Reports

Shannon_Year_2_Report.pdf
Shannon CSI Year 2 Report,Spring 2009
Northeastern University, in consultation with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security completed the second annual report on the Shannon Community Safety Initiative activities and progress.
"Highlights of the 2007 National Youth Gang Survey."
OJJDP's National Youth Gang Center Winter 2009
The fact sheet summarizes findings from the National Youth Gang Survey for 2007 and provides data on the number of gangs, gang members, and gang-related crime. Based on survey results, it is estimated that approximately 27,000 gangs and 788,000 gang members were active in the United States in 2007.
Shannon CSI First Year Report
Spring 2008
Northeastern University, in consultation with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, completed the first annual report on the Shannon Community Safety Initiative activities and progress.
"Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model."
OJJDP
June 2008
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has published this report to provide communities responding to present or potential youth gang problems with guidance in implementing OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model. It describes the research informing the model, notes findings from evaluations of several programs demonstrating the model, and outlines best practices derived from practitioners with experience in planning and implementing the model in their communities.
Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies
Justice Policy Institute
July 2007
Authors Judith Greene and Kevin Pranis undertake an extensive review of the research literature on gangs to clarify persistent misconceptions and examine the effectiveness of common gang control strategies. According to the report, in cities like Los Angeles where gang activity is most prevalent, more police, more prisons and more punitive measures haven't stopped the cycle of gang violence. Most surprising are conclusions that gangs are responsible for a relatively small share of crime; gang activity has not grown in the U.S.; whites make up a large - if largely invisible - proportion of gang members; most gang-involved youth quit before reaching adulthood; and heavy-handed suppression tactics can increase gang cohesion while failing to reduce violence.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: Strategic Interventions - Gun Prosecution Case Screening-Case Study 1
By Scott Decker and Jack McDevitt
With Edmund McGarrell, Tim Bynum, John Klofas, and Natalie Kroovand Hipple
May 2006
This case study describes the history of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, as well as its partners, training, and outreach. It outlines the roles of U.S Attorneys, local and state prosecution, local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, research partners, and probation/parole in the gun case review process, as well as criteria for choosing cases, and factors that influence the success of the program.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: Strategic Interventions - Offender Notification Meetings-Case Study 2
By Jack McDevitt, Scott Decker, Natalie Kroovand Hipple, and Edmund McGarrell
With John Klofas and Tim Bynum
May 2006
This case study describes the history of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, as well as its partners, training, and outreach. It explains the background history of offender notification meetings, the goals of such meetings, and the partners involved, as well as the participation, message, and follow-up involved in an intervention.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: Strategic Interventions - Crime Incident Reviews-Case Study 3
By John Klofas and Natalie Kroovand Hipple
With Jack McDevitt, Tim Bynum, Edmund McGarrell, and Scott Decker
May 2006
This case study describes the history of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, as well as its partners, training, and outreach. It explains the origin and goals of crime incident reviews, the roles of key players, and the process involved, including planning and preparation, presenting the case, analysis, and dissemination. This case study also includes key factors for increasing the success of incident reviews.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: Strategic Interventions - Chronic Violent Offenders Lists-Case Study 4
By Tim Bynum and Scott Decker
With John Klofas, Natalie Kroovand Hipple, Edmund McGarrell, and Jack McDevitt
May 2006
This case study explains tips for identifying chronic violent offenders, methods of constructing a most violent offenders list, assessing the validity of information, and communication of this information. Also included are tips on the integration of chronic violent offender lists with parole operations, prosecution, probation and parole, and other initiatives.
Official Lableling, Criminal Embededdness, and Subsequent Delinquency
By Jon Gunnar Bernburg, marvin D. Krohn and Craig J. Rivera
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
This was a longitudinal study that tested the impact of the formal labeling of juveniles on the likelihood of subsequent delinquency. Through this study researchers found that "deviant labeling does not have a direct influence on deviant behavior, but rather, tends to bring about conditions that are conducive to crime and delinquent behavior" such as involvement with street gangs. Researchers also found that official labeling may also play a role in the maintenance and stability of delinquency during early and middle adolescence. In addition, while a label may not be a permanent status it can still have important consequences in the development of delinquent behavior.
Juvenile Arrests 2004
By Howard N. Snyder
Juvenile Justice Bulletin
December 2006
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has published "Juvenile Arrests 2004." Written by Howard N. Snyder, Director of Systems Research, National Center for Juvenile Justice, the 12-page bulletin summarizes juvenile arrest data from the FBI's "Crime in the United States 2004" and analyzes trends.

