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Crime and Violence Prevention

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Preventing violent crime involves not only traditional law enforcement and criminal justice but also an integrated, long-term approach that addresses the root causes and drivers of crime. RAND researchers several aspects of safety and justice, including policing, mental health care, gun control, and more.

Essay
Preventing Violence in Schools: How to Encourage Students to Report Threats
One of the most consistent findings in research on school shootings is that someone knew an attack was possible but didn't report it. There are ways schools can encourage students to come forward when they see or hear something concerning: tip lines, training, and a lot more trust.
Mar 9, 2023
Report
Latest Findings from RAND's Gun Policy in America Study
The third edition of RAND's report on gun policy synthesizes scientific evidence for the effects of various policies on firearm deaths, violent crime, suicides, the gun industry, defensive gun use, and other outcomes.
Jan 10, 2023

Explore Crime and Violence Prevention

Report
Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of LA DOOR: A Proposition 47-Funded Program in Los Angeles: Cohort 2 Final Evaluation Report
The authors discuss the Los Angeles Diversion, Outreach, and Opportunities for Recovery program, which uses a health-focused preventative approach to engage those at risk of misdemeanors related to substance use, mental illness, or homelessness.
May 24, 2023
Tool
Mass Atrocity Prevention Open Educational Resource (OER)
Understanding past mass violence events is key to preventing mass atrocities. This resource provides an overview of Holocaust education and atrocity prevention to help users consider their roles in social justice promotion and atrocity prevention.
May 2, 2023
News Release
Online Tool Allows State-by-State Analysis of Firearm Policies and Death Rates
States in the northeast and the coastal west region of the United States have among the lowest firearm death rates in the nation, while states in the south and mountain west have firearm death rates that are especially high.
Feb 23, 2023
Tool
Visualizing Firearm Mortality and Law Effects: An Interactive Web-Based Tool
This tool provides users with information about the distribution of firearm deaths across states and demographic subgroups. Users can explore how those deaths might be affected by the implementation of a set of commonly enacted state firearm laws.
Feb 23, 2023
Blog
Earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Facial Recognition, Gun Violence: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, regulating the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement, improving data collection on gun violence, and more.
Feb 17, 2023
Commentary
Addressing Gun Violence Requires Better Means of Measuring It
Proposals to reduce firearm violence in the United States are often controversial, sometimes because there are no data demonstrating their effectiveness. The federal government has many of the requisite tools in place to collect the data, and it does it well on a wide range of other problems. Shying away from measuring this problem may also make it more difficult to fix it.
Feb 13, 2023
Report
Inzichten in de effectiviteit van preventieve instrumenten in de strijd tegen georganiseerde criminaliteit: [Insights into the effectiveness of preventive instruments tackling organised crime]
This study responds to a call from the Dutch Research and Documentation Centre to gather insights into the effectiveness of preventative instruments in the field of organised crime, drawing on a review of the literature and expert interviews.
Jan 31, 2023
Blog
Avoiding a Long War in Ukraine, Gun Violence, Migrant Surges: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the United States can help avoid a long war in Ukraine, responding to the gun violence crisis, limits on teachers’ instruction, and more.
Jan 27, 2023
Commentary
Responding to the Firearm Violence Crisis: Are Some Newly Enacted Laws Making Things Worse?
Persuasive scientific evidence is accumulating for several commonly implemented laws. Where the science is strong, lawmakers would be wise to consider it when making decisions about how to protect public safety while preserving civil liberties, including the right to bear arms.
Jan 25, 2023
Blog
U.S. Gun Laws, China's COVID Outbreak, Space in 2050: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on gun policy in America, the myth of America's “Ukraine fatigue,” the COVID outbreak in China, and more.
Jan 13, 2023
Project
Informing the Gun Policy Debate
RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative provides information on what scientific research can tell us about the effects of gun laws. Our goal is to establish a shared set of facts that will improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.
Jan 10, 2023
News Release
Evidence About Effects of Gun Policies Grows and Supports Laws Intended to Restrict Child Access to Guns
There is now supportive evidence that child-access-prevention laws reduce firearm homicides and self-injuries among youth, and that shall-issue concealed-carry laws and stand-your-ground laws increase levels of firearm violence.
Jan 10, 2023
Report
Promising Services for Justice-Involved Youth: A Scoping Review with Implications for the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act
The authors of this report provide a review of the literature that evaluates programs for youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system to identify promising and effective practices, describing implications for Los Angeles County.
Jan 5, 2023
Commentary
Historic Research Conference Combats the Rise in Gun Violence
With new funding for gun violence prevention research, projects are beginning to produce findings. To capitalize on the new findings and help integrate the growing field of researchers working on gun violence prevention, RAND partnered with other research programs to organize the 2022 National Research Conference on Firearm Injury Prevention.
Dec 9, 2022
Commentary
Better Data, Less Gun Violence
If the United States is serious about fixing the escalating problem of gun violence, the government needs to measure it. Research that is supported by new funding is overdue but will be hampered until federal and state firearm violence data systems improve.
Oct 5, 2022
Commentary
A New Era for Firearm Violence Prevention Research
Despite many remaining obstacles, the United States may soon have research that clarifies many of the unanswered questions about firearm violence and its prevention. Many critical research questions, neglected for decades, may now benefit from recent federal and private research funding that has supported a surge in research.
Oct 4, 2022
Commentary
Ways to Help Students Report Threats to Their School
When students or others don't know how to report a threat or aren't willing to do so, important opportunities to protect students may be missed. Schools receive little guidance about how to implement an effective reporting program or how to build a robust reporting culture. A recent research effort helps to fill this gap, highlighting seven key implications for school safety planning.
Sep 29, 2022
Blog
Veterans Health Care, Media Literacy, Sleep Retreats: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the challenges of VA community care, the importance of improving middle schoolers' media literacy skills, tips to improve sleep, and more.
Sep 9, 2022

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Joachim O. Hero

Associate Policy Researcher

Joachim O. Hero is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. He applies frameworks and methods in quantitative survey research, systematic literature review, and policy analysis to study topics in health care and public health. In health care his research has covered issues in…
Dionne Barnes-Proby

Senior Social Policy Researcher

Dionne Barnes-Proby is a senior social policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, director of its Summer Associate Program, a faculty member at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and cochair of RAND's Black Employees Leading in Inclusion, Equity, Vision, and Education (BELIEVE) Employee Resource…

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