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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."

These materials were created by the Center for Court Innovation with funding from Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) and are newly translated into African French; Brazilian Portuguese; Chinese (simplified); Spanish; and Vietnamese. These Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials are for use with young survivors of human trafficking, including excerpts of support from individuals with lived experience and information for a reader who might find themselves in a similar situation.

The vast majority of women at Rikers are awaiting trial, and this op-ed by former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Sharon White-Harrigan lays out the path to reduce the population of women and gender-expansive people currently detained on Rikers Island, referencing our co-authored report, Path to Under 100.

Violence interruