 2018 at: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/273773/Chavez-2018-PhD.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2018 Country: Mexico URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/273773/Chavez-2018-PhD.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 150144 Keywords: Juvenile Delinquents Organized Crime Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violent Crime Youth Gangs Youthful Offenders

Author: Blake, Damion Keith Title: Violent Actors and Embedded Power: Exploring the Evolving Roles of Dons in Jamaica Summary: The Jamaican don is a non-state actor who wields considerable power and control inside that nation's garrison communities. A don is a male figure, usually from the community in which he plays a leadership role. Garrisons in Jamaica have often emerged as neighborhoods that are don-ruled shadow versions of the official State. These are poor inner city communities characterized by homogeneous and, in some cases, over-voting patterns for one of Jamaica's two major political parties: the Peoples National Party (PNP) or the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP). This dissertation explores the major roles dons played in Jamaican garrisons. It focused on one community in the downtown metro area of one of the nation's cities. Additionally, it investigated the factors that account for the evolution of such roles performed by dons from the 1960s to the present. I used governance theories and the concept of embeddedness as an analytic framework to interpret the power and authority dons have in garrisons. Dons, as it turned out, perform four central roles in garrisons: security/protection, social welfare, partisan mobilization and law, order and conflict resolution via "jungle justice" measures. Different types of dons perform alternate mixes of these roles. The case study described here led me to develop a taxonomy of these informal community leaders by separating them into Mega, Area and Street Dons. I argue overall that dons are embedded governing authorities in Jamaican garrisons based on the socio-economic and political roles they carry out. By examining the responsibilities of dons in Jamaica, this analysis contributes to the literature on the activities of non-state criminal actors and their forms of influence on governance processes. The study suggests that it may now be appropriate to re-think the nature of governance and the actors we broadly assume are legitimate holders of power and authority in developing nation contexts. Details: Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2012. 213p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 14, 2018 at: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/49569/Blake_DK_D_2012.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2012 Country: Jamaica URL: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/49569/Blake_DK_D_2012.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 150186 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gun Trafficking Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Knight, Victoria Title: Engaging with the Night Time Economy Community: Finding Ways to Enhance Violence Reduction Across Leicester City Summary: This report documents the outcome of a series of consultations with the night time economy community in Leicester city. Its focus was to explore the ways in which this community and its stakeholders views and responds to the incidence of violent crime. The report describes the rationale and approach to understanding violent crime in the night time economy in the context of Leicester city. A number of key messages and themes have been identified as a result of this consultation. These messages have helped to secure a number of priorities to assist with violence reduction in the night time economy and more broadly enhance harm reduction associated with alcohol consumption. The report captures what Leicester city is doing well and highlights additional areas to enhance good practice for all stakeholders. A consolidated and joint approach is imperative to securing good working relationships across the night time community in order for it succeed. This executive summary highlights the key points of the full report. Rationale and Approach to the Consultation Violent crime reduction has been identified as a priority for the Safer Leicestershire Partnership. Common assault was identified as an area which required attention in Leicester's city centre and the West of the City. It was also observed that common assault and other violent crime was occurring more frequently during the night time periods, especially those where individuals visit these areas to consume alcohol. An audit of the night time economy in 2011 highlighted a number of complex issues associated with violence and the night time economy. In addition Leicestershire police conducted a review of violent crime data in the night time economy in 2011. Although useful, it was recognised that a much deeper understanding of the practices of key stakeholders was necessary in order to develop strategies to bring about harm minimization and a safer night time experience for all stakeholders. A series of consultations occurred in 2012 which was led by an independent researcher from De Montfort University. Key stakeholders who included licensees, door supervisors, police, clinical staff, volunteers and key strategic and operational staff took part in a series of group discussions to describe their practice and their views on violence reduction. What Research says about Violence in the Night Time Economy The causes and impact of violence in the night time economy have been closely associated with the consumption of alcohol. Using geographical techniques research has identified that violence increases during 'hot times' and in 'hot spots'. Extended opportunities to consume more alcohol as a result of relaxed licensing hours have also been attributed to an increase in violent crime. Injury is an outcome for some of the violence that occurs during these times and more recently clinical data has been used to understand the scale of violent crime. It is widely acknowledged that the extent of violence is not fully understood, with a large proportion going unreported. Significant contributors to violent crime in the night time economy include; drunkennessexacerbated by long drinking periods extended by 'pre-' and 'back-' loading and the availability of cheap alcohol, previous involvement in violence, drinking in single sex groups, young and male. Violence is also increased in spaces where crowds can gather, where loud music is played and in standing-only venues. Police typically employ two generic models of policing for the night time economy; community/preventative policing and reactive/fast response. Together these use intelligence and knowledge of the community to deliver their services. Clinical provision typically provides static care within A&E departments. More recently mobile and specialist units have been deployed at night time periods to slow down entrants to A&E. Research indicates that the night time periods have demanded an increase in staffing to manage an increase in alcohol related injury. Some departments now provide alcohol specialist nurses, alcohol screening tool, and joint working with police officers to promote harm minimization. Door supervisors contribute significantly to the regulation of the night time economy. Volunteers like Street Pastors provide additional pastoral care for vulnerable night time users. A range of prevention and intervention strategies have been trialed and implemented to assist with violence reduction in night time economy contexts. These include practices and techniques adopted by licensees and door supervisors such training for dealing with drunkenness, drinks or entry refusal and ID checking. The adoption of banning patrons, using plastic glasses instead of glass and pub/club watch initiatives. Policing has also used high visibility techniques to increase police presence, test purchasing, targeting hot spots and vulnerable venues, the use of dispersal orders and training the drinks industry. Local government initiatives include coordinated transport arrangements, multi-agency working, temporary road closures and replacing conventional street lighting with 'white lighting'. Public health interventions include harm minimization awareness campaigns and alcohol screening tools. Key Findings Maintaining standards across the night time economy is achieved through compliance with regulations and good practice. Balancing safety and working within resources and creating a healthy economy can be a challenge. There is a strong desire to maintain and extend standards. Barriers to this included lack of understanding about other services, working relationships, ability to invest in better practice and access to support. Good practice includes: coordinated forum through Citywatch to access support, advice and their radio service, licensee practices within venues to maintain compliance with Licensing Act, the city's shared agreement not to sell alcohol cheaply, designing in environmental features to keep night time visitors calm in venues, use of experienced and legitimate door supervisors, regulation of the security industry, joint local partnership between licensing and specialist licensing officers, focused policing- licensing officers and dedicated night time economy responsive teams, high visibility policing in hot spots, joint police and paramedic mobile unit- POLAMB, availability of voluntary services. Access and availability of training is limited across the city for all stakeholders. Despite training being available, this is uncoordinated and lacks consolidation. There is a desire for more frequent and diverse training to enhance knowledge and practice. The supply of alcohol across the city that exacerbates drunkenness and disorder has brought about a stigmatization of the industry and for licensees and door supervisors this has meant they are unable to promote their professionalism more extensively. There is evidence to support that licensees and door supervisors do accept a duty of care for their customers but it was felt this was not widespread or acknowledged by other stakeholders. Dealing with difficult situations as a result of drunkenness is a pressure point for all stakeholders. Stakeholders are routinely subjected to abuse (verbal and physical) from night time visitors. Stakeholders who used the Citywatch radio felt that this facility should be used more to help tackle these issues and help other services and visitors to keep safe There is some frustration about the ways in which offenders of crime and anti-social behaviour are dealt with. Confidence in the Section 27 disposal (dispersal order) is limited. All stakeholders expressed some misunderstandings about what other services can do. As a result disproportionate expectations of services have emerged. Achieving trust and sound working relationships between services is limited by lack of understanding, negative experiences of services, stigma and ability to forge relationships based on time and resources. The night time economy in Leicester is diverse in terms of places (including types of venues), people and behaviour. Open and transparent communication and targeting the right resources to the right places at the right time can enhance this. Problems arise when crowds are able to gather, transport remains limited, extended availability of alcohol (including off-licenses), litter is allowed to gather, response times are delayed by accessibility issues and the availability of food is limited. Competing agendas between stakeholders is a barrier to enhancing working relationships and subsequent partnerships. Limited resources were identified as a significant barrier. Details: Leicester, UK: Leicester City Council, 2012. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2018 at: https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2086/9336/Engaging%20with%20the%20Night%20Time%20Economy%20Community%20Full%20Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2086/9336/Engaging%20with%20the%20Night%20Time%20Economy%20Community%20Full%20Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 150347 Keywords: Alcohol Law Enforcement Alcohol Related Crime, Disorder Anti-Social Disorder Night-Time Economy Violence Violent Crime

Author: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) Title: Drug-related homicide in Europe: a first review of the data and literature Summary: Drugs can act as facilitators for all types of violence, including drug-related homicide (DRH). Addressing this phenomenon is of importance not only given the severity of a homicide event and its high costs to society, but also because DRH has the potential to act as a valuable indicator of wider drug-related violent crime. Comparing DRH levels between countries can be a valuable tool for identifying trends and new threats. As part of its programme for developing and improving drug supply indicators, the EMCDDA has been expanding its monitoring to include measures of wider drug-related crime, including DRH. However, there appears to be a significant gap in the available European data on DRH. This Paper aims to identify relevant European data sources on DRH, to assess the role of drugs in national homicide data, and to assess these sources and data in terms of monitoring potential. A critical review was conducted of existing national and international homicide data sources. Data on DRH is systematically prepared in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom (England, Wales, and Scotland). Available data suggests both between- and within-country variability in relation to the role of drugs in homicide events. Based on these findings, four key obstacles can be identified in terms of the current ability to monitor DRH: missing data, fragmented data, comparability issues and data quality reservations. To overcome these obstacles there is a need to define and operationalise concepts, based on common definitions and integrate them into the EMCDDA monitoring system. Details: Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: EMCDDA Papers: Accessed May 30, 2018 at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/8838/20182100_TDAU18001ENN_PDF.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Europe URL: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/8838/20182100_TDAU18001ENN_PDF.pdf Shelf Number: 150377 Keywords: Drug-Related Violence Drugs and Crime Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Arredondo Sanchez Lira, Jaime Title: Mapping violence: homicides trends in Mexico and Brazil 1990-2010 Summary: Latin America has become one of the most violent regions in the world. Public Safety is now among the principal citizen's demands in some of those countries. This paper begins with a consideration of the role of police in answering the demand for public safety by local populations, and its role as a tool for exercising the state's monopoly of legitimate violence within a territory. Two relevant countries in the region, Brazil and Mexico, have undertaken police reform throughout these two decades, emphasizing lately a combination of new social and policing strategies. However, public opinion and the demand for solutions vary accordingly to changes in general crime trends; previous studies have used a methodology to understand such phenomenon. Homicides provide a good indicator of violence, since its measurement is based upon a common international methodology of mortality public health data. This research develops a new comparison approach that takes into account national tendencies, historical averages and the stability across time of homicides rates at the federal state level in Mexico and Brazil. These trends draw a general picture of violence that is helpful for future public policy discussions. The correlation between violence levels and stability of crime hold for the Brazilian case but not for Mexico, where we can observe a shift of violence to federal Border States and cities. The lack of proper crime statistics and a more detailed conceptualization of reform efforts should be address in future studies to fully understand regional tendencies and tailor local solutions. Details: San Diego: University of California, San Diego, 2012. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed June 20, 2018 at: https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt4bd8c6p9/qt4bd8c6p9.pdf?t=msz23w Year: 2012 Country: Latin America URL: https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt4bd8c6p9/qt4bd8c6p9.pdf?t=msz23w Shelf Number: 150596 Keywords: Crime Trends Homicides Police Reform Public Safety Violence Violent Crime

Author: Arredondo Sanchez Lira, Jaime Title: The Resurgence of Violent Crime in Tijuana Summary: This policy brief provides an assessment of the recent resurgence of violent crime in the Mexican border city of Tijuana in the state of Baja California. With an estimated 1.8 million inhabitants in 2017, Tijuana is the largest Mexican city on the U.S.-Mexico border. The city is home to roughly 49% of Baja California's population, while comprising only around 2% of the state's territory. Today one of Mexico's fastest growing cities, Tijuana reportedly grows at an annual rate of 35,000 people per year, or nearly 96 new inhabitants per day, drawing large numbers of immigrants from elsewhere in Mexico to join the city's robust economy. A longtime destination for cross-border tourism, Tijuana has long prided itself as the "world's most visited city." Today, nearly 190,000 people cross the border between Tijuana and neighboring San Diego on a daily basis for work, commerce, schooling, fine dining, family gatherings, and other recreational pursuits. Moreover, an estimated 200,000 U.S. citizens reside in the state of Baja California (roughly one in five of all U.S. citizens estimated to reside in Mexico), with many of them living in Tijuana. The city's thriving manufacturing sector makes Tijuana a vital part of the vibrant cross-border economic area known as the "Cali-Baja" region, particularly in areas such as electronics and medical devices; one study estimates that this region is responsible for roughly 40% of all audio-visual manufacturing in North America. Yet, dating back to the Prohibition-era of the 1920s, Tijuana also has long suffered a reputation as a city of vice. Over the last decade, that reputation has been further damaged by dramatic surges of violent crime, often attributable to drug-trafficking and organized crime groups. The city also has high levels of drug use that are shaped by its proximity to the United States. While methamphetamine is the main illicit drug used in the State of Baja California, the city has a higher concentration of heroin drug users compared to the national average, resulting in a concentrated epidemic of HIV and Hepatitis C virus among this high-risk population. In 2017, Tijuana had more homicides than any other city in Mexico, in a record year for national homicide figures. According to information from the Baja California Ministry of Public Safety, from 2016 to 2017 Tijuana saw the number of investigations on homicide cases rise from 872 to 1,618, an increase of roughly 86% in just one year. Preliminary figures from the Baja California State Secretary of Public Security put the total number of homicides in these cases at 1,780 homicide victims in Tijuana. 8 Preliminary data from Mexico's National Public Security system puts the total number of victims of homicide in the country at 29,168, a number that could increase to over 30,000 when final tallies are completed in the coming months.9 Based on these figures, the authors calculate that in 2017 one out of twenty murders in Mexico took place in Tijuana. Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: Policy Brief: Accessed June 20, 2018 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180205_TJViolence.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/180205_TJViolence.pdf Shelf Number: 150597 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Homicides Illicit Drugs Organized Crime Trafficking in Drugs Violence Violent Crime

Author: Cerqueira, Daniel R.C. Title: Atlas da violencia: 2018 Summary: In this Atlas of Violence 2018, produced by Ipea and the Brazilian Forum of Public Security (FBSP), we constructed and analyzed numerous indicators to better understand the process of marked violence in the country. Death numbers are counted from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) as events involving assaults and deaths caused by legal intervention (codes X85-Y09 and Y35-Y36). The International Classification of Diseases is published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has standardized the codification of diseases and mortality from external causes worldwide since 1893. The data released refer to the period from 2006 to 2016, considering the most recently published by the Information System on Mortality (SIM) and published on the website of the Department of Informatics of SUS - DATASUS. The second report is the "Atlas of Violence 2018: public policies and portraits of Brazilian municipalities". A mapping of violent deaths in Brazilian municipalities with a population of more than 100 thousand residents. Seven key elements generally found in experiences that have succeeded in reducing violent crime in a relatively short period of time are discussed. To illustrate the interaction between human development and violent deaths, we present selected socioeconomic indicators in order to compose a photograph for each of the 309 municipalities listed. Details: Rio de Janeiro: ipea, 2018. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2018 at: http://www.ipea.gov.br/atlasviolencia/arquivos/downloads/7457-2852-180604atlasdaviolencia2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.ipea.gov.br/atlasviolencia/arquivos/downloads/7457-2852-180604atlasdaviolencia2018.pdf Shelf Number: 150608 Keywords: Crime Statistics Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Brazil. Secretary General Title: Custos Economicos da Criminalidade No Brasil Summary: - Brazil is among the top 10% of countries with the highest homicide rates in the world - despite having a population equivalent to 3% of the world population, the country accounts for about 14% of all homicides in the world. Brazilian homicide rates are similar to those in Rwanda, the Dominican Republic, South Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo. - There have been three distinct times in the number of homicides in Brazil in the last 20 years. In the first period, from 1996 to 2003, there was an increase, from 35 thousand to 48 thousand homicides per year. In the subsequent period, between 2003 and 2007, there was a 48 thousand to 44 thousand victims a year. Finally, as of 2008, there was a further increase in the number of victims, although at a slower pace than before 2003, reaching 54 thousand in 2015. - Homicide rates are highly heterogeneous in the country. Some microregions, especially that of Sao Paulo, which has the largest population, has homicide rates close to 10 per 100 thousand inhabitants. On the other hand, some North-Northeast, such as Belem, Salvador, Fortaleza and Sao Luis, as well as the micro-region of the Surroundings of the Federal District, have homicide rates above 50 per 100 thousand inhabitants, which would place them at levels of some of the world's most violent countries, such as Jamaica, Venezuela and Honduras. - The evolution in homicide rates in the last decade was also significantly with a declining trend in homicide rates in the Southeast and increase in the North-Northeast. - It is estimated that, for each homicide of 13- to 25-year-olds, the present value of loss of productive capacity is about 550 thousand reais. The cumulative loss of productive capacity resulting from homicides, between 1996 and 2015, surpassed 450 billion reais. - The economic costs of crime increased substantially between 1996 and 2015, from about 113 billion reais to 285 billion reais. This is equivalent to an average real increase of about 4.5% per year. By 2015, the components, in order of relevance were: public security (1.35% of GDP); private security (from Google Translations) Details: Brasilia: Secretary General, 2018. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: RELATORIO DE CONJUNTURA No. 4: Accessed June 27, 2018 at: http://www.secretariageral.gov.br/estrutura/secretaria_de_assuntos_estrategicos/publicacoes-e-analise/relatorios-de-conjuntura/custos_economicos_criminalidade_brasil.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.secretariageral.gov.br/estrutura/secretaria_de_assuntos_estrategicos/publicacoes-e-analise/relatorios-de-conjuntura/custos_economicos_criminalidade_brasil.pdf Shelf Number: 150714 Keywords: Costs of Crime Crime Statistics Economics of Crime Homicides Violence Violent Crime

