Reducing Gun Violence: Results from an Intervention in East Los Angeles
Axios
Policing
Problems addressed
Violent crimes
Armed violence
Implication in violent groups
Effectiveness

Promising

.

.

.

.

.

Promising

Want to know more about this classification? Check out our methodological manual.

Life periods served
People of all ages
Where the program was applied
Community (streets or community centers)
Country of application
United States
Description

It is a police program to reduce gun violence and gangs in communities with high rates of violence.

The intervention implemented patrolling by uniformed police officers in specific geographic areas. It also resorted to stricter enforcement of housing codes, public housing eligibility standards and probation conditions, as well as referral of gun law violations to federal prosecutors.

Impact evaluations

In some target areas, violent crime was reduced, but not gang or gun crime. Gun crime declined in the suppression period, but this result was not sustained in the deterrence period [1].

It does not appear that the intervention shifted crime from targeted areas and gangs to others; on the contrary, crime also declined in surrounding communities [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Tita, G., Riley, K. J., Ridgeway, G., Grammich, C., Abrahamse, A. F. & Greenwood, P. W. (2003). Reducing gun violence: Results from an intervention in East Los Angeles. Santa Monica, CA. National Institute of Justice (NIJ). https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/2010/RAND_…

Information source