Reducing teenage gun violence
Scholars at the University of Chicago are collaborating with the City of Chicago and local philanthropists to help reduce gun violence among youths.
Experts in youth development and crime at the University’s School of Social Service Administration are leading a research team that is developing innovative strategies to confront a problem that plagues Chicago as well as other major cities.
So far this school year, more than 20 Chicago public school students have been murdered. That frightening fact has challenged city government, the Chicago Public Schools and the community to respond in a way that would end violence.
SSA’s Mission
Developing pioneering projects to solve social problems is consistent with the mission of SSA, said Jeanne Marsh, the George Herbert Jones Professor and Dean of SSA. “Our faculty does not simply sit in an ivory tower. We are intimately connected with the world, and to the Chicago community, and are committed to take on the difficult task of addressing real-world issues such as gun violence.”
Jens Ludwig, Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy and a leading authority on crime and social policy, and Harold Pollack, Associate Professor in SSA, faculty chair of the Center for Health Administration Studies and a prominent public health policy researcher, will lead a group of University and national scholars working on the issue.
They will seek support from foundations and donors in Chicago to finance these efforts, which are part of a larger initiative called the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
Impact of Gun Violence
The impacts of gun violence extend far beyond those who are directly injured, Ludwig said. Not only are government resources drained, but safety concerns contribute to the flight of residents from cities to the suburbs.
“We have two main goals for this project: One is to help steer youth toward productive activities like schooling and work, and away from behaviors like crime and gang involvement that put youth at elevated risk for violence victimization or offending; our second main goal is motivated by the fact that gun involvement makes youth violence substantially more dangerous. We want to reduce the likelihood that guns are involved in those violent events that do occur.”
The team is developing a range of candidate pilot projects, which will be reviewed with the City, to address these concerns. Program evaluation will be an important part of the University’s involvement so leaders can learn which approach works best, Ludwig said.
At a press conference announcing the initiative, Mayor Richard M. Daley praised the University’s involvement and pointed to the importance of evaluation in developing strong social programs. “We need the research. We need research and evaluation to have an effective program. Otherwise, we in government are going off on tangents.”
By Bill Harms