Author: Does, Antonia Title: Citizen (In)Security in the Northern Triangle of Central America: an Analysis of the Construction of the Maras Summary: High levels of crime and violence in Central America�s northern triangle are a major preoccupation of politicians, policy-makers and citizens. Public authorities in ElSalvador, Honduras and Guatemala have largely sought repressive measures toincrease public safety and to contain such violence, for which youth gangs ( maras )are principally held responsible. This paper aims at uncovering more comprehensivelythe motivations and the intended effects behind the suppressive strategies of the respective governments. Viewing the gang phenomenon through the lens of securitization theory allows for a new understanding of the construction of the maras and furthermore reveals a blurred line between the political and the security sectors. The analysis finds that interests other than combatting a security threat, as well as the particular historical and societal contexts of the three countries, seem to decisively influence how the maras are addressed. Details: Geneva: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, 2012 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed June 29, 2018 at: https://www.academia.edu/3691562/Citizen_In_Security_in_the_Northern_Triangle_of_Central_America_an_Analysis_of_the_Construction_of_the_Maras Year: 2012 Country: Central America URL: https://www.academia.edu/3691562/Citizen_In_Security_in_the_Northern_Triangle_of_Central_America_an_Analysis_of_the_Construction_of_the_Maras Shelf Number: 150744 Keywords: Gang Violence Gang-Related Violence Gangs Homicides Mara Salvatrucha Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: United States Sentencing Commission Title: Mandatory Minimum Penalties for Firearms Offenses in the Federal Criminal Justice System Summary: This publication is the third in the Commission's series on mandatory minimum penalties. Using fiscal year 2016 data, this publication includes analyses of the two statutes carrying a firearms mandatory minimum penalty, 18 U.S.C. � 924(c) (relating to using or possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking or crimes of violence) and the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. � 924(e), as well as the impact of those provisions on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) population. Where appropriate, the publication highlights changes and trends since the Commission's 2011 Mandatory Minimum Report. Details: Washington, DC: The Commission, 2018. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 10, 2018 at: https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2018/20180315_Firearms-Mand-Min.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2018/20180315_Firearms-Mand-Min.pdf Shelf Number: 150793 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Federal Sentencing Guidelines Firearms Offenses Mandatory Minimum Sentences Sentencing Guidelines Violent Crime

Author: Arab American Institute Foundation Title: Underreported, Under Threat: Hate Crime in the United States and the Targeting of Arab Americans Summary: Underreported, Under Threat: Hate Crime in the United States and the Targeting of Arab Americans consists of three parts. Part One provides important context to the nature of targeted violence against Arab Americans. Part Two features a compelling selection of case studies that demonstrate the nature of anti-Arab hate crime, the harms inflicted on individuals and communities, and the limitations of existing laws, policies, and their irregular enforcement to address those harms. Part Three retraces the history of hate crime reporting and data collection within the context of targeted violence against Arab Americans, and features analysis into anti-Arab hate crime data published at the state and federal level between 1991 and 2016. Details: Washington, DC: The Institute, 2018. 320p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed July 25, 2018 at: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/aai/pages/14141/attachments/original/1532368728/Report_Final.pdf?1532368728 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/aai/pages/14141/attachments/original/1532368728/Report_Final.pdf?1532368728 Shelf Number: 150911 Keywords: Bias-Motivated Crime Crime Statistics Hate Crime Violent Crime

Author: Arab American Institute Foundation Title: Rating the Response: Hate Crime Legislation, Reporting, and Data Collection in the United States Summary: RHCR-_Cover.pngating the Response: Hate Crime Legislation, Reporting, and Data Collection in the United States provides a clearinghouse for hate crime-related information pertaining to every state and the District of Columbia. You can use this resource to learn about the relevant legislative and regulatory commitments to address hate crime within your state. To get a better sense of where your state stands, we have developed a rating system to rank and compare states, while identifying weaknesses in their overall response to hate crime. We have also provided information that will be addressed in our forthcoming report, Underreported, Under Threat: Hate Crime in the United States and the Targeting of Arab Americans, 1991-2016, which is slated for release soon. You can expect to learn more about the history of anti-Arab bigotry and its effects on the Arab American experience, in addition to the broader hate crime reporting and data collection system. Underreported / Under Threat also features a selection of narrative vignettes that detail specific accounts of anti-Arab hate crime. Together, Rating the Response and Underreported, Under Threat provide valuable information for policy makers, advocates, and community members alike. They also underscore the need for an improved response to hate crime in communities nationwide. Details: Washington, DC: The Institute, 2018. 238p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2018 at: http://www.aaiusa.org/rating_the_response_hate_crime_legislation_reporting_and_data_collection_in_the_united_states Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.aaiusa.org/rating_the_response_hate_crime_legislation_reporting_and_data_collection_in_the_united_states Shelf Number: 150917 Keywords: Bias-Motivated Crime Crime Statistics Hate Crime Violent Crime

Author: Neville, Lucy Jane Title: Exploring Fatal and Non-Fatal Attacks on Prostitutes: An action systems approach Summary: This thesis examines the nature of violence against prostitutes, fatal and non-fatal, through the use of an action systems approach. It is hypothesised that the action systems framework can be used to predict likely offender and victim characteristics based on the nature of the ~rime and the crime scene. It is too simplistic to regard all prostitute murderers as being similarly motivated and having similar objectives, and different 'types' of killers are likely to exhibit distinct modus operandi. The thesis addresses the question of whether prostitute murderers differ from one another in crime scene behaviours according to their motivation for committing the crime; that is, the source (inside or outside the acting system) and target (inside or outside the acting system) of their actions. Four possible combinations of source and target give rise to four dominant states that an action system can take; integrative, expressive, conservative, and adaptive. Ninety-two (92) prostitute homicide cases from across Engla.nd were examined, using a Smallest Space Analysis, and these four different action system modes were able to reliably distinguish between homicides. A similar approach was then adopted to examine violent assaults and rapes of prostitutes; and to compare homicide of prostitutes with homicides of non-prostitute women. Two hundred and thirty seven (237) non-fatal attacks on prostitutes were examined, as were 89 homicides of non-prostitute women. It was found that the men who assault and/or rape prostitutes are criminally distinct from the men who murder them, but primarily in terms of length of offending career and number of convictions, implying that men who attack prostitutes are likely to escalate their ,violence towards this victim group (and perhaps more generally) over time. Men who kill prostitutes were, however, found to be substantially different from those who kill women more generally in terms of criminal background and demographics. An action systems framework was less effective in reliably differentiating between different modes of non-fatal attacks on prostitutes and the men who carry them out, suggesting that these sorts of attacks may be too homogenous to be accurately modelled by taking an action systems approach to the data. The implications of these findings for understanding the nature of violence towards prostitutes is discussed, as well as the implications for the action system framework as a general model for considering a wide range of crimes. Details: Guilford, UK: University of Surrey, 2012. 340p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 26, 2018 at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/804460/1/Neville2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/804460/1/Neville2012.pdf Shelf Number: 150924 Keywords: Homicides Prostitutes Prostitution Sex Workers Victims of Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: International Crisis Group Title: El Salvador's Politics of Perpetual Violence Summary: El Salvador, a small country in the isthmus of Central America, is wracked by an implacable strain of gang warfare. Exceptionally intense and persistent violence pits rival street gangs against one another and in opposition to the police and state. Formerly hailed for its smooth transition to democracy and for turning the two foes of its 1980s civil war into political forces competing vigorously yet peaceably for power, El Salvador once again is famed for its bloodletting. Its recent murder rates rank among the highest in the world and its jails are among the most overcrowded. For the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, its main gang, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), personifies the menace of undocumented immigration. Although the Salvadoran state has developed a series of strategies for violence prevention, its mainly repressive efforts over the past fifteen years have checked the influence of these alternative approaches. It should now implement plans to prevent crime, rehabilitate gang members and spur development in marginalised communities. Most urgently, El Salvador will require protection from the turbulence that U.S. mass deportations could provoke. The permanence of violence owes as much to the success as to the failings of the peace accords. The two former wartime foes have jostled for democratic supremacy, repeatedly using security policy for electoral purposes by seeking to satisfy public demand for mano dura (iron fist) against the gangs. Although government has changed hands, security methods have not altered: mass detentions and incarceration, as well as militarisation of policing, have become standard procedure whether under the rule of right-wing elites or former guerrillas. U.S. authorities have recently offered support to this approach, pledging to "dismantle" the MS-13. In private, however, high-level officials from across the country's political divide lament the harmful effects of this crackdown on over-stretched courts and front-line police. Blueprints geared to preventing the drift of young men from low-income neighbourhoods into gang life have been drafted: the government launched the most recent, the "Safe El Salvador" plan, as a holistic strategy to restore the state�s territorial control. But as violence soared after 2014 following the disintegration of a truce with the gangs, extreme measures of jail confinement and police raids have once again become the government's predominant methods to choke the gangs. Allegations of police brutality and extrajudicial executions have multiplied. Recent surveys suggest that veteran members of these gangs wish to cease the violence. However, the economic dead-end of El Salvador's urban outskirts � the country�s recent GDP growth rate of 1.9 per cent is among the lowest in Central America - continues to drive a supply of willing young recruits, and consolidate a rearguard of sympathisers dependent on income from the gangs' extortion schemes and other rackets. The reality and stigma of gang violence combine to block off alternative ways of life for those born into these communities, cutting years of schooling for young people in areas of high gang presence and alienating potential employers. Instead of succumbing to the state's offensive, gangs set up roadblocks in their neighbourhoods and impose their own law; their fight against security forces has claimed the lives of 45 police officers so far this year. The deadlock between a tarnished set of security policies and a gang phenomenon that thrives on the ostracism and contempt of mainstream Salvadoran society can only now be resolved by recasting the way the country treats its security dilemmas. Judicial and security institutions require careful reform to ensure resources are distributed to areas with the highest concentrations of violence, and used to boost intelligence-led policing that targets gang members committing the most serious crimes. Jail-based reinsertion schemes, and cooperation with diverse churches, NGOs and businesses that offer second chances to former gang members, must be strengthened to provide a legal framework for rehabilitation as well as material incentives for the gangs to eventually disband. Although the country�s main political parties and most of the public oppose any hint of negotiation with gangs, the reality in many poor areas is of constant daily encounters with these groups. Tolerance for these grassroots efforts, despite the existing legal restrictions on any contact with gangs, is essential to build the confidence that will be required for dialogue in the future. None of this will be easy, nor is it likely to be assisted by U.S. policy toward either gangs or Salvadoran immigrants. The potential cancellation of the rights to residency in the U.S. of 195,000 beneficiaries of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program threatens to overwhelm the Salvadoran state's capacity to accommodate returnees, not unlike the experience of the late 1990s when mass deportations of gang members from the U.S. to El Salvador exported the criminal capital that led to the lightning rise of the MS-13 and its main rival, the 18th Street gang. El Salvador is simply unprepared, economically and institutionally, to receive such an influx, or to handle their 192,700 U.S. children, many of them at the perfect age for recruitment or victimisation by gangs. At a time when levels of violence remain extraordinarily high, with exhaustion toward an unwinnable conflict voiced on both sides, the arrival of thousands of migrants back to their crime-affected homeland would impose huge strains. To escape its perpetual violence, El Salvador needs support, not the recurrence of past mistakes Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2018. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Latin America Report No. 64: July 30, 2018 at: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/064-el-salvador-s-politics-of-perpetual-violence.pdf Year: 2018 Country: El Salvador URL: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/064-el-salvador-s-politics-of-perpetual-violence.pdf Shelf Number: 150953 Keywords: Gang Violence Gang-Related Violence Gangs Mara Salvatrucha MS-13 Violent Crime

Author: Bricknell, Samantha Title: Co-offending among young homicide offenders in Australia Summary: Research on young persons who commit homicide has largely focused on associative factors rather than event characteristics. This paper uses 25 years of data from the National Homicide Monitoring Program to describe the characteristics of homicide incidents perpetrated by offenders aged 10-17 years. In particular it examines if young homicide offenders are more likely to co-offend and if incident, victim and offender characteristics vary depending on whether the young person killed on their own or with others. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2018. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistical Bulletin 12: Accessed July 31, 2018 at: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb12 Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sb/sb12 Shelf Number: 150977 Keywords: Co-offending Homicide Juvenile Offenders Murders Violent Crime

Author: Heeks, Matthew Title: The economic and social costs of crime Summary: The economic and social costs of crime estimates are important in helping to develop an understanding of the wider costs and benefits associated with changes in the number of crimes. Although methods have been developed to try to capture an assessment of the societal harms of different crime types, for example the Crime Harm Index, these do not set out to estimate the monetary costs of different offences. This report uses existing crime and cost data to update previous analysis by the Home Office to estimate the economic and social costs of different offences. It does not estimate the economic and social costs of every type of crime; it concentrates on more serious victim-based offences which are likely to have the largest economic and social costs. Costs have been estimated for crimes against individuals and, for a limited number of sectors, businesses. Those crimes which are not committed against an individual victim - so-called crimes against society - are excluded from the analysis; for example, possession of drugs. The report considers three main cost areas: - Costs in anticipation of crime, for example the cost of burglar alarms. - Costs as a consequence of crime, for example the cost of property stolen or damaged. - Costs in response to crime, for example costs to the police and criminal justice system. The total costs of crime in England and Wales in the 2015/16 are estimated to be approximately L50bn for crimes against individuals and L9bn for crimes against businesses. Violent crimes make up the largest proportion of the total costs of individual crime - almost three quarters - but only one third of the number of crimes. This is mainly due to the higher physical and emotional costs to the victims of violent offences. These costs are particularly high for crimes that are more likely to result in emotional injuries, such as rape and violence with injury. The offence with the highest estimated unit cost2 is homicide (L3.2m). Rape (L39,360) has the highest estimated unit cost of non-fatal offences. Thefts from businesses make up almost 90% of business crime but account for approximately half of the total estimated costs of crime against businesses (L4.2bn), as each crime has a low impact on society. In contrast, robberies and burglaries against businesses - estimated to cost L2bn and L1.6bn respectively - make up over 40% of the costs of crime, but account for only 5% of all crimes against businesses. Details: London: Home Office, 2018. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report 99: Accessed August 1, 2018 at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727958/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-crime-horr99.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727958/the-economic-and-social-costs-of-crime-horr99.pdf Shelf Number: 150989 Keywords: Costs of Crime Crime Rates Crime Statistics Poverty Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Mockus, Antanas Title: Antipodas de la violencia: Desafios de cultura ciudadana para la crisis de (in)seguridad en America Latina Summary: This book examines the relationship between culture and citizen security in eight Latin American cities. It incorporates a broad culture concept into diagnostics, analyzes, surveys and actions. What interests us most about culture is its regulatory power. The worldwide distribution of homicides and suicides shows enormous differences between countries whose explanation can not but give a great weight to cultural differences. The ability of each culture to regulate, interpret and justify certain behavior or not offers vital keys to understand and deal with the problems that come together in the current crisis of citizen security in Latin America. Cultural impunity and moral impunity sometimes come to add their effect to legal impunity. Details: Washington, DC: Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo Corpovisionarios, 2012. 314p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 8, 2018 at: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/383 Year: 2012 Country: Latin America URL: https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/383 Shelf Number: 151061 Keywords: Citizen Security Crime Prevention Family Violence Homicide Violence Violent Crime

