Reducing Violence News Archive

The first in a series of studies into the roots of gun-carrying in four major cities, our recent report identifies fear as the main reason young people in Brooklyn, New York say they carry a gun. Only by specifically addressing this population’s needs—and building trust with respected community members—can gun violence prevention programs hope to achieve their goals.

Amid a spike in violence among youth, a team of researchers from the Center spoke to 100 young people living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, about why they carry guns. Their answers singled out fear—for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones—as the main factor driving their gun-carrying. The New York Daily News quotes one 19-year-old boy who spoke with our researchers in the landmark study: “My biggest fear is somebody coming for me and they can’t get to me, they try to get to my family.”

“It’s not about being cool or being tough. It’s just more about being safe.” In-depth conversations we had with 103 young gun-carriers in Brooklyn, New York (ages 15 to 24), reveal that they primarily carry guns out of fear. In its daily bulletin, The Trace discusses our new study—entitled “Two Battlefields”: Opps, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture—and explores how its findings tie into other recent research on guns in youth culture.

Elise White, Basaime Spate, and Javonte Alexander—researchers with the Center—join WNYC to discuss their recent study on why young New Yorkers are carrying guns. It’s fear, above all, that drives these young people towards gun-carrying, and hearing what they have to say is a crucial step towards more effective strategies to stop gun violence. “When we’re talking about gangs and guns, we really got to bring in the gangs, bring in the Big Homies, and give them a platform or a table to speak at,” Basaime Spate said.

Gun violence spiked during the pandemic in 2020, making headlines, but little is known about why young people carry guns in the first place. In a new study exclusively previewed by Gothamist, our researchers worked to change that, asking 100 young people from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, why they carry. Hear from the research team about how they gained these young people’s trust, the fear that drives youth towards guns, and what policymakers can learn by listening to young gun-carriers.

In our new study, 100 young New Yorkers open up about why they carry guns. Their answers point to widespread fear, and a need for new paths to safety.

In a groundbreaking study on gun possession among youth in New York City, the Center for Court Innovation found that young people's decisions to carry a firearm overwhelmingly stemmed from concerns for their physical safety. The report surveyed up to 330 young people, ages 16 to 24, who expressed fears of being harmed both by violent crime and by interactions with law enforcement. The researchers concluded that strategies to reduce gun violence at the community level must be informed by the perspectives of affected young people themselves.

The nation's first violence interruption model for preventing gun violence and conflict, Cure Violence—founded in Chicago in 2000—treats violence like a disease, aiming to "'interrupt' the spread of that disease by hiring people from the community to prevent or mediate violent conflicts." This public health approach has since been adopted throughout the country, including in New York with the Center's Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) programs in Brooklyn and the Bronx since the 2010s.

With gun violence on the rise, researchers are turning to those most impacted for solutions. The Center is currently conducting a multi-city gun study that speaks directly with young people's attitudes towards guns, including their reasons for carrying. Speaking to these sentiments in Philadelphia, Center part-time researcher involved in the study, Jonathan Wilson, says. "Everybody is armed. Nobody’s without a gun in these ZIP codes, because they’ve always been dangerous."

Prevention: one solution to gun violence that is able to save lives. Shootings disproportionately affect Black communities, and some community members are taking matters into their own hands. “Beyond Black History” podcast host Femi Redwood takes a look at SOS BedStuy’s work to use the power of credible messengers and positive change agents to mediate conflict and prevent violence.