The analysis shows that the juvenile arrest rate for violent crimes in 2004 was at its lowest level since at least 1980, down 49 percent from its 1994 peak.
Snitches Get Stitches
By Julie L. Whitman and Robert C. Davis

The National Center For Victims of Crime

Witness intimidation is a pervasive threat to the criminal justice system, particularly in crimes such as domestic violence, trafficking, and gang violence and drug trafficking. The study described in Snitches Get Stitches gathered information directly from youth on their views about gangs, reporting crime, relationships with law enforcement, and witness intimidation. The report contains ten key findings and six recommendations to help criminal justice authorities and communities better coordinate and focus their efforts to protect young witnesses to gang crimes.
Study Finds Some Support for Community Based Programs That Connect Police With Youth
By Stephen A. Anderson, Ronald M. Sabatellie and Jennifer Trachtenberg
10(1)Police Quarterly 23 (2007)

A recent evaluation of 17 communities that participated in the Connecticut Statewide Police Working With Youth Programs suggests that lower functioning youth who participate in these programs display increased levels of self-assertive and self-regulatory efficacy. The study group included "youth from local high schools who participated in community policing programs and a comparison group of teens". The pre/post test design assessed "changes in personal adjustment, social competencies, adult-youth connections, and youth-community connections". Although there have been previous attempts to better the relationship between law enforcement and youth, such as School Resource Officers, the report established with these specific officers has "failed to generalize to law enforcement as a whole". However, the long term effectiveness of community based programs is still unknown, though some evidence suggests they may help build meaningful relationships between law enforcement and youth. The study group consisted of 704 youth with a mean age of 16. "The majority of respondents were Caucasian (56%), lived with both parents (53%), and reported a GPA of a B or higher". The programs administered included lectures, athletic activities, mentoring, and police explorer/scout programs. While over 90% of those that participated in these activities reported positive experiences, the youths that displayed lower levels of psychosocial functioning showed the most significant social changes, such as being more communicative and better resisting negative peer pressure. Other youth also reported "more guidance, advice, and support from adults outside their families".
Do Prior Trauma and Victimization Predict Weapon Carrying Among Delinquent Youth?

By Michael G. Vaughn, Matthew O. Howard and Lisa Harper-Chang

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
2006

This investigation tested whether weapon carrying is a response to a perceived threat posed by prior victimization and traumatic experiences in a state population of incarcerated youth. Structured interviews of 723 youth residing in all Missouri Division of Youth Services facilities were conducted. Multivariate analyses revealed that although prior victimization and trauma did increase the likelihood of weapon carrying, the probability of weapon carrying was higher with respect to gang fighting and polysubstance use. And although prior victimization and trauma did possess incremental validity in predicting weapon carrying, having been in a gang fight and lifetime polysubstance use were more potent predictors of weapon carrying. Results provide clear social policy implications in that strategies capable of reducing gang involvements and substance abuse may in turn interrupt the cycle of violence via the mechanism of weapon carrying reduction in high-risk youth.
Childhood Psychiatric Disorders and Young Adult Crime: A Prospective, Population-Based Study

By William E. Copeland, Shari Miller-Johnson, Gordon Keeler, Adrian Angold, and E. Jane Costello

The American Journal of Psychiatry
November 2007

While psychopathology is common in criminal populations, knowing more about what kinds of psychiatric disorders precede criminal behavior could be helpful in delineating at-risk children. The authors determined rates of juvenile psychiatric disorders in a sample of young adult offenders and then tested which childhood disorders best predicted young adult criminal status. A representative sample of 1,420 children ages 9, 11, and 13 at intake were followed annually through age 16 for psychiatric disorders. Criminal offense status in young adulthood (ages 16 to 21) was ascertained through court records. Results: Thirty-one percent of the sample had one or more adult criminal charges. Overall, 51.4% of male young adult offenders and 43.6% of female offenders had a child psychiatric history. The population-attributable risk of criminality from childhood disorders was 20.6% for young adult female participants and 15.3% for male participants. Childhood psychiatric profiles predicted all levels of criminality. Severe/violent offenses were predicted by comorbid diagnostic groups that included both emotional and behavioral disorders. The authors found that children with specific patterns of psychopathology with and without conduct disorder were at risk of later criminality. Effective identification and treatment of children with such patterns may reduce later crime.
Delinquent Behavior, Official Delinquency, and Gender: Consequences for Adulthood Functioning and Well-Being

By Nadine Lanctot, Stephen A. Cernkovich and Peggy C. Giordano

Criminology
2007

This study sought to evaluate the consequences of both delinquent behavior and institutionalization as a juvenile delinquent on the quality of adult functioning and well-being, with a specific focus on gender differences. Data were gathered from a sample of individuals living in private households. Longitudinal results showed that having been institutionalized as an adolescent seriously compromises multiple life domains in adulthood, especially for females. In addition, official delinquent status and a high level of involvement in delinquency during adolescence each has independent consequences for male and female adult outcomes. Overall, these findings reinforce the importance of assessing multiple life domains to better identify the risks and treatment needs of adjudicated delinquents.
Assaults in Juvenile Correctional Facilities: An Exploratory Study

By John P. Vivian, Jennifer N. Grimes and Stella Vasquez

Journal of Crime and Justice
2007

Little research has been conducted to explore the conditions contributing to assaults within juvenile correctional facilities. This study examined various factors surrounding 10,985 documented incidents involving potential and actual injury assaults among youth detained by the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. The findings indicated that both individual and contextual factors are important to consider when attempting to reduce violence in juvenile facilities. In particular, an increase in assault rates observed during a time when the institutional population was decreasing, shows that population density alone does not fully explain correctional violence.