Author: McGovern, Tara Alexandra Title: New Armed Groups in Colombia: The Emergence of the Bacrim in the 21st Century Summary: The 2003-2006 paramilitary demobilization in Colombia created major public policy challenges for the government, including the emergence of new illegal groups (Bacrim or bandas criminales). To date, there is no agreement between the government, academicians, and non-governmental organizations about the nature of these bacrim. The lack of shared understanding inhibits the establishment of a comprehensive plan to combat the bacrim and does a disservice to prior demobilization efforts. If these groups are legitimate participants in the on-going conflict, members will reap economic and legal benefits; otherwise, they will face criminal consequences. In this dissertation, I used an embedded case study of five major bacrim (Las Aguilas Negras, ERPAC, Los Paisas, Los Rastrojos, and Los Urabenos) to examine their origins and leadership, members and structure, ideology and activities, and territory. I developed a comparative framework to identify key characteristics of paramilitary groups, drug trafficking organizations, gangs, and new types of organized crime. I also developed a supporting quantitative analysis of crime statistics and public opinion surveys. The case study revealed heterogeneity across all five groups, calling into question the utility of the umbrella term bacrim. The quantitative research showed a substantial postdemobilization decline in homicides and other violent crimes but steady and/or increasing extortion and corruption. Identifying and ameliorating long-standing social and economic problems, in addition to developing strategies for individual groups, will do more to support peace in Colombia than focusing on short-term homogeneous approaches to the bacrim, such as kingpin removal. Details: Fairfax, VA: George Mason University, 2016. 357p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 17, 2018 at: http://ebot.gmu.edu/bitstream/handle/1920/10611/McGovern_gmu_0883E_11303.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Year: 2016 Country: Colombia URL: http://ebot.gmu.edu/bitstream/handle/1920/10611/McGovern_gmu_0883E_11303.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Shelf Number: 151161 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Gangs Homicides Organized Crime Paramilitary Groups Violent Crime

Author: Bartley, Wm. Alan Title: The Role of Gun Supply in 1980s and 1900s Youth Violence Summary: Youth violence, particularly among young black males, particularly in urban areas, increased radically in the late 1980s and early 1990s and then began to fall. One explanation for this has been the expansion of crack markets in the 1980s; to the degree that increased gun access among young black males was believed to play a role, the implicit assumption was there was a demand shock in gun markets. Using a novel data set of handgun prices for 1980-2000, combined with ATF data on US rearm production quantities, we document that in fact the prices for cheaper "entry-level" guns fell in this period, suggesting a positive supply shock for the bottom end of the market. We argue that in substantial part this was due to a major reduction in the resources and activities of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) in the 1980s. This allowed substantially greater freedom among licensed gun dealers, a pattern which was reversed in the early 1990s (changes in manufacturing also appear to have played a role in the initial expansion). We document that the positive supply shock increased the availability of guns to criminally active youth and led to higher rates of gun access for young black men, particularly for 25 ACP, 380 ACP and 9mm autoloaders. The increase and decrease in gun violence among young black men can be matched to changes along this causal chain. Details: Lexington, KY: Transylvania University, 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Conference Paper: Accessed August 27, 2018 at: www.aeaweb.org Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: www.aeaweb.org Shelf Number: 151263 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Neighborhoods and Crime Urban Areas and Crime Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: University of Texas School of Law. Human Rights Clinic Title: Summary: he Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, in cooperation with the Centro Diocesano para los Derechos Humanos Fray Juan de Larios from Coahuila, Mexico, has compiled a report based on analyzed witness testimonies from three U.S. federal trials. Between 2013 and 2016, Zeta members were put on trial in Austin, San Antonio, and Del Rio for crimes of homicide, conspiracy to import drugs and weapons, and money laundering. These trials brought new information to light and corroborated information that has already been documented about Zeta operations and human rights abuses. First-hand testimonies of ex-Zeta cartel members and victims provide a more comprehensive understanding of the dire situation in Coahuila and offer a glimpse into the Zeta structure, members, and nexus with state officials and institutions. After reviewing the witness testimonies, the Clinic has determined two major findings: (1) the Zeta cartel committed numerous human rights abuses in Coahuila with impunity; (2) public institutions and officials played a role, by actions or omissions, in the commission of these abuses. Testimonies describe the nature and degree of Zeta influence over state and municipal officials and institutions. The Zetas paid bribes and integrated police officers into their hierarchy to ensure the cartel would be able to continue their illicit operations without resistance. However, the Zetas did not only influence low level state or municipal police; witnesses described a level of Zeta control which extended to city police chiefs, state and federal prosecutors, state prisons, sectors of the federal police and the Mexican army, and state politicians. Multiple witnesses described bribery payments of millions of dollars to Humberto Moreira and Ruben Moreira, the former and current governors of Coahuila, in exchange for complete control of the state. According to the testimonies, the Zetas' influence over Coahuila government operations at all levels allowed them to conduct their business throughout the state with impunity and often with direct assistance from state officials and police officers. The report also documents the human rights abuses discussed in the witness testimonies, including the large-scale disappearances and killings in March and April of 2011, during what is known as the Piedras Negras and Allende Massacres. These crimes were perpetrated in response to information that three former Zeta operatives had begun to cooperate with U.S. authorities. In retaliation, the Zetas kidnapped, killed, and disappeared over 300 people who they believed to be associated with the former Zeta operatives. According to witnesses, this brutality was not unique to these massacres. The report documents a pattern of kidnappings, killings, torture and disappearance, targeting anyone whom the Zetas believed posed a threat to their illicit operations. In order to exercise control, Zetas also targeted innocent civilians who were completely unconnected to the cartel. Witnesses described the callous manner in which the Zetas stripped victims of their humanity, killed, and disposed of their bodies. The Zetas maintained a tight grip on Coahuila through violence and intimidation tactics such as death threats and through the forced recruitment of Coahuila residents, including the recruitment of minors. It is also clear from the testimonies that witnesses were being threatened even when members of the Zetas were already in custody in the United States. The testimonies also highlight the transnational nature of drug trafficking and the violence associated with this. In particular, witnesses discussed how weapons purchased in the United States were imported to Mexico and drugs produced in Mexico were trafficked into the U.S. Zeta operations extend to various cities in the United States, including San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Eagle Pass, Chicago and Atlanta, as well as to other states, such as New Mexico, California, and Oklahoma. The Zetas supported this transnational operation through a large network of businesses, which they used to launder money and fuel their operations in the trafficking of people, guns, and drugs. The Zetas owned ranches, race tracks, and breeding facilities in the U.S. and Mexico as a part of an elaborate horse racing scheme. Aside from owning properties connected to the horse racing scheme, the Zetas also exploited numerous businesses in Mexico, such as stores, casinos, restaurants, gyms, and carwashes. These enterprises were used as safe houses, as meeting points for drug and money trafficking operations, or instruments of the money laundering operations. Witnesses explained how the Zetas paid bribes and contributed to the campaigns of governors and political candidates to secure the free continuation of their illegal operations. These bribes also ensured that Zeta-owned companies received government contracts and building permits. Further, as has been made clear from the three analyzed trials, the U.S. government possesses valuable information regarding killings, disappearances, threats, and other violations perpetrated by the Zetas. Witness testimonies and the investigations carried out for these trials include key information, such as the location where disappearances and murders occurred. This indicates that the U.S. government may currently have undisclosed information that could lead to the clarification of murders and disappearances perpetrated in Mexico. However, witnesses made clear that the Mexican state has not conducted investigations into these murders, even when the U.S. government has directly shared vital information. Mexican State officials have willfully refused to pursue justice despite having knowledge of countless human rights abuses carried out by members of the Zeta cartel. Both the Zetas and the State are responsible for the violence in Coahuila. At best, the State turned a blind eye to the widespread corruption and grave human rights abuses committed by the Zetas in Coahuila, and at worst, directly participated in the perpetration of these abuses. Details: Austin: University of Texas School of law, 2017. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 31, 2018 at: https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/11/2017-HRC-coahuilareport-EN.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Mexico URL: https://law.utexas.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/11/2017-HRC-coahuilareport-EN.pdf Shelf Number: 151321 Keywords: Cartels Homicides Human Rights Abuses Mexican Cartels Violence Violent Crime Zetas

Author: Reichert, Jessica Title: Focused Deterrence: A Policing Strategy to Combat Gun Violence Summary: Gun violence continues to be a major criminal justice and public health issue. This article provides an overview of one strategy to reduce gun violence�focused deterrence. The strategy has been employed in many major U.S. cities, including in Illinois in Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford. Overall research on focused deterrence strategies has found statistically significant reductions in violent crime. Details: Illinois Criminal Justice Authority, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2018 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/articles/focused-deterrence-a-policing-strategy-to-combat-gun-violence Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/assets/articles/Focused_deterrence_PDF_062218.pdf Shelf Number: 151491 Keywords: Focused Deterrence Gun Violence Violent Crime

Author: Violence Policy Center Title: Black Homicide Victimization in the United States Summary: The devastation homicide inflicts on black teens and adults is a national crisis, yet it is all too often ignored outside of affected communities. This study examines the problem of black homicide victimization at the state level by analyzing unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data for black homicide victimization submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The information used for this report is for the year 2015 and is the most recent data available. This is the first analysis of the 2015 data on black homicide victims to offer breakdowns of cases in the 10 states with the highest black homicide victimization rates and the first to rank the states by the rate of black homicide victims. It is important to note that the SHR data used in this report comes from law enforcement reporting at the local level. While there are coding guidelines followed by the law enforcement agencies, the amount of information submitted to the SHR system, and the interpretation that results in the information submitted (for example, gang involvement) will vary from agency to agency. While this study utilizes the best and most recent data available, it is limited by the quantity and degree of detail in the information submitted. Details: Washington, DC, 2018. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2018 at: http://vpc.org/studies/blackhomicide18.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: http://vpc.org/studies/blackhomicide18.pdf Shelf Number: 151457 Keywords: Black Victimization Homicide Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Amnesty International Title: In the Line of Fire: Human Rights and the US Gun Violence Crisis Summary: One woman has lost all of her four children to gun violence in Chicago. Ronnie, a 33-year-old aspiring music producer, was shot in the head while sitting in a parked car on the West Side of Chicago on 26 January 2013. On a television talk show a few weeks earlier, he had explained that he was a former gang member who had been in and out of jail, but was now mentoring young rappers, trying to keep them away from gang life. Jerome, aged 23, was shot and killed while using a payphone outside the Cabrini-Green public housing complex on 26 July 2000. Three months earlier, on 27 April, his 15-year-old sister, LaToya, had been standing in the lobby of a Cabrini Green public housing complex when she was shot and killed by a 13-year-old boy. Five years before that, on 28 November 1995, 18-year-old Carlos was shot twice in the head by a classmate just blocks from their school, Jones Metropolitan High, in Chicago's South Loop. Gun violence in the USA is a human rights crisis. In 2016, an average of 106 individuals died per day from firearm related deaths. Per capita, this is significantly higher than in other industrialized countries. In fact, the USA has both the highest absolute and highest per capita rates of gun ownership in the world, yet the USA does not sufficiently restrict access to firearms to those most at risk of abusing them. There is no uniform system to track firearm owners. The USA has not taken effective steps to implement violence reduction, prevention or protection measures where gun violence persists and has not adequately addressed firearm violence as a public health issue, failing to invest in research on the impact of firearms in the USA to inform effective policy solutions. The right to live free from violence, discrimination and fear has been superseded by a sense of entitlement to own a practically unlimited array of deadly weapons, without sufficient regulations on their acquisition, possession and use. In the face of clear evidence of persistent firearm violence, high rates of gun ownership, and ease of access to firearms by individuals likely to misuse them, the USA is failing to meet its obligation to protect and promote human rights pursuant to international law. Amnesty International's report is a critical assessment of existing data and research related to the scope of gun violence in the USA, and an analysis of US laws and policies - where they exist - governing the acquisition, possession and use of firearms by private individuals, in the context of international human rights laws and standards. In this report, Amnesty International defines the term "gun violence" broadly, encompassing interpersonal and community-wide violence using firearms; implicit threats of violence that firearms represent in certain circumstances; misuse of firearms in the home; and acts of self-harm by firearms, including accidents and suicide. Amnesty International provides a clear set of recommendations, developed under the human rights framework in the context of firearms violence, that the USA must adopt to address this crisis. The sheer volume of people killed or injured each year in the USA by gun violence is staggering. In 2016, 38,658 died by gun violence. Of these deaths, 22,938 were suicides and 14,415 were homicides (an added 495 deaths were unintentional, 300 were of an undetermined intent and 510 were legal interventions). More than 116,000 additional people suffered nonfatal firearm injuries. Gun violence in the USA affects people nationwide whether they live in a city, suburb, or rural community, but often in dissimilar and disparate ways. Firearm homicides disproportionately impact communities of color and data suggests that the rate of gun homicides has increased in recent years. Moreover, the failure of the USA to implement laws and/or address existing gaps in protection in current policies leave marginalized groups such as children, and those impacted by domestic violence (largely women) at risk of exposure to firearm violence. The use of firearms by private individuals to inflict injury or death on others often dominates the discussion on gun violence. However, access to firearms for individuals who may present a risk of harm to themselves or others and the lack of restrictions on personal possession of firearms by those at recognizable risk of self-harm needs to be acknowledged and is critical to addressing the full spectrum of firearm-related deaths. The impact of firearm violence extends far beyond the numbers of those injured and killed. While mass shootings garner public attention and international concern, the relentless reality of gunfire in homes, schools, businesses and on the streets of the USA, and the long-lasting trauma and impact of gun violence on victims, survivors, families and communities, rarely does. Details: London: AI, 2018. 220p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 13, 2018 at: https://www.amnesty.nl/content/uploads/2018/09/Gun-Report-Full_9.pdf?x26848 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.amnesty.nl/content/uploads/2018/09/Gun-Report-Full_9.pdf?x26848 Shelf Number: 151513 Keywords: Gun Policy Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Homicides Human Rights Abuses Violent Crime

Author: Burger, Johan Title: Violent Crime on Farms and Smallholdings in South Africa Summary: Farm attacks and farm murders are a contentious topic in South Africa. Claims have been made that the criminal attacks on farms are a deliberate form of white - specifically Afrikaner - genocide. But are farm dwellers and particularly white Afrikaans farmers the target? Or are these crimes part of a bigger picture of escalating brutal violence countrywide? Are statistics accessible and accurate so as to paint a true landscape of violent crime in rural South Africa? Details: Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2018. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 14, 2018 at: file:///C:/Users/AuthUser/Downloads/policy-brief-115v2.pdf Year: 2018 Country: South Africa URL: file:///C:/Users/AuthUser/Downloads/policy-brief-115v2.pdf Shelf Number: 151550 Keywords: Farms Genocide Rural Crime Violent Crime Violent Crime Statistics

Author: Blattman, Christopher Title: Place-Based Intervention at Scale: The Direct and Spillover Effects on Policing and City Services on Crime Summary: Cities target police patrols and public services to control crime. What are the direct and spillover effects of such targeted state services? In 2016 the city of Bogota, Colombia, experimented on an unprecedented scale. They randomly assigned 1,919 streets to either eight months of doubled police patrols, greater municipal services, both, or neither. We study how crime responds to intensifying normal state presence in moderate- to high-crime streets, and what this implies about criminal behavior. Scale also brings challenges. Spatial spillovers in dense networks introduce bias and complicate variance estimation through "fuzzy clustering." But a design-based approach and randomization inference produce valid hypothesis tests in such settings. We find that increasing state presence has modest direct impacts, even when focusing on the highest-crime "hot spots." More intense state presence deters more crime. But in most cases, however, crime appears to displace to neighboring streets. Property crimes seem most easily displaced, while violent crimes may not be. One interpretation is that crimes with a more sustained motive are more likely to displace than crimes of passion, which state presence may more permanently deter. Details: Cambridge, MA, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 18, 2018 at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w23941 Year: 2018 Country: Colombia URL: https://www.nber.org/papers/w23941.pdf Shelf Number: 152985 Keywords: Displacement Police Police Patrols Property Crime Spatial Crime Analysis Violent Crime

