Violence is defined as “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.” Encompassed in this definition are multiple, interrelated forms of violence, including interpersonal firearm death and injury, but also the systems, policies, and practices enacted by those with power to advantage some groups while depriving others of meaningful opportunities for meeting their basic need
To determine how effective the current system of risk-based parole is, researchers from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program and the University of Missouri, Kansas City, used machine learning to analyze parole data from New York.
The machine learning algorithm found the predicted risks for those denied parole and those released are very similar. This suggests that low-risk individuals may have remained incarcerated, while high-risk individuals were released.
During the first five months of the pandemic in 2020, low-income communities of color experienced significantly greater increases in firearm violence, homicides and assaults compared to more affluent, white neighborhoods.
Previous studies showed increases in violence in U.S. cities during the pandemic but did not indicate where violence was highest or increased most within those cities.
Shani Buggs, PhD, MPH, co-wrote a report, alongside members of the John Jay College Research Advisory Group on Preventing and Reducing Community Violence, summarizing research on policies and programs known to reduce community violence without relying on police. This report was requested by and submitted to Arnold Ventures.
Seven key strategies identified by the group were:
