The JPRC has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under its Reimagining Justice: Testing a New Model of Community Safety funding. This award provides the JPRC the opportunity to work in partnership with leaders in Greenville, South Carolina, to test an innovative approach to improving community safety for neighborhoods experiencing high rates of less serious and low-level criminal offenses. The JPRC will work in partnership with the mayor’s office, the police department, the local NAACP chapter, and the Sterling School for the next 3 years to lead the implementation of Voices of Informed Community Engagement for Safety (VOICES). This project will engage the community to assess needs and to enhance and evaluate a new community safety strategy in the Nicholtown neighborhood of Greenville.
Violence Prevention
Five Misconceptions About School Shootings
School shootings are the subject of debate in the media and in communities across the United States, and there is much discussion about prevention and the root causes of such attacks. But what does research say about these tragic events and their perpetrators? Do all shooters fit a specific profile? And what meaningful steps can schools and communities take to reduce the likelihood of these events?
In concise, clear language, this research brief describes and refutes five common misconceptions about school shootings and suggests an evidence-based strategy to reduce the probability of attacks.
The authors conclude that schools and communities are better served when presented with a balanced perspective informed by the wealth of available research about perpetrators, their varying motivations, and pre-attack behaviors.
Reflections on Applying Principles of Equitable Evaluation
Equitable evaluation is an approach that addresses the dynamics and practices that have historically undervalued the voices, knowledge, expertise, capacity, and experiences of all evaluation participants and stakeholders, particularly people of color and other marginalized groups.
The principles of equitable evaluation promise to add value to the research process and its outcomes. Significantly, the implementation of these principles comes with important decisions related to time, funding, and definitions for rigor in research.
This report, produced by the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center, is based on the authors’ experiences, as well as on many thoughtful conversations with the Annie E. Casey Foundation over the course of several years of collaborative work. The brief explores the following questions:
- What is equitable evaluation and how can it be applied?
- Reflecting on both the evaluations for Casey and other experiences conducting research and evaluation, what lessons can inform how to implement equitable evaluation principles in the future? [Read more…] about Reflections on Applying Principles of Equitable Evaluation
Building Better Training for Investigators of Digital Crimes Against Children
Technical Assistance for Local Violence Prevention in Pennsylvania
Violence, particularly gun violence, is a significant concern in communities across the United States. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency is supporting technical assistance to address community violence throughout the state. In partnership with the Local Initiative Service Corporation, WestEd is working to ensure the Commonwealth’s programs are implemented with fidelity and will produce successful outcomes. As part of this work, we are launching a statewide community of practice to support organizations and agencies working to prevent and reduce gun and community violence.