Author: Curci, Federico Title: Flight from Urban Blight: Lead Poisoning, Crime and Suburbanization Summary: In the post World War II period most of the US cities experienced large movements of population from the city centers to the suburbs. In this paper we provide causal evidence that this process of suburbanization can be explained by the rise of violent crime in the city centers. We do so by proposing a new instrument to exogenously predict violent crime that uses as time variation the national levels of lead poisoning in the US, while as cross-sectional variation a proxy for soil quality which explains the fate of lead in soil and its subsequent bioavailability. Using data for 300 U.S. city centers, results show that the increase in violent crimes from the level of 1960 to their maximum in 1991 decreased the proportion of people living in city centers by 13 percentage points. This increase in crime moved almost 40 million people to the suburbs. As a result of suburbanization, we find that people living in city centers in U.S. are more likely to be blacks, consistent with the "white flight" process. We then show that this suburbanization phenomenon had aggregate effects on the city. Exploiting a spatial equilibrium model we show that this is due to the externality that violent crime had on productivity, amenities and city land spread. Details: Barcelona, Spain: Institut d'Economia de Barcelona, 2018. 104p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 2, 2018 at: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=SAEe2017&paper_id=460 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=SAEe2017&paper_id=460 Shelf Number: 153120 Keywords: Gentrification Spatial Analysis Suburbanization Violent Crime White Flight

Author: Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights Title: Gross Human Rights Abuses: The Legal and Illegal Gun Trade to Mexico Summary: Mexico faces an acute crisis of human rights violations and violent crimes, most of which are committed with firearms. The country is experiencing the highest homicide rate in its recorded history, with two out of every three homicides committed with firearms. Most guns recovered and traced at crime scenes in Mexico -70%- come from the United States. And after more than a decade of military deployment to fight crime, new military equipment and firearms, and U.S. military training for thousands of soldiers as part of the Merida Initiative, human rights violations by state forces remain much higher than before the Initiative began, with nearly complete impunity. It is time to make a decisive and substantial change of course. The change of leadership in Mexico provides a critical opportunity to heed the voices and analysis that have called for ending policies of warfare and instead focusing on development, fighting poverty, and community investment. In December 2006, then-president of Mexico Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) implemented a security strategy, known as "the war on drugs," which, among other things, included militarizing public security. This strategy continued in full force under President Enrique Pena Nieto (2012-2018). This strategy has provoked escalated violence in the country, where organized criminal groups, police officials at all levels of government, and soldiers have committed serious crimes, including murders, forced disappearances, and torture. In that context, criminal organizations and state agencies have committed crimes against humanity. The violence in Mexico has led to severe and growing consequences, including massive displacement and forced migration, psychic trauma, broken justice, economic losses, and damage to freedom of expression and journalism. Waging war and trading in its weapons have made these problems worse. From December 2006 through June 2018, at least 37,435 people are known to have been forcibly disappeared in Mexico and 121,035 murdered with firearms - with 16,898 gun homicides in 2017 alone. The large majority of these serious crimes remain in impunity - with no judicial investigation or sentencing and no reparations to victims. Recent official data from Mexico and the United States shows that the legal export of weapons and explosives from the United States to Mexico is at its highest in years, reaching nearly $122 million between 2015 and 2017, according to trade records of the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 12 times the amount of those exports in 2002-2004. This growth coincides with an increase in Mexico's own production of weapons for military use. In June 2018, twelve members of the u.s. Congress stated in a letter to the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense that "The use of Mexican military forces in the war on drugs has resulted in a dramatic increase in human rights violations, including torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions." They called for "a full and public evaluation of the Merida Initiative, U.S. security aid and arms sales to Mexico." Other members of Congress have also requested a General Accounting Office report on the Merida Initiative. It is well past time to change the course of security strategies in Mexico and cease depending on the acquisition of weapons to achieve reductions in violence. The election of a new government in Mexico provides opportunities for both the United States and Mexico to focus on stopping the sources of violence, including the gun trade, money laundering, lack of economic equity, and on ending support for government entities that are implicated in human rights violations and collusion with organized crime. The data shows that the United States plays a primary role as the principal source of arms flowing legally to Mexico, while other studies suggest the same about the illegal flow of weapons. Details: Mexico City: PDF, 2018. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2018 at: http://www.pdh.org/publicaciones-pdf/pdh-the-legal-and-illegal-gun-trade-to-mexico.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.pdh.org/publicaciones-pdf/pdh-the-legal-and-illegal-gun-trade-to-mexico.pdf Shelf Number: 153369 Keywords: Gun Trafficking Gun-Related Violence Homicides Human Rights Abuses Illegal Guns Illegal Weapons Trafficking in Weapons Violent Crime

Author: Bento, Fabiana Title: Murders in the city of Sao Paulo: analysis of reported incidents from January 2012 to June 2013 Summary: his study presents an analysis of incidents of murder reported in the city of Sao Paulo from January 2012 to June 2013. Our objective in completing this report is to organize and share the information available concerning murder when it is first reported to the Civil Police (i.e. the Incident Reports), with the hope of amplifying understanding about the phenomenon at large. Under what circumstances do these deaths occur? What are the profiles of the victims and the perpetrators? In which locations are these incidents most common? These are some of the questions that we sought to answer and that can contribute to the creation of policies better poised to confront homicide in the city. If today the city of Sao Paulo demonstrates murder rates that are indisputably better than they were fifteen or twenty years ago (which does not diminish in anyway the relevance of the problem currently), this is a consequence of investment in intelligence that mapped areas with higher concentrations of crime, created profiles of victims and perpetrators, and identified motives and weapons. The information that was discovered allowed for the implementation of preventative measures and investigations that directly impacted awareness about and reduction of crime. This intelligent and strategic perspective of seeking to comprehend the dynamics behind killings should be well-publicized and incorporated as a common practice; however, the last official study released to the general public - the Anuario do Departamento de Homicidios e Protecao a Pessoa - was published in 2008. It is still a common problem in Brazil that when homicides take center stage, generally due to an increase in statistics, the debate is overrun by explanations based on stereotypes- oftentimes attempting to link fatalities to the drug trade without pursuing a deeper understanding of the situation and entering into dialogue with the reality of the facts. Thus the importance of this research, which proposes to update the analysis of murders in the city with an eye towards verifying which of the characteristics previously discovered - such as the high rate of victimization of young male adults, the involvement of firearms, and the relationship between homicides and interpersonal conflicts - have remained constant. Despite its limitations, considering that we are working with the first information received by the police, the analysis creates a panorama of murders in the city using constructive data that can suggest a certain path forward. We understand that this is a first step, and our hope is that it does not become merely a rote exercise, but that it can stimulate further research that continues to build greater knowledge of the dynamics associated with homicide in Sao Paulo. Details: Sao Paulo: Instituto Sou da Paz, 2013. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2018 at: http://www.soudapaz.org/upload/file/conhecimento_homicidios_sp_ingl_s.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.soudapaz.org/upload/file/conhecimento_homicidios_sp_ingl_s.pdf Shelf Number: 153412 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Statistics Homicides Murders Violent Crime

Author: Harris, Casey T. Title: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Macro-Level Relationship between Recent immigration and White, Black, and Hispanic Violent Crime, 1990-2000 Summary: It has been nearly a century since Edwin Sutherland (1927) noted that both popular sentiment and existing policy presupposed greater criminality among the foreign born than the native population. Though scholars following in Sutherland's footsteps have continued to explore the immigration-crime link as newer waves of immigrants enter the United States, this issue remains arguably the most important substantive, political, and theoretical question facing sociology and criminology today. Unfortunately, there remain a number of persistent gaps in the empirical literature and a careful review of this research shows it to be (1) scarce and limited in scope, (2) widely varied in terms of the unit of analysis and measure of immigration, (3) focused on victimization (particularly homicide), (4) geographically limited, (5) cross-sectional, (6) focused on total (not race/ethnic-specific) crime, and (7) inconsistent in concluding whether immigration is associated with crime. Moreover, theorizing on the expected relationship between immigration and crime is under-developed and prominent theoretical frameworks suggest that immigration may be positively, negatively, or unassociated with crime, as well as operate uniquely at particular points in time or for specific race/ethnic groups. Using census-place level arrest data from California, New York, and Texas paired with corresponding U.S. Census Bureau data, the current study builds off of prior research and addresses several of these shortcomings in important ways. First, this project explores the immigration-violence relationship in 1990 and 2000 to assess whether the association between immigration and violent crime has changed over time. This approach marks a substantial advance in immigration-crime research by utilizing census-place panel data and fixed-effects (change score) methods to construct stronger causal models for exploring whether immigration is related to violence and, if so, whether this association has changed over time. Second, using race-ethnic disaggregated arrest data that include Hispanics, this project examines whether immigration impacts black, white, and Hispanic violence in unique ways. Because Hispanic arrest data are scarce, particularly prior to the year 2000, this project advances current research by utilizing census-place level arrest data (rather than victimization) that include this key group in order to compare the relationship between immigration and violent arrests for blacks, whites, and Hispanics over the 1990-2000 period. Results from seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) cross-sectional, change-score, and "changing effects" models indicate that (1) immigrant concentration is associated with increased violent crime rates for whites, blacks, and Hispanics in 1990, (2) the relationship is particularly strong for blacks, (3) the association between immigration and violence is, for the most part, null in 2000, (4) the lack of relationship between immigration and violence is racially invariant in 2000, and (5) the attenuation of the relationship between recent immigration and violence represents a statistically significant change between 1990 and 2000 only for blacks. Supplemental analyses suggest that these findings are reasonably robust and not contingent upon outliers or influential cases, specific sub-sets of the sample (e.g., large or small units or units from specific states), or the specification/operationalization of immigration at the macro-level. Politically, immigration has been both a crucial component of America's growth and a periodic source of conflict since at least the early 1800s; in recent years it has become one of the most contentious issues on the nation's political agenda. The current study is timely in addressing a crucial political issue - whether recent immigration flows are associated with violence and whether this association has been stable over time and across race/ethnic groups Substantively, immigration dovetails with key themes in sociology, including stratification, social problems, social control, and social change. Social scientists are faced with the task of trying to understand the impact of immigration on our society and on the immigrants themselves, including how immigration may drive social change in communities. The current study suggests that immigration impacts violent crime in communities differently at specific points in time and across race/ethnic groups. Future research would do well to further explore this complex relationship and consider whether immigration policy aimed at reducing social problems like crime may be temporally conditioned and affect whites, blacks, and Hispanics in distinctive ways. Details: State College: Pennsylvania State University, 2011. 141p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 14, 2018 at: https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/1137 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/1137 Shelf Number: 153470 Keywords: Ethnic Minorities Immigrants and Crime Immigration Policy Minorities and Crime Violent Crime

Author: Cruz, Jose Miguel Title: Democratization Under Assault: Criminal Violence in Post-Transition Central America Summary: Why does Nicaragua have less violent crime than Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras? All these countries underwent political transitions in the 1990s, and most of them faced widespread internal conflicts during the 1980s. Many explanations point to the legacies of war, socioeconomic underdevelopment, neoliberal structural reforms, and a lingering culture of violence. However, these arguments do not fully explain why, despite economic reforms conducted throughout the region, warless Honduras and the wealthier countries of Guatemala and El Salvador are more ripped by crime than Nicaragua. This paper argues that public security reforms carried out during the political transitions shaped the ability of the new regimes to deal with crime. The persistence of violent entrepreneurs in the new security apparatuses, their relationship with new governing elites, and the role of civil society and the U.S. during the transitions, determined later success or failure in tackling crime in Central America. Details: Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University, 2009. 245p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2018 at: https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu//available/etd-07282010-214904/unrestricted/Dissertation_Cruz_final.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Central America URL: https://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu//available/etd-07282010-214904/unrestricted/Dissertation_Cruz_final.pdf Shelf Number: 152864 Keywords: Central America Civil War Internal Conflict Political Transitions Public Security Public Security Reform Rule of Law Security Sector Reform Transitional Justice Violent Crime

Author: Duncan Footman, Louisa Title: Dropping the Flag: Female Gang Members Deciding to Leave Summary: Gangs are social groups bound together with the purpose of committing acts of criminality. Violent crime tied to gangs continues to rise in the United States, as does gang membership. Female participation in gangs has been historically understudied whereas the experience of male members has been the focus of gang research since its origin. With the rise of feminist scholarship in the 1970s came awareness of not only the existence but also the expanding rate of female participation in crime. Scholarship on female gang membership has risen over the past 3 decades yet much of what is known focuses on reasons that female members join gangs. Information about why and how female members decide to leave gangs is vital to public safety and human services. A qualitative study using the descriptive phenomenology model was conducted at a gang intervention program in a major U.S. city. Open-ended interviews were done with 8 women recruited through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Relational cultural theory and the age-graded theory of social control were studied and utilized for research design and in analyzing the data. The research participants provided thorough descriptions of negative experiences (e.g., losses, traumas) that led them to desist from gang activity and eventually seek help building their lives as individuals apart from gangs. Following these losses, the participants worked hard to rebuild their lives both individually and with the assistance of interventions and connections gained through the program. Similarities were found between what was helpful to each participant in affecting changes and desistance from gang membership, including the development of a new reward system and the development of new frameworks for looking at the world, relating to others, and self-understanding. Details: Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest, 2016. 133p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2018 at: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1767752338?pq-origsite=gscholar Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/1767752338?pq-origsite=gscholar Shelf Number: 153532 Keywords: Desistance Females Females and Gangs Gang Activity Gang Intervention Program Gang Membership Gang Violence Gangs Public Safety Violent Crime

Author: Chinchilla, Laura Title: Citizen Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Innovation in Management and Public Policies over the Last 10 Years Summary: In the last decade, Latin American and Caribbean governments have advanced towards a systemic management of the citizen security and justice issues, integrating strategies of crime and violence prevention and control, the application of justice, and social rehabilitation. The region has moved from reactive and punitive approaches to the design and implementation of comprehensive models focused on human rights and multi-sectoral coordination. Likewise, security institutions have been decentralized to incorporate multiple institutional and social actors at the different government levels. In addition, in terms of public policies, the governments have proposed a range of tools for management by results, coordination, planning, financing, and evaluation of programs. Unfortunately, conceptual and doctrinal advances have not been incorporated with the necessary speed to address the high levels of crime and violence faced by the region. The four main institutional challenges to citizen security are: (i) comprehensiveness, (ii) multi-sectoriality, (iii) rigorousness, and (iv) sustainability and scalability. The document proposes 10 actions to accelerate the transformation of the security governance. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, 2018. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: DISCUSSION PAPER No. IDB-DP-640: Accessed November 27, 2018 at: https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/LChinchilla_CitSecEng_Nov2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Latin America URL: https://www.thedialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/LChinchilla_CitSecEng_Nov2018.pdf Shelf Number: 153850 Keywords: Citizen Security Crime Prevention Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Maternowska, M. Catherine Title: Research that Drives Change: Conceptualizing and Conducting Nationally Led Violence Prevention Research. Synthesis Report of the "Multi-Country Study on the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children" in Italy, Peru, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe Summary: Globally, studies have demonstrated that children in every society are affected by physical, sexual and emotional violence. The drive to both quantify and qualify violence through data and research has been powerful: discourse among policy makers is shifting from "this does not happen here" to "what is driving this?" and "how can we address it?" To help answer these questions, the MultiCountry Study on the Drivers of Violence Affecting Children - conducted in Italy, Viet Nam, Peru and Zimbabwe - sought to disentangle the complex and often interrelated underlying causes of violence affecting children (VAC) in these four countries. Led by the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti with its academic partner, the University of Edinburgh, the Study was conducted by national research teams comprised of government, practitioners and academic researchers in each of the four countries. Drawing on human-centred principles, the Study used an iterative approach which put national ownership and co-creation at its core. Government partners were actively engaged as co-researchers and all data analysis was conducted in-country by government statisticians. Facilitating and prioritizing national meaning-making through dialogue and joint analysis and synthesis of findings was also a key part of the Study design. Each national team used a common process involving three separate components, all of which build on existing data and research: a systematic literature review of academic and 'grey' literature (such as research reports) including both quality quantitative and qualitative research, secondary analyses of nationally representative data sets and an initial mapping of the interventions landscape. Analysed together, these sources of information helped build initial hypotheses around what drives violence in each country. Two key frameworks were applied to the analysis in this Study: 1) a version of the socio-ecological model, which helps to understand the dynamic relationships between factors at the micro-, meso-and macro-levels, and 2) an age and gender framework, which recognizes that a child's vulnerability and ability to protect herself from violence changes over time with her evolving capacities. Through these lenses, common themes emerged across contexts. Guided by findings from the four countries highlighting the dynamic and constantly changing and/or overlapping domains that shape violence in children's lives, this Study moved beyond understanding the risk and protective factors for violence affecting children, which are often measured at the individual, interpersonal and community level. In doing so, it demonstrated how patterns of interpersonal violence are intimately connected to larger structural and institutional factors-or the drivers of violence. The structural drivers of violence identified across the four country sites, representing high (Italy), upper middle (Peru), lower middle (Viet Nam) and low income (Zimbabwe) settings, include: rapid socio-economic transformations accompanied by economic growth but also instability; poverty; migration; and gender inequality. The institutional drivers of violence, such as legal structures, ineffective child protection systems, weak school governance and harmful social and cultural norms, often serve to reinforce children's vulnerabilities. Drivers are rarely isolated factors and tend to work in potent combination with other factors within a single level as well as between levels of the social ecology that shapes children's lives. While some drivers can lead to positive change for children, in this study, these factors or combinations of factors are most often invisible forms of harm in and of themselves While VAC is present in every country, the analyses also show how violence conspires unevenly to create and maintain inequalities between and within countries. The institutions and communities upon which children and their families depend are changing social entities with many interdependent parts. The type of violence in any one or multiple settings may vary depending on a variety of risk or protective factors and/or by age and gender. One of the most important findings is that violence is a fluid and shifting phenomenon in children's lives as they move between the places where they live, play, sleep and learn. Identifying and addressing unequal power dynamics - wherever they may occur in the home, school or community - is of central importance to effective violence prevention. The research also shows how behaviours around violence are passed through generations, suggesting that the social tolerance of these behaviours is learned in childhood. Data across countries also shows how violence is intimately connected to how relationships are structured and defined by power dynamics within and among families, peers and communities. These findings, along with learning from the study process, led to the development of a new child-centred and integrated framework, which proposes a process by which interdisciplinary coalitions of researchers, practitioners and policymakers can understand violence affecting children and what can be done to prevent it. Using data to drive change, our proposed Child-Centred and Integrated Framework for Violence Prevention serves to situate national findings according to a child's social ecology, making clear how institutional and structural drivers and risk/protective factors together shape the many risks and opportunities of childhood around the world. KEY POINTS: - Unpacking the drivers of violence at the structural and institutional levels, and analysing how these interact with risk and protective factors at the community, interpersonal and individual levels is critical to understanding how violence affects children. It is this interaction between drivers and risk/protective factors that delineates how, where, when and why violence occurs in children's lives. - Focusing solely on the types of violence and the places where it occurs - as is commonly done in large-scale surveys and some qualitative studies - will only provide part of the picture of a child's risk of violence. - The role of age and gender as childhood unfolds over time is also essential to understanding violence. - Qualitative inquiry and analysis should be further promoted within the field of violence prevention - on its own or as part of a mixed-methods approach - to ensure meaningful data interpretation of the social world, including the webs of interactions and the concepts and behaviours of people within it. - Research that engages and empowers stakeholders can contribute to a common strategy for building and sustaining political will to end violence affecting children. - The way the study was conducted - led by national teams and using existing literature and data - provided a relatively low-cost and human-centred alternative model to costly surveys that assess the scope of violence without examining the drivers that determine it. - Moving forward, violence prevention research should continuously and critically examine the ways in which we count and construct the complex social phenomenon of violence affecting children: placing recognition of process and power at the heart of our research endeavours. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF, Innocenti Office of Research, 2018. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2018 at: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/Drivers-of-Violence_Study.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/Drivers-of-Violence_Study.pdf Shelf Number: 153883 Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Child Sexual Violence Children and Violence Crime Prevention Violence Violence Against Children Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: McKee, Erin Title: Crimmigration in Oregon: Protecting the Rights of Noncitizen Defendants Summary: Several studies show that immigrants in the United States commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens and rates of violent crime in metropolitan areas fall as the immigrant population rises. Despite this, the specter of the "criminal alien" continues to haunt the popular imagination, aided by lurid media coverage highlighting the few cases of serious or violent crimes committed by immigrants. The Trump administration has greatly expanded the groups of people targeted for removal from the U.S., while severely limiting legal immigration. Enforcement actions are taking place against a broad group of noncitizens, including those who have committed only minor crimes or even no crimes at all. WHAT IS CRIMMIGRATION? Crimmigration broadly refers to the criminalization of migration, increased immigration detention and use of private prisons, the prison-to-deportation pipeline, and a deportation process described by one immigration judge as "what amount to death penalty cases heard in traffic court settings." Viewed narrowly, crimmigration refers to the immediate and long-term immigration consequences of criminal convictions. WHAT CAN OREGON DO TO PROTECT NONCITIZEN OREGONIANS AND THEIR FAMILIES? Crimmigration Report Infographic What Oregon Legislators Can Do.jpg We have developed a report as a resource for legislators and others that provides analysis of the legal steps that can be taken that will help to protect noncitizen Oregonians and their families. Click here to read the report. Legislators can: 1. Create Pre-Plea Diversion. Allow qualified defendants to enter pre-trial diversion or deferred adjudication without a guilty or no-contest plea. 2. Allow prior convictions to fit current law. Oregon has already reduced maximum sentences for Class A misdemeanors from 365 days to 364 and should allow this to apply retroactively. 3. Define the prosecutor's duty. Require prosecutors to consider avoiding adverse immigration consequences in plea negotiations. 4. Improve the effectiveness of the court's admonishment. Warn every defendant much earlier in the legal process that if they are a noncitizen that a conviction may have serious immigration consequences so they have time to seek appropriate help. 5. Prohibit disclosure of immigration status in court. No one should be forced to disclose their immigration status in court because it creates unnecessary risk of immigration enforcement and discrimination. 6. Define defense counsel's duty. Require defense counsel to ensure clients understand potential outcomes of their cases and the immigration consequences so they can make the best decisions for themselves and their families. 7. Expand post-conviction relief. Allow defendants to apply for relief within a reasonable period of discovering they received bad advice about the immigration consequences of a plea or conviction. Oregon can also: Crimmigration Report Infographic What Else Oregon Can Do.jpg 1. Uphold the "sanctuary state" law. State and local employees should be reminded of their duty to uphold the law by not using public resources to detect or apprehend people whose only violation is being present in the U.S. contrary to federal immigration law and should receive training about this. Law enforcement leaders and prosecutors should investigate violations of the "sanctuary state" law and prosecute offenders for official misconduct. Information about violations and training employees have received should be public. 2. End "broken windows" policing targeting low-level offenders. Stop bringing people to the courts for minor offenses where they become vulnerable to aggressive ICE enforcement. 3. Limit information sharing. Law enforcement agencies, prosecutors' offices, probation offices, and others should create policies that make it clear to staff where contacting ICE would go beyond the scope of their duties and punish violations. 4. End local jail contracts with ICE. Oregon�s jails should immediately stop contracting with ICE to detain noncitizens so that counties no longer profit from deportation. Details: Portland, Oregon: Oregon Justice Resource Center, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: January 9, 2019 at: https://ojrc.info/crimmigration-in-oregon/ Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/524b5617e4b0b106ced5f067/t/5b353c3503ce6435b6aa1026/1530215484282/Crimmigration+Report+June+2018.pdf Shelf Number: 154021 Keywords: Broken Windows Policing Criminal Alien Crimmigration Deportation Immigrants Immigration Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Detention Immigration Status Law Enforcement Migration Native-Born Citizens Noncitizens Pre-Trial Diversion Sanctuary State Violent Crime

Author: Weisser, Michael Title: Is Gun Violence an Example of American Exceptionalism? Summary: Abstract This paper examines the data used for cross-national comparisons of fatal gun violence and argues that a more valid comparison is to analyze gun-violence rates not against overall population, but against the size of the civilian-owned gun arsenal in each country. Utilizing this latter method, the U.S. rate of fatal gun violence is no greater than the average for all wealthy countries, raising the possibility that gun-control strategies based on population rates rather than gun-ownership rates may need to be rethought. Details: S.L., 2018. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 18, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3158214 Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3158214 Shelf Number: 154233 Keywords: Cross-National Comparison Fatal Gun Violence Firearms Gun Control Gun Ownership Gun Violence Gun Violence Prevention Right to Carry Violent Crime

Author: Robinson, Mary-Jo Title: Rank and File: Reflections on Emerging Issues in Law Enforcement Summary: Abstract In August 2017, 40 rank-and-file officers met for a roundtable to discuss their roles in implementing their agencies' community policing policies and operations. The officers came from departments across the country and explored a wide range of issues from the viewpoint of those who work on the ground. The meeting provided insights and recommendations for ways in which officers, law enforcement leaders, and communities can work together to reduce crime - in particular illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and violent crime. They also discussed the need to support officer morale, safety, and wellness and explored emerging issues such as the growing opioid epidemic, providing forthright assessments of the current state of policing. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2018. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2019 at: https://ric-zai-inc.com/Publications/cops-w0868-pub.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://ric-zai-inc.com/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-W0868 Shelf Number: 154260 Keywords: Community Policing Drug Trafficking Human Trafficking Illegal Immigration Law Enforcement NARCAN Opioid Abuse Opioid Epidemic Police Officer Morale Police Officer Safety Police Officers Policing Violent Crime

Author: Couttenier, Mathieu Title: The Logic of Fear - Populism and Media Coverage of Immigrant Crimes Summary: We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacted municipality-level votes in the November 2009 "minaret ban" referendum in Switzerland. The campaign, successfully led by the populist Swiss People's Party, played aggressively on fears of Muslim immigration and linked Islam with terrorism and violence. We combine an exhaustive violent crime detection dataset with detailed information on crime coverage from 12 newspapers. The data allow us to quantify the extent of pre-vote media bias in the coverage of migrant criminality. We then estimate a theory-based voting equation in the cross-section of municipalities. Exploiting random variations in crime occurrences, we find a first-order, positive effect of news coverage on political support for the minaret ban. Counterfactual simulations show that, under a law forbidding newspapers to disclose a perpetrator's nationality, the vote in favor of the ban would have decreased by 5 percentage points (from 57.6% to 52.6%). Details: London: Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2019. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Paper DP13496: Accessed February 15, 2019 at: https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=13496# Year: 2019 Country: Switzerland URL: https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=13496# Shelf Number: 154619 Keywords: Fear of Crime Immigrants and Crime Mass Communications Media and Crime Muslims Newspapers Violent Crime

Author: IIan-Clarke, Yael Title: Evaluation of Oasis Youth Support violence intervention at St. Thomas' hospital in London, UK Summary: This is the final report of the Oasis Youth Support (OYS) service evaluation at St. Thomas' Hospital. The service is an intervention for young people (ages 12-20) who have experienced violence and attended the Emergency Department (ED) at St Thomas' Hospital in London. The service was initially launched in 2010, funded by Guys & St. Thomas' charity as a 3 year pilot and since then has received funding for a further 3 years. The evaluation of the original term demonstrated good service implementation, and high positive impact on service users' psychological and lifestyle risk factors. This report summarises the work done over the life of the evaluation, using mixed methods to collect baseline and follow up data from young people (YP) attending, staff, and other stakeholders with further emphasis on gaining longer term follow up data. This report is delivered by the evaluation team, based at the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies, Middlesex University. The report describes the development, and implementation of the intervention including changes and progress in methods and outcomes. The report includes an analysis of quantitative and qualitative outcomes for service users, including a long-term assessment of a subsample of cases. Data is presented on the last 3 years of the intervention (since the start of Term 2) and from the life course of the intervention over 6 years Details: London: Middlesex University, Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies (CATS), 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 20, 2019 at: http://www.oasiswaterloo.org/sites/default/files/Final%20report%2015%20Nov%202016_Evaluation%20of%20St%20Thomas%20OYS%20intervention%20%281%29.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.oasiswaterloo.org/sites/default/files/Final%20report%2015%20Nov%202016_Evaluation%20of%20St%20Thomas%20OYS%20intervention%20%281%29.pdf Shelf Number: 154676 Keywords: Hospital Programs Injury Surveillance Trauma Violence Intervention Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Squires, Peter Title: Street Weapons Commission: Guns, Knives and Street Violence Summary: The purpose of this report is to provide the Channel 4 Street Weapons Commission with an informed analysis of patterns and significant trends in 'gun and knife crime' across the country and also to focus specifically on five major cities - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow - over at least three years. In order to achieve this we have collated national and city-wide recorded crime statistics for the current and previous two years. Statistics have also been obtained from the Home Office and, where necessary, from separate police forces. In addition, local studies in the cities have been collated from the police forces and from local researchers. Where the evidence was available, we also sought police performance data detailing the impact of police interventions. An interim report of 10 to 12 pages was to be produced to provide background information to the Commission, and a final report, this report, was to present a more comprehensive analysis of trends and local differences in the recorded crime statistics whilst also collating the findings of local research reports and studies. The report would also provide a demographic analysis of those accused of gun- and knife-related crimes and, where possible, available victimisation data. The final report was to be up to 40 pages long. The fact that the interim report ran to over 40 pages and that this final report exceeds 100 suggests that there is no shortage of data, but that the issues are often complex and involved, and the data do not always easily speak for themselves but require careful interpretation. There are important gaps: for example, English and Welsh police forces were not required by the Home Office to collect knife crime data until 2007. In London, by contrast, although the Metropolitan Police have been collecting such data since 2003, in the midst of our recent 'knife crime crisis', the police figures seem to show knife crimes to be falling and few think them reliable indicators of the trend. Likewise, the police recorded crime data are generally collected and made available at the police force level. While the Metropolitan Police is generally (with the exception of the City of London Police district) coterminous with Greater London, the same is not true of Greater Manchester Police (covering a substantially larger area than the City of Manchester alone), Merseyside Police (extending beyond Liverpool) West Midlands Police (rather more extensive than Birmingham) and Strathclyde Police (covering rather more than just Glasgow). Generally speaking, police forces were often either unable or unwilling to provide city-level data of the type necessary to enable us to be able to make neat, city-based comparisons, although Home Office staff were able to help us to fill some of these gaps. With these kinds of considerations in mind, in the following pages we attempt to fulfil three related aims: 1. Collate the best available data capable of throwing light upon the nature, scale and relevant trends concerning young people and weapon-related violence. While the questions about scale and trends privilege the use of quantitative data, we will also be employing some more qualitative and experiential material to explain and explore issues further. 2. Interpret what the data is telling us, recognising that it is not always consistent, compatible or comparable. Data are often collected at different times for different purposes and may be more or less reliable, and sometimes the priorities and perspectives of the agencies undertaking the data collection may compromise the utility of that which is collated - they may not tell us what they claim or what we think. 3. Finally we intended to indicate where the gaps in the evidence base lie, as well as suggesting how those gaps may be filled and, where possible, what the evidence is likely to look like. Details: London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2008. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 20, 2019 at: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/C4%20Street%20crime_1.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/sites/crimeandjustice.org.uk/files/C4%20Street%20crime_1.pdf Shelf Number: 111535 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Crime Knife Crime Street Crimes Violence Violent Crime

Author: Circo, Giovanni Title: Detroit Ceasefire: Final Evaluation Report Summary: Detroit Ceasefire has been a cornerstone of Detroit's violence reduction strategies. Ceasefire involves a focused deterrence model aimed at gang- and group- related violence. It involves direct communication of a deterrence message to high-risk individuals and groups, targeted enforcement and response to violent incidents, outreach and services, community partnerships and youth prevention. Detroit Ceasefire was initially developed and implemented in two East side precincts (5th and 9th). As the Ceasefire team developed expertise in the model, associated project management capacity, shared understanding and training in the model, and initial signs of success, Ceasefire expanded to West side precincts (6th, 8th, 12th) and more recently to the 4th and 7th precincts. This report describes the planning, development, initial implementation, and full implementation of Ceasefire and places the initiative in the context of national trends. This is followed by evaluation results at both the community and individual levels. Key findings include: - Detroit has experienced a significant decline in fatal and non-fatal shootings since the implementation of Ceasefire in 2013 and particularly since 2015 when Ceasefire received the support of a project management team and associated capacity building that strengthened implementation of the Ceasefire focused deterrence model. - These trends are particularly impressive when contrasted with national trends in violent crime and with trends in other large Midwestern cities. - The evaluation employed a state-of-the-art "synthetic control" design that compares trends in the Ceasefire precincts with comparable parts of the city that have not participated in Ceasefire. For the original east side Ceasefire precincts, we estimate an overall 13-14 percent decline in fatal and non-fatal shootings. For the specific age group of 15-24, the primary target for Ceasefire, the decline was 22 percent. - The trends in the West side precincts are more difficult to interpret. Simply observing the trends suggest declines following the implementation of Ceasefire. Yet, when using the synthetic controls we do not find evidence of declines. We suggest continued monitoring of the West side precincts to provide a longer implementation and observation period (as well as assessment of trends in the more recent 4th and 7th Ceasefire precincts). - Although Ceasefire clients had a very similar time until re-arrest as a matched comparison group of probationers and parolees, the Ceasefire clients had 23 percent fewer overall arrests and 23 percent fewer arrests for a violent offense. Ceasefire clients did have more arrests for weapons offenses but this may reflect increased scrutiny and surveillance of Ceasefire clients, particularly when they or their associates are involved in violence. Details: East Lansing: Michigan Justice Statistics Center, Michigan State University, 2018. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2019 at: https://cj.msu.edu/assets/MJSC-Detroit_Ceasefire_-Final_Report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://cj.msu.edu/assets/MJSC-Detroit_Ceasefire_-Final_Report.pdf Shelf Number: 154684 Keywords: CeaseFire Crime Prevention Gangs Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Neighborhoods and Crime Operation Ceasefire Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Skott, Sara Title: Reduction in homicide and violence in Scotland is largely explained by fewer gangs and less knife crime Summary: - Scotland has a longstanding reputation for violence, especially involving gangs of young people using knives in public places. - Since the mid-2000s, both homicide and non-lethal violence decreased significantly in Scotland; however, it was unclear whether this applied to all types of homicide and violence or reflected a change in the culture of gang violence and knife crime specifically. - Analysis of both police and survey data found four main 'types' of homicide and four main 'types' of violence, all of which had decreased over time but by different amounts. - This study shows that declining incidents involving gangs of young people using weapons in public places made the biggest overall contribution to the reduction in both homicide and other forms of violence in Scotland. - Strategies introduced to tackle the problem of gang violence and knife crime seem to have been effective, although strategies to tackle other types of violence need greater attention. Details: s.l.: Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN): 2019. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Briefing 13: Accessed February 25, 2019 at: https://blogs.sps.ed.ac.uk/aqmen/files/2019/01/S-Skott-Types-of-Homicide-28.1.19.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://blogs.sps.ed.ac.uk/aqmen/files/2019/01/S-Skott-Types-of-Homicide-28.1.19.pdf Shelf Number: 154768 Keywords: Crime Drop Gang Violence Homicides Knife Crime Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Baier, Jessica Title: Education, Corruption and Violent Crime in Mexico 1930 - 1990 Summary: Introduction Nowadays, when Mexico appears in the headlines of the world's newspapers, the reason is most probably another discovery of decapitated bodies, the extended number of kidnappings or gun battles between military forces and drug cartels. Over the last decade, the "drug war" was raging in Mexico and the country has gained the unsavory reputation of being extraordinarily violent. Especially the disappearance of 43 Mexican students from police custody in September 2014 has caught worldwide attention � and it has raised many questions about the connections between the Mexican government, the police force and the drug cartels. To many, the sudden outbreak of violence after almost a century of steadily falling crime rates, political stability and sustained economic growth came as a shock. Mexico had experienced an impressive decline in violent crime rates: from 60 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 1930, to less than 10 in 2000 while the US reduced the murder rate in the same period from 9 to 6 (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2015). On the other hand, there are also voices claiming that the drug war has been a long time coming. Watt (in Busch 2012) argues that the recent crisis in Mexico is a consequence of a long-standing entanglement of drug cartels and political and economic elites that has been growing since the beginning of the 20th century. When the ruling political party changed for the first time in 70 years in 2000, these arrangements between government and narcos were no longer tolerated and violence escalated. Drug cartels turned to violence to defend their business and territory against rival organizations and the police, since they were no longer able to simply buy protection from the law. According to this argumentation, corruption and a weak rule of law were present already during the 20th century and they were the main driving forces behind violent crime. Other scholars however have claimed that the high inequality in Latin America is the cause of high violent crime rates. Is this the case in Mexico? What role do human capital and institutions play? The purpose of this paper is to examine if there is empirical evidence for the entanglement between government and violence during the 20th century and at the same time revise the impact of other structural factors on crime rates. In Mexico, the most common form of government involvement in illegal activity is through corruption (Piccato 2013): During the 20th century, "everyone knew that policemen, prosecutors and judges could be bought" (Piccato 2013, p. 112). When criminals are able to bribe police officials and consequently walk free, the overall probability of punishment is very low and consequently makes criminal activities more attractive. Especially in a money-spinning illegal business such as drug trafficking, most delinquents have the financial capacity to buy protection from the law. Since no direct corruption measures are available for 20th century Mexico, I will use a proxy that has been shown to be highly correlated with corruption: the size of the public sector. Especially in partially democratized countries, bigger public sectors are traditionally associated with a higher incidence of corruption, since the greater involvement of the government in the society introduces more possibilities of rent-seeking behavior. Mexico in the 20th century represents a partially democratized country, since the country is ruled by a one-party system for over 70 years, meaning that Mexico has not yet transitioned to a fully functioning democracy. Goel and Nelson (1996), Montinola and Jackman (2002) and Kotera and Okada (2012) show that (in partially democratic countries), government size increases corruption significantly. Using the newly constructed data set covering the years from 1930 to 1990, I will estimate a fixed effects model with Driscoll-Kraay cross-sectional dependence robust standard errors to check if government activity does have a significant impact on violent crime, measured by homicide rates. To avoid omitted variable bias, I will control for a variety of structural, cultural and demographic factors that have been predicted to explain violent crime rates in different theories of crime. Traditionally, economists base their research on the economic theory of crime developed by Becker in 1968, according to which criminals react to incentives provided by their social, political and economic environment. The higher the expected revenue generated by a crime and the lower the opportunity costs, the higher the probability that a given individual engages in non-legal activity. This implies that lower earning opportunities, less education and unemployment would increase crime incidence, whereas higher severity and probability of punishment reduces it. As mentioned before, the presence of corruption lowers the probability of punishment, and consequently leads to higher crime rates according to this theory. Education and economic growth have been shown to be highly effective in reducing crime rates in cross-national studies; I will check if I can find evidence for this effect in Mexico as well. Sociological theories cite cultural factors such as the machismo culture, ethnic fractionalization, urbanization or youth bulges as being responsible for high crime rates. I will control for all these factors in the regression analysis and check their significance in the Mexican case. The motivation behind understanding the underlying dynamics of crime is evident, since personal security is an important component of well-being (van Zanden et al. 2014). The detrimental impact of crime and violence on society has been well documented and seems to be especially high in the Latin American region (see for example Prillaman 2003/ van Zanden et al. 2014 for an overview). The negative consequences of crime and violence start with the intangible personal costs like the constant fear and strain experienced when living in an unsecure environment, followed by the grief and pain experienced after the loss of a family member or friend. On a macroeconomic level, high crime rates cause measurable direct costs: the expenses on prevention and deterrence like police work, correction and prosecution as well as the medical treatment of the victims (Anderson 1999). However, the costs of crime are not limited to these direct costs, since crime also has a detrimental effect even on the (legal) economic sector. Uncertainty and inefficiency created by high crime rates deter investment activity, tourism and reduce the competitiveness of local businesses, reducing overall economic activity (Detotto and Otranto 2010). Londono and Guerrero (1999, p. 26) estimate that in the time from 1980 until 1995, the social costs of only the violent crimes were as high as 12.3 % of GDP in Mexico. The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: Section 2 gives a short historical background in order to set the stage for the analysis of homicide data. When analyzing crime incidence in Mexico, it is crucial to understand the presence of drug trafficking and its relationship to the Mexican government. In Section 3 I will review the general theories of crime and its implications for the Mexican case. I will also have a look at the results of previous studies on crime in Mexico. In Section 4 I shortly discuss the methodology used to measure violent crime and I reconstruct the development of homicide rates during the 20th century in Mexico. Section 5 introduces the methodology employed for the empirical analysis and the results are presented. Lastly, section 6 offers some concluding remarks. Details: Tubingen, Germany: University of Tubingen, 2015. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2019 at: http://www.ehes.org/ehes2015/papers/Baier.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.ehes.org/ehes2015/papers/Baier.pdf Shelf Number: 154747 Keywords: Corruption Drug Cartels Drug Trafficking Drug War Homicide Rate Mexico Regression Analysis Violent Crime

Author: Council of State Governments. Justice Center Title: Justice Reinvestment in New Mexico Summary: Background At a time when many states have lowered prison populations and seen crime rates fall, New Mexico�s prison population is projected to increase 16 percent by FY2028 unless action is taken to curb the growth. The state also had the highest property crime rate and the second-highest violent crime rate in the country as of 2016. In the summer of 2018, Governor Susana Martinez, Chief Justice Judith K. Nakamura, Senate President Pro Tempore Mary Kay Papen, Speaker of the House Brian Egolf, Senate Minority Floor Leader Stuart Ingle, and House Minority Floor Leader Nate Gentry requested support from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) to explore a Justice Reinvestment approach to address these challenges. As public-private partners in the federal Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), BJA and Pew approved New Mexico state leaders' request and asked The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center to provide intensive technical assistance. CSG Justice Center staff will help collect and analyze data and develop appropriate policy options to help contain corrections spending and reinvest in strategies that can reduce recidivism, improve responses to behavioral health challenges, and increase public safety. Under the direction of New Mexico's Justice Reinvestment Working Group, CSG Justice Center staff will conduct a comprehensive analysis of data collected from various relevant state agencies and departments. CSG Justice Center staff will also convene focus groups and lead interviews with key stakeholders in New Mexico�s criminal justice system. Based on the findings from these extensive quantitative and qualitative analyses, CSG Justice Center staff, in collaboration with the working group, will develop policy options that are designed to increase public safety, reduce recidivism, and contain the cost of corrections in the state. This overview highlights some recent criminal justice trends in New Mexico. The working group will explore these issues, and many others, in greater depth in the coming months. Details: Austin, Texas, United States: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2018. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2019 at: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/JR-in-NM-Overview.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/JR-in-NM-Overview.pdf Shelf Number: 154744 Keywords: Corrections Justice Reinvestment New Mexico Prison Population Property Crime Public Safety Recidivism Violent Crime

Author: Davies, Tom Title: Group Violence Intervention London: An Evaluation of the Shield Pilot Summary: Gang, group and serious street orientated violence continue to be a significant problem in London, demanding innovative and collaborative solutions. In June 2014, at MOPAC's Policing Global Cities: Gangs Summit, Professor David Kennedy delivered a keynote speech outlining the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) approach he developed in Boston during the 1990's (known as 'Ceasefire'). Professor Kennedy was subsequently invited by MPS Trident to deliver a two day 'Ceasefire University' in the GVI model. As a result, the MOPAC Evidence and Insight team, with input from MPS central intelligence, undertook analysis using crime and social demographic data to develop a comprehensive borough level picture on gang and youth violence. The analysis was used to identify potential pilot boroughs with whom MOPAC initially engaged in dialogue, and this was followed up with senior level meetings with Lambeth, Haringey, Westminster, Hackney and Newham between August and October of 2014. Agreement followed from these meetings to proceed with Lambeth, Haringey, and Westminster. In selecting the three boroughs MOPAC recognised the strength of their community safety partnerships and willingness to trial the Group Violence Intervention approach. To this end, Shield - an adaptation of the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) strategy - was developed as a pilot programme and rolled out in three boroughs (Lambeth, Westminster and Haringey). This report presents learning from the evaluation covering performance, process (i.e. implementation challenges and benefits), and impact. Details: London: Mayor of London, Office for Policing and Crime, 2016. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 13, 2019 at: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gvi_london_evaluation270117.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gvi_london_evaluation270117.pdf Shelf Number: 154949 Keywords: Gang Gang-Related Violence Group Violence Violence Violence Prevention Violent Crime Youth Violence

Author: Picasso, Emilio Title: Valuing the Public's Demand for Crime Prevention Programs: A Discrete Choice Experiment Summary: This study utilizes a state-of-the-art survey methodology previously employed in the environmental, health and safety economics literatures to estimate the cost of violent crime and homicide in Buenos Aires. We demonstrate the feasibility of this method for crime cost estimation and for using these surveys in developing countries. Through a random sample of 269 households from an online panel in Buenos Aires, respondents were asked to choose among three options with a factorial design varying homicide rate, violent crime rate, policy measures to reduce crime, and tax impact. Discrete choice modeling estimates the willingness-to-pay for reduction in risk of homicide and violent crime as well as independent values for two policy options. The cost of homicide in Buenos Aires is estimated to be approximately $1.5 million, whereas the cost of other violent crimes (including rape, robbery and aggravated assault) is estimated to be $2,000. In addition to extending intangible crime cost estimates to Latin America, we estimate the value of two comprehensive crime control policies, with values ranging from $600 to $700 million/year, about $12 per household per month each. The estimated costs in Buenos Ares are consistent with that found in developing countries once controlling for income differences. These subjective crime cost valuations are significantly higher than tangible crime costs, and thus provide a significant improvement in the ability of policy makers to conduct benefit-cost analysis. Details: Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management Research Paper, 2018. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 17, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3015649 Year: 2018 Country: Argentina URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3015649 Shelf Number: 155003 Keywords: Argentina Cost Benefit Analysis Crime Control Policies Crime Cost Analysis Homicide Violent Crime

Author: Giannini, Renata Avelar Title: Urban Security Exchange: Data, Design and Innovation for Urban Security Summary: The Urban Security Exchange: Data, Design and Innovation for Urban Security was held on January 22 and 23, 2018 in San Salvador, at a critical time for Central American countries. On one hand, in early 2018, the capitals of the Northern Triangle countries - Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - reported significant reductions in their high homicide rates; while on the other, these positive results highlighted the complex efforts necessary to maintain this downward trend amidst the struggle against violence. Effectively, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras present some of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2018, El Salvador leads the ranking and its capital, San Salvador, is one of the most violent cities on the planet. Nevertheless, such cities were able to reduce their homicide rates between 2016 and 2017. In El Salvador, the rate dropped by 34%, in Honduras, 22% and in Guatemala, 4%. This context of persistently high homicide rates in spite of reductions was a key element throughout the discussion endorsed by the Urban Security Exchange. Details: Rio de Janeiro: Igarape Institute, 2018. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2019 at: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-06-04-AE-USEx-dialogos-seguranca-EN-1.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Central America URL: https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-06-04-AE-USEx-dialogos-seguranca-EN-1.pdf Shelf Number: 155033 Keywords: Crime Prevention Design Against Crime Homicides Urban Areas and Crime Urban Security Violent Crime

Author: Couttenier, Mathieu Title: The Logic of Fear: Populism and Media Coverage of Immigrant Crimes Summary: Abstract We study how news coverage of immigrant criminality impacted municipality-level votes in the November 2009 "minaret ban" referendum in Switzerland. The campaign, successfully led by the populist Swiss People's Party, played aggressively on fears of Muslim immigration and linked Islam with terrorism and violence. We combine an exhaustive violent crime detection dataset with detailed information on crime coverage from 12 newspapers. The data allow us to quantify the extent of pre-vote media bias in the coverage of migrant criminality. We then estimate a theory-based voting equation in the cross-section of municipalities. Exploiting random variations in crime occurrences, we find a first-order, positive effect of news coverage on political support for the minaret ban. Counterfactual simulations show that, under a law forbidding newspapers to disclose a perpetrator's nationality, the vote in favor of the ban would have decreased by 5 percentage points (from 57.6% to 52.6%). Details: S.L.: 2019. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 30, 2019 at: https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/13496.html Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=13496# Shelf Number: 155243 Keywords: Illegal Immigration Immigrant Islamist Extremists Media Bias Migrant Criminality Muslim Immigration Terrorism Violent Crime

Author: McLively, Mike Title: A Case Study in Hope: Lessons from Oakland's Remarkable Reduction in Gun Violence Summary: In 2012, after several failures and facing great pressure from community activists, Oakland city leaders committed to launching a citywide violence reduction strategy, known as Oakland Ceasefire, with the help of technical experts from the California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC). Oakland Ceasefire is an ongoing partnership between community members, social service providers, and law enforcement officials, who work together to reduce violence, build police-community trust, and improve outcomes for high-risk individuals. The strategy has five main components: Analysis of violent incidents and trends, referred to as a problem analysis, to identify individuals at the highest risk of participating in serious violence. Oakland's problem analysis revealed a number of misconceptions about the city's violence dynamics. It also showed that only 400 individuals-just 0.1% of Oakland's total population-were at the highest risk for engaging in serious violence at any given time. Oakland Ceasefire partners intervene with this population. Respectful, in-person communications with high-risk individuals to warn about the risks of ongoing violence and provide a genuine offer of assistance. With Oakland Ceasefire, these communications primarily take the form of call-ins, interventions in which stakeholders communicate with small groups of those most at risk of serious violence, and custom notifications, a personalized method of heading off imminent violence. Relationship-based social services provided to high-risk individuals through the Oakland Unite network of community-based organizations. Oakland Unite is a unique city agency that uses taxpayer money to fund organizations that provide services like intensive mentoring, economic and educational training, and direct assistance to victims of violence and their families. Narrowly focused law enforcement actions by the Oakland Police Department's (OPD) Ceasefire Section, in addition to ongoing, department-wide training in the principles of procedural justice and other strategies to improve police-community relationships. Since reforming its approach to violence, OPD has seen a dramatic increase in its homicide solve rate, while use-of-force incidents and complaints against the department are on the decline. An intentional management structure built around regular communication between Oakland Ceasefire partners and city leaders to stay on top of changing violence dynamics and track progress toward yearly violence reduction goals. Regular meetings include weekly shooting reviews, bimonthly coordination meetings, and performance reviews led by Oakland's mayor. Details: San Francisco: Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2019. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 25, 2019 at: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Giffords-Law-Center-A-Case-Study-in-Hope-Lessons-from-Oaklands-Remarkable-Reduction-in-Gun-Violence.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Giffords-Law-Center-A-Case-Study-in-Hope-Lessons-from-Oaklands-Remarkable-Reduction-in-Gun-Violence.pdf Shelf Number: 155505 Keywords: Community-Based Organizations Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Oakland Ceasefire Operation Ceasefire Partnerships Police-Community Relations Violence Prevention Violent Crime

Author: Calderon, Laura Title: Organized Crime and Violence in Mexico. Analysis Through 2018 Summary: Justice in Mexico, a research-based program at the University of San Diego, released its 2019 report on Organized Crime and Violence in Mexico, co-authored by Laura Calderon, Kimberly Heinle, Octavio Rodriguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk. This report analyzes the latest available data to broadly assess the current state of violence, organized crime, and human rights in Mexico. The tenth edition in a series is published under a new title to reflect the gradual shift that has occurred to the restructuring illicit drug trade and the rise of new organized crime groups. In 2018, Mexico saw record violence with 28,816 homicide cases and 33,341 victims reported by the Mexican National Security System (Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Publica, SNSP). This reflects the continued augmentation in violent crime in Mexico for more than a decade with a notable increase in the last few years. The homicide rate has dramatically escalated from 16.9 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 as reported to UNODC to 27.3 per 100,000 in 2018 based on SNSP figures. In this and past reports, the authors attribute much of the violence, between a third to a half, to the presence of organized crime groups, particularly drug trafficking organizations. According to the report, violence has become more pervasive throughout the country but remains highly concentrated in a few specific areas, especially in the major drug trafficking zones located in the northwest and the Pacific Coast. The top ten most violent municipalities in Mexico accounted for 33.6% of all homicides in Mexico in 2018, with 24.7% concentrated in the top five: Tijuana (2,246), Ciudad Juarez (1,004), Acapulco (839), Cancun-Benito Juarez (537), Culiacan (500). Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico, Department of Political Science & International Relations, University of San Diego, 2019. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2019 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Organized-Crime-and-Violence-in-Mexico-2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Mexico URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Organized-Crime-and-Violence-in-Mexico-2019.pdf Shelf Number: 155611 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Homicides Human Rights Organized Crime Violence Violent Crime

Author: Blanchard, Daphne N. Title: .Immigration and National Security: An Empirical Assessment of Central American Immigration and Violent Crime in the United States Summary: Executive Summary - The arrival of the October 2018 Central American caravan became a flashpoint in the immigration debate between human rights and national security. Thousands of migrants traveled in a caravan from Central America's Northern Triangle to the United States in October of 2018. President Trump called on Mexico to stop the influx, sent troops to the U.S.-Mexican border, and threatened to cut aid to the Central American country. While several hundred returned on Honduran-sponsored busses and roughly 2,000 people applied for asylum in southern Mexico, the group totaled 6,500 migrants when they arrived at the wall lining the San Ysidro-Tijuana border. Conflicts between the migrants, Mexican police, citizens of Tijuana and U.S. protesters made national headlines. Meanwhile, international aid groups offered makeshift housing, basic necessities, and legal representation for the asylum seekers. Immigration was central to the November mid-term election debates. - Central American immigration has risen significantly over the last few decades. Presently 3.4 million people born in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are living in the United States, more than double the estimated 1.5 million people in 2000, with half of them undocumented. In the time period between 2011 and 2017, the number of Northern Triangle immigrants rose approximately 400,000 which indicated a growth of 0.1 percent of the foreign-born population. The number of Northern Triangle migrant arrivals nearly quadrupled in 2014, with the arrival of approximately 131,000 migrants. El Salvador is the largest sending country from the region, with 1.4 million immigrants in the United States, a 112- fold increase since 1970. Guatemala is second with 815,000, followed by Honduras with 623,000. - The number of unaccompanied minors (also known as UACs) crossing the U.S.- Mexico border has dramatically increased since 2008. Between 2008 and the first eight months of 2014, the number of unaccompanied minors that crossed the U.S. southern border each year jumped from about 8,000 to 52,000, prompting the U.S. Congress to request further research and a hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations. The year 2014 was dubbed the Central America migration crisis due to the 90 percent increase in UACs between 2013 and 2014. The composition of the recent caravans that arrived in April and October of 2018 suggest that child and family migration from the Northern Triangle is an enduring phenomenon. - The root causes of the flows are pervasive violence and systematic persecution in the Northern Triangle region. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are consistently ranked among the world's most violent countries not at war due to their exceptionally high rates of homicide, extortion, gang proliferation, narcotics trafficking, weak rule of law, and official corruption. Many migrants reported fleeing systematic persecution from authorities, pervasive violence from organized criminal organizations, and forced gang recruitment. - Northern Triangle migrants make up less than one percent of the U.S. population. To put the increases in immigrant population in perspective and understand the scope of Central American migration, it is important to note that in 2017 the Northern Triangle subset of immigrants constitute 0.9% of the share of overall population, of which by far the largest percentage is attributed to those with El Salvadoran origins. Asian foreign-born are the most prevalent with 4.3 percent of the share, which consists of Eastern, South Central, and South Eastern Asian immigrants. Those born in Mexico are second with 3.4 percent; while European and African foreign-born make up 1.2 and 0.7 percent respectively. - Public anxiety over Central American migrants stalls immigration reform. The tension at the U.S.-Mexico border due to Central American asylum seekers has reached a fever pitch, polarizing views on how to deal with ever increasing immigration. Although seven percent of Northern Triangle refugees were granted asylum the year after the 2014 surge in migration, compared to 24 percent of refugees from China, the continual flow of Central American migrants to the United States' southern border elicits anxiety, protests, and much public debate. As rhetoric from high-level politicians and news media make connections between violent crime and immigration, political parties' stances on immigration become more divergent -- leading to the inability to agree on comprehensive immigration reform. The difference in opinion between Democrats and Republicans has grown over time with 42 percent of Republicans, compared to 84 percent of Democrats, saying that immigrants strengthen the country, the largest partisan gap on openness to immigrants since 1994. Democrats triple the share of Republicans with the opinion that the nation has a responsibility to care for refugees. - The internet and social media have heightened the risk of mass manipulation and emotional decision-making in immigration policy. Although the Trump administration and news outlets of today are not the first to make a public connection between crime and immigration - the debate has been ongoing for decades - changes in media technology have exacerbated the issue. The internet and social media platforms have significantly increased the scope and reach of consumers at hyper speed without third-party filtering, fact-checking, or editorial judgement to add context to complex issues. This is evident in a Republican-sponsored political commercial that connected an undocumented Mexican cop-killer with the tagline: "Stop the caravan. Vote Republican." Although widely rejected by major television and news outlets on both sides of the aisle for being misleading, the ad was seen approximately 6.5 million times while featured atop Trump's Twitter page. Studies have shown how elite discourse shapes mass opinion and action on immigration policy without necessarily tying the rhetoric to empirical data of the actual threat posed by the group. - Studies show that as immigration levels have risen in the United States, overall violent crime rates have reduced. The relationship between immigration and crime in the United States has been studied at length by scholars whose findings convey a similar conclusion: that immigration does not increase crime and violence, in fact, in the first generation it seems to reduce it. Since 1970 to today, the share and number of immigrants in the United States have increased rapidly while violent crime has been trending in the opposite direction to a level below what it was in 1980. Even as the U.S. undocumented population doubled to 12 million between 1994 and 2005, the violent crime rate in the United States declined 34.2 percent. In addition, cities with large immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Miami also experienced declining crime rates during that period. - Evidence does not support the notion that increases in Central American immigrant populations lead to increases in violent crime rates. Although Northern Triangle immigration has surged over the past several years, the evidence does not support the claim that they are posing a U.S. national security threat. Not only did overall U.S. violent crime rates descend as Central American migration share rose; but the influx of these foreigners in 27 metro areas showed no correlation when compared to the violent crime rate changes of each one during 2012 to 2017. When compared to homicide rate changes, there is no correlation between the changes in the immigrant population from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras; in fact, the vast majority of cases demonstrate a reduction in crime. Not one of the 27 metros with high concentration of immigrants from that region is within the top ten of the most violent metros in the United States. The violence that Northern Triangle migrants are fleeing is not translating into more violence in American communities, as the public discourse seems to suggest. The Central American migration threat has been hyper-inflated in scope and potential for insecurity. - The scope of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang is narrow by comparison. According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), approximately ten thousand MS-13 members inhabit the United States, amounting to 0.3 percent of the overall U.S. population. By comparison, there are approximately 1.4 million gang members living in the United States that make up more than 33,000 gangs. Of the 45,400 UACs apprehended at the border in the five-year period of 2012 and 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) apprehended 159 UACs with confirmed or suspected gang affiliations, 56 of which were suspected or confirmed to be affiliated with MS-13. The Cato Institute reports that 0.1 percent of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrests were MS-13 gang members at the border midyear in 2018, similar to the statistics from prior years. - The brutality of MS-13 has the potential to disrupt neighborhoods, but not the United States as a whole. The threat of the MS-13 gang is far smaller in scope and reach than high-profile dialogue suggests, and it is given disproportionate attention in the public discourse considering the levels of crime. Of the 1.2 million violent crime offenses committed in the United States between 2012 and 2017, 345 were committed by members of the MS-13 gang. Although spread throughout cities in the United States and a legitimate concern for the communities which they inhabit, the members of this murderous gang do not demonstrate an ability to disrupt the stability and security of the entire nation and show no sign of expansion. Containing the threat of this violent criminal organization is best left to local authorities with local solutions. This research does not advocate ceasing to address the root causes of MS-13 criminal activity, only to keep the risk in perspective to reduce the negative consequences of fear-based decision-making. - The conflating of MS-13 with all immigrants in public discourse is unfounded and problematic. Connecting all immigrants with the violent acts of the few stalls progress on immigration reform, influences public opinion and immigration policy decisions without data to support the level of threat, creates an atmosphere of conflict surrounding those requesting asylum and settling in American neighborhoods, and is counterproductive to keeping Americans safe. Anxiety-inducing messaging from elite levels slows productive, compromise-driven dialogue that is necessary for immigration reform and effective allocation of finite resources. Details: San Diego: Justice in Mexico, Department of Political Science & International Relations, University of San Diego, 2019. 40p. Source: Internet Resource:JUSTICE IN MEXICO WORKING PAPER SERIES Volume 16, Number 1: Accessed May 9, 2019 at: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BLANCHARD_Immigration-and-National-Security.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://justiceinmexico.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BLANCHARD_Immigration-and-National-Security.pdf Shelf Number: 155705 Keywords: Asylum Seekers Gang Violence Immigrants and Crime Immigration and Crime Immigration Policy MS-13 - Mara Salvatrucha National Security Northern Triangle Social Media Unaccompanied Minors Undocumented Migrants Violent Crime

Author: Hideg, Gergely Title: Darkening Horizons: Global Violent Deaths Scenarios, 2018-30 Summary: This Briefing Paper analyses trends in global violent deaths based on data updated to 2017, which provides a benchmark for the scenarios for the period 2018-30 that constitute the main focus of the paper. The year 2017 was characterized by a marked increase in lethal violence, primarily due to a rise in homicides (that is, non-conflict deaths). The paper presents three different, but plausible scenarios reflecting possible trends in global violent deaths in the period 2018-30. These are: (1) a 'business-as-usual' scenario, where international efforts to reduce lethal violence continue as at present; (2) a positive scenario, where concerted efforts lead to reductions in global violent death rates; and (3) a negative scenario, where inaction and escalating lethal violence cause a significant increase in global violent death rates. All three scenarios are derived from longer-term trends and underline the need for policy-makers to renew efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 16.1. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Small Arms Survey, 2019. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 30, 2019 at: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/darkening-horizons-global-violent-deaths-scenarios-2018-30 Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/SAS-BP-Violent-Deaths-Scenarios.pdf Shelf Number: 156084 Keywords: Arms Trafficking Firearms Homicide Lethal Violence Small Arms Violent Crime Violent Deaths

Author: Edlund, Lena Title: It's the Phone, Stupid: Mobiles and Murder Summary: US homicide rates fell sharply in the early 1990s, a decade that also saw the mainstreaming of cell phones � a concurrence that may be more than a coincidence, we propose. Cell phones may have undercut turf-based street dealing, thus undermining drug-dealing profits of street gangs, entities known to engage in violent crime. Studying county-level data for the years 1970-2009 we find that the expansion of cellular phone service (as proxied by antenna-structure density) lowered homicide rates in the 1990s. Furthermore, effects were concentrated in urban counties; among Black or Hispanic males; and more gang/drug-associated homicides. Details: Cambridge, Massachusetts: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 30, 2019 at: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25883 Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25883.pdf Shelf Number: 156089 Keywords: Drug Dealing Gang Violence Gangs Homicide Rates Homicide Reduction Urban Crime Violent Crime

Author: Koekemoer, Hannes Title: A Comprehensive Discussion on Cash-in-Transit Robbery: A Contemporary Crime Phenomenon in the South African Context Summary: Cash in transit heists and robberies have been popularised by recent movie trends, The Italian job (2003), the Fast and the furious franchise (2001 - 2015) and many other pop culture films. The films are usually depicted from the criminal's perspective and are unrealistic in that there are many explosions but no casualties. In reality Cash-in-transit robberies are violent, messy and result in loss of life and a lot of money. This paper will discuss Cash-in-transit (CIT) robbery as a contemporary criminological issue in South Africa Details: S.L., 2015. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 4, 2019 at: https://www.academia.edu/10660937/A_Comprehensive_discussion_on_Cash-in-Transit_Robbery Year: 2015 Country: South Africa URL: https://www.academia.edu/RegisterToDownload#RelatedPapers Shelf Number: 156169 Keywords: Cash Transfers Cash-in-Transit Robberies South Africa Violent Crime

Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Proceedings that do Justice: Justice for Victims of Violent Crime Part II Summary: Victims of violent crime have various rights, including to protection and to access justice. But how are these rights playing out in practice? Are victims of violent crime properly seen, informed, empowered and heard? Do they tend to feel that justice has been done? Our four-part report series takes a closer look at these questions, based on interviews with victims, people working for victim support organisations, police officers, attorneys, prosecutors and judges.This report - Part II - focuses on procedural justice, and on whether criminal proceedings are effective, including in terms of giving voice to victims of violent crime. Taken together, the four reports reveal a wide gap between the law 'on the books' and the law in practice, showing that many victims still feel marginalised. We hope this series encourages policymakers to take steps to ensure that victims of violent crime receive the attention, support and consideration to which they are entitled. Details: Brussels, Belgium: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2019. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 5, 2019 at: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2019/justice-victim-crime-proceedings Year: 2019 Country: Europe URL: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2019-justice-for-victims-of-violent-crime-part-2-proceedings_en.pdf Shelf Number: 156189 Keywords: Procedural Justice Victim Assistance Victimization Violent Crime

Author: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) Title: Sanctions that do Justice: Justice for Victims of Violent Crime Part III Summary: Victims of violent crime have various rights, including to protection and to access justice. But how are these rights playing out in practice? Are victims of violent crime properly seen, informed, empowered and heard? Do they tend to feel that justice has been done? Our four-part report series takes a closer look at these questions, based on interviews with victims, people working for victim support organisations, police officers, attorneys, prosecutors and judges.This report - Part III - takes a look at sanctions, scrutinising whether the outcomes of proceedings deliver on the promise of justice for victims of violent crime. Taken together, the four reports reveal a wide gap between the law 'on the books' and the law in practice, showing that many victims still feel marginalised. We hope this series encourages policymakers to take steps to ensure that victims of violent crime receive the attention, support and consideration to which they are entitled. Details: Brussels, Belgium: European Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2019. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 5, 2019 at: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2019/justice-victim-crime-sanctions Year: 2019 Country: Europe URL: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2019-justice-for-victims-of-violent-crime-part_3-sanctions_en.pdf Shelf Number: 156188 Keywords: Victim Assistance Victim Support Victimization Violent Crime

Author: Phillips, Brian J. Title: Narco-Messages: Competition and Public Communication by Criminal Groups Summary: Criminal groups often avoid the limelight, shunning publicity. However, in some instances they overtly communicate, such as through banners or signs. We explain the competition dynamics behind public criminal communication, and provide theory and evidence of the conditions under which it emerges. Relying on a new data set of approximately 1,800 banners publicly deployed by Mexican criminal groups from 2007 to 2010, we identify the conditions behind such messaging. The findings suggest that criminal groups "go public" in the presence of interorganizational contestation, violence from authorities, antagonism toward the local media, local demand for drugs, and local drug production. Some of these factors are only associated with communication toward particular audiences rivals, the state, or the public. Interestingly, we find that the correlates of criminal propaganda are sometimes distinct from those of criminal violence, suggesting that these phenomena are explained by separate dynamics. Details: Unpublished paper, 2019. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2019 at: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/vrios/files/phillipsrios2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Mexico URL: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/vrios/files/phillipsrios2019.pdf Shelf Number: 156245 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Organized Crime Violent Crime

Author: Grawert, Ames C. Title: Crime in 2018: Final Analysis Summary: In this final analysis of crime rates in 2018, we estimate that rates of violent crime, murder, and overall crime declined in the 30 largest American cities, with significant declines in murder. The data in this report are collected directly from local police departments. The FBI's final 2018 data, covering the entire United States, will be released in September. The data reported here refine an initial Brennan Center report released in September, Crime and Murder in 2018: A Preliminary Analysis, which concluded that "increases in the murder rate in 2015 and 2016 were temporary, rather than signaling a reversal in the long-term downward trend" in crime and violence. A December update reached the same conclusion, showing rates of crime, violent crime, and homicide all declining. These continuing declines indicate that, while increases in crime in 2015 and 2016 merit further study, they did not signal the start of a new "crime wave." Updated Tables 1 and 2 support conclusions similar to the Brennan Center's September and December reports, and now include complete data through the end of the year: Murder: The 2018 murder rate in the 30 largest cities is estimated to have declined by 8.0 percent since 2017. This finding indicates that the major-city murder rate will approximate 2015 levels but remain above 2014's low point. Modest declines in most cities explain this decrease. The murder rate in Chicago, which increased significantly in 2015 and 2016, declined by nearly 12 percent but remains roughly 40 percent above 2014 levels. Baltimore, another city that continues to struggle with violence, also saw its murder rate decline by 9.1 percent. While Las Vegas saw its murder rate decrease significantly, by more than 40 percent, part of this decline is attributable to the mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay Resort, which led to an unusually high homicide total in 2017. Some cities saw their murder rates rise in 2018, such as Washington, DC (35.6 percent) and Philadelphia (8.5 percent). These increases suggest a need to better understand how and why murder is increasing in some cities. New York City's murder rate also increased, but by less than 1 percent, making it essentially the same as the 2017 rate. Crime: The overall crime rate in the 30 largest cities in 2018 is estimated to have declined slightly from the previous year, falling by 3.5 percent. If final FBI data track these findings, crime will have again reached a record low, driven by declining rates of property crime. Violent Crime: The violent crime rate is also estimated to have declined, falling by 4.0 percent from 2017. Estimates of crime and violent crime are based on data from 25 of the nation's 30 largest cities; estimates of murder include data from 26 cities. The Brennan Center's previous report on crime in 2018 is available here, and a report studying crime trends from 1990 to 2016 is available here. Details: Washington, DC: Brennan Center for Justice, 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2019 at: https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_06_CrimeReport_FINAL_0.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/crime-2018-final-analysis Shelf Number: 156555 Keywords: Crime Rates Crime Trends Crime Wave Homicide Murder Violent Crime

Author: Scottish Government. Social Research Title: Recorded Crime in Scotland: Attempted Murder and Serious Assault, 2008-09 and 2017-18 Summary: This report presents the findings of a study into the changing nature of police recorded attempted murder and serious assault (shortened to serious assault below) in Scotland. This includes new details on the characteristics of these cases, based on a random sample of police recorded crimes. Key Findings -- Serious assault is any attack where the victim needs hospital inpatient treatment or has any fractures / broken bones, internal injuries, severe concussion, lacerations that require stitches which may lead to impairment or disfigurement, or any other injury which may lead to impairment or disfigurement. Attempted murder is defined as attempting to kill without necessary cause, or acting in a way so reckless as to show the perpetrator was utterly regardless of the consequences. This study into the characteristics of police recorded serious assault focused on the years of 2008-09 and 2017-18, the time between which saw the number of these crimes in Scotland decrease by 35% or 2,283 crimes (from 6,472 to 4,189). The vast majority (89%) of the total fall in police recorded serious assault between 2008-09 and 2017-18 was due to fewer cases in the west of Scotland (centred in and around the city of Glasgow). All of the fall in serious assault across Scotland came from fewer cases with a male victim, with little change in the number of cases with a female victim. Although the reduction in male victims has driven the total fall in serious assault since 2008-09, they still accounted for 80% of victims in 2017-18. Most male victims are seriously assaulted by acquaintances (55%) or strangers (23%), whereas females are more likely to be seriously assaulted by partners/ex-partners or relatives (52%). Most (80%) of the fall in serious assault came from fewer cases where the perpetrator used a weapon, with the study finding that a serious assault in 2017-18 was less likely to involve a weapon than in 2008-09 (dropping from 63% to 55%). In 2017-18, the use of a knife or other bladed/pointed article to commit a serious assault was much more common in the west of Scotland than elsewhere in the country. There was little difference across Scotland in the proportion of serious assault that involved other types of weapon. Despite the reduction in the volume of serious assaults committed in Scotland over the past ten years, there has been no significant change in the proportion of these crimes that occur in a public setting or a private setting during this time - with most still occurring in a public setting. The study also found that the average age of both a victim and perpetrator of serious assault in 2017-18 was several years older than their counterparts from 2008-09. This reflected a particularly large fall in the estimated rate of victimisation for people in their twenties and offending rates for teenagers (aged 13 to 19 years) and people in their twenties. Finally, the study found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of serious assault committed in 2017-18 included a reference to the consumption of alcohol. This may somewhat underestimate the true position as police officers may not always receive enough information to identify the consumption of alcohol prior to any incident. Overall this research suggests that fewer cases of males attacking other males in the west of Scotland, often involving relatively younger people (teenagers and those in their twenties) and the use of a weapon, have contributed the most to the reduction in serious assault over the past ten years. Whist the police in Scotland now face fewer reports of serious assault today than a decade ago, the characteristics of these crimes are now a little less homogenous than before - with relatively fewer cases concentrated in the west of Scotland, or only involving relatively younger males. It remains the case that the use of knives or other blades is much more prevalent in the west of Scotland than elsewhere, and a majority of all serious assault committed in Scotland involved the consumption of alcohol prior to the incident. Details: Edinburgh: Author, 2019. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2019 at: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2019/06/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-serious-assault-2008-09-2017-18/documents/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-serious-assault-2008-09-2017-18/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-serious-assault-2008-09-2017-18/govscot%3Adocument/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-serious-assault-2008-09-2017-18.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2019/06/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-serious-assault-2008-09-2017-18/documents/recorded-crime-scotland-attempted-murder-se Shelf Number: 156735 Keywords: Assaults Crime Statistics Homicides Violent Crime

Author: Barry, Daniel Richard Title: Recidivism in the Republic of Ireland: A National Prospective Cohort Study Summary: This thesis explores two-year incidence and trends of reconviction among a national cohort of prisoners released from prisons in the Republic of Ireland between 2007 and 2009. Findings from international research studies that explore predictors and protectors of recidivism among ex-prisoners were used to inform the methodology for the current study. Anonymised data were obtained on all prisoners released from prisons in the Republic of Ireland during the years 2007-2009 through the Central Statistics Office in Ireland. A number of static and dynamic predictors and protectors of recidivism were examined across personal factors, family factors, medical/social history, criminal history, reason for committal and post-release engagement. Reconviction for a first new offence in a Court of Criminal Law within two years following release was the primary outcome of interest. The overall population released from prison during the study period consisted of 13,156 offenders, comprising 11,975 (91.02%) males and 1,181 (8.98%) females. Violent crime accounted for 1,347 index offences, drug crime for 1,035 offences, sex crime for 255 offences and property crime accounted for over 2,878 of recorded index offences. A total of 5,041 (38.32%) ex-prisoners were re-convicted in a Court of Criminal Law within two years following release from prison. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that younger age, index offence type (property crime), homelessness and race/ethnicity were independently associated with higher odds of first reconviction within two years (p<0.05). The study found no independent association between gender, educational level or employment/occupation and subsequent reconviction (p>0.05). Factors independently protective of re-conviction included increasing age and an index sex crime (p>0.05). The findings from this nationally representative cohort study are broadly in-keeping with international rates and predictors of recidivism. The current study provides robust empirical evidence relating to factors that are both protective and predictive of recidivism. At policy level, there is an increasing focus on designing rehabilitation programmes that are evidence based. These findings provide a sound basis for designing rehabilitation programmes focusing on target populations and key risk factors. Successful reintegration of ex-prisoners reduces the harmful effects of social exclusion and increases levels of trust and community participation, components of community-wide social capital that are central for keeping crime rates low and for the general welfare and safety of community. Details: Portsmouth, England: University of Portsmouth, 2017. 254p. Source: Internet Resource Doctorate Thesis: Accessed July 14, 2019 at: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/7492009/Daniel_Barry_UP639010_FINAL_DISSERTATION.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Ireland URL: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Recidivism-in-the-Republic-of-Ireland-%3A-a-national-Barry/19c5b87908f153191714cb72cbcc4daf7cff6306 Shelf Number: 156799 Keywords: Ex-Prisoners Ireland Recidivism Reconviction Rehabilitation Programs Reintegration Reoffending Violent Crime

Author: Coccia, Mario Title: General Causes of Violent Crime: The Income Inequality Summary: This essay has two goals. The first is to show that the heat hypothesis, per se, provides a partial explanation of causes of the violent crime in society. The second is to stress the importance of the concept of socioeconomic inequality that can negatively affect mental health and induce violence, controlling the climate factor. In fact, a fundamental problem in social psychology is what environmental stressors lead to aggressive behavior and violent crime in society. The vast literature has suggested several approaches, such as the heat hypothesis that more violence is associated to very hot temperature. However, the manifold determinants of violent crime in society are hardly known. This study shows that, controlling the climate, the socioeconomic inequality at country level negatively affects human functioning and leads to high rates of violent crime in society. In particular, the statistical evidence seems in general to support the hypothesis that, controlling the climate, the intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) can be explained by the high level of income inequality, both in hot tropical areas and in temperate zone of the globe. The socioeconomic inequality is one of contributing factors that generates aversive environments and, as a consequence, a deteriorated human behavior leading to high rates of intentional homicides in society. The interdisciplinary results here, combining psychological and sociological approaches, suggest an alternative hypothesis that can integrate the current theoretical frameworks to explain one of principal causes of deteriorated human functioning that leads to violent crime in society. Overall, then, these findings can clarify whenever possible, a vital source of the aggressive behavior and violent crime, controlling the climate, to support appropriate policies directed to preempt these critical problems in society. Details: Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University, Coccia Lab, 2017. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 15, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2951294 Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316146770_General_Causes_of_Violent_Crime_the_Income_Inequality Shelf Number: 157003 Keywords: Aggressive Behavior Climate and Crime Socioeconomic Inequality Violent Crime

Author: Sentencing Project Title: Women and Girls Serving Life Sentences Summary: Nationwide one of every 15 women in prison - nearly 7,000 women - is serving a life or virtual life sentence. One-third of them have no chance for parole, so their prospects for release are highly improbable. The number of women serving life sentences has grown dramatically despite declining rates of violent crime among women. Details: New York: The Sentencing Project, 2019. 2p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 15, 2019 at: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Women-and-Girls-Serving-Life-Sentences.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/women-girls-serving-life-sentences/ Shelf Number: 157013 Keywords: Girls Incarceration Life Sentences Prison Violent Crime Women

Author: Coccia, Mario Title: What is the Growth Rate of Population that Supports Terrorism in Regions with Social Issues? Summary: Understanding where and how terrorism happens can provide vital information to explaining why it happens. In particular, terrorism cannot be understood without having accurate knowledge of the environmental factors in which it occurs. The vast literature has analyzed several determinants of terrorism, such as economic, social, psychological and religious factors. However, demographic factors causing and sustaining terrorism in regions are hardly known. Results of the present study suggest a curvilinear relation between confirmed fatalities for terrorist incident and rates of growth of population. In addition, findings here also reveal that a high growth rate of population of about 3.6% maximizes the lethality due to terrorist incidents in society. This high growth rate of population is mainly in regions with socioeconomic issues that can lead to terrorism (e.g., Iraq, Mali, Sudan, etc.). As a matter of fact, the ethnicity and/or religion are illusory causes of terrorism, because they are not an environmental stressor per se, whereas a basic determinant of terrorism may be a critical demographic mass and high population growth that, in certain environments with problematic socioeconomic factors, leads to disrupt the stability of societies/communities, induce frustration and anger of people, and terrorism as a result. Overall, then, this study can clarify and generalize whenever possible, one of the sources of terrorism in regions with social issues. Some socioeconomic policies are suggested to increase economic conditions of people and work opportunities directed to reduce this critical problem in society over the long run. Details: Moncalieri, Italy: National Research Council of Italy, 2018. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 18, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3211249 Year: 2018 Country: International URL: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327437760_What_is_the_growth_rate_of_population_that_supports_terrorism_in_regions_with_social_issues Shelf Number: 157031 Keywords: Cultural Deviance Income Inequality Political Violence Population Growth Poverty Radicalization Terrorism Terrorist Attacks Violent Crime

Author: Home Office Title: Consultation on a New Legal Duty to Support a Multi-Agency Approach to Preventing and Tackling Serious Violence Summary: The Government's Serious Violence Strategy is clear that tackling serious violence is not only a law enforcement issue, it needs a multi-agency approach involving a range of partners and agencies such as education, health, social services, housing, youth and victim services with a focus on prevention and early intervention. Action should be guided by evidence of the problems and what works in tackling the root causes of violence. To do this, we must bring organisations together to share information, data and intelligence and encourage them to work in concert rather than in isolation. 2. The proposed new duty is a key building block of the Government's public health approach to preventing and tackling serious violence. We are also investing 100m pounds extra funding in 2019/20 to support increased police activity to tackle knife crime. This includes the provisional allocation of 35m pounds funding for the introduction of Violence Reduction Units in the 18 force areas most affected by serious violence. The proposed duty will complement and assist the Violence Reduction Units in their aim of preventing and tackling serious violence, by providing a strategic platform with the right regulatory conditions to support successful delivery of this multi-agency approach, including through the extended set of partners on whom the duty will fall. 3. Other building blocks to the approach include the 200m pounds investment over ten years for the Youth Endowment Fund, which will focus on targeted early intervention with those children and young people most vulnerable to involvement in serious violence; and the establishment of the cross party, cross sector, Serious Violence Taskforce which is chaired by the Home Secretary, to provide additional oversight and external challenge of this critical work. 4. This all builds on the Government's Serious Violence Strategy which was published in April 2018. In particular, it builds on the analysis of the drivers and risk factors for serious violence set out in the Strategy, as well as the Strategy's commitments such as the investment of 22m pounds in the Early Intervention Youth Fund which is supporting 40 projects in England and Wales; and the introduction of the National County Lines Coordination Centre which has already co-ordinated three separate weeks of intensive law enforcement action resulting in more than 1600 arrests, over 2100 individuals engaged for safeguarding, and significant seizures of weapons and drugs. 5. Noting the opportunities and challenges that have been described in response to the options in the consultation, the Government intends to bring forward primary legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to create a new duty on relevant agencies and organisations to collaborate, where possible through existing partnership structures, to prevent and reduce serious violence. In doing so, the Government will create the conditions for flexibility in local areas to allow agencies and bodies to determine how best to work together to address local need. The Government also recognises the important role of Community Safety Partnerships in this context, so we will amend the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to ensure that serious violence is an explicit priority for Community Safety Partnerships. 6. The geographical scope of the proposed new duty is England and Wales, mirroring that of the Serious Violence Strategy. The Welsh Government supports this approach which recognises the importance of creating flexibility for local areas and the intention to complement the existing mechanisms that are already in place to tackle serious violence, and the different legislative and partnership landscape in Wales. Details: London: Home Office, 2019. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2019 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/serious-violence-new-legal-duty-to-support-multi-agency-action Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/816885/Government_Response_-_Serious_Violence_Consultation_Final.pdf Shelf Number: 157029 Keywords: Law Enforcement Public Health Violence Reduction Violent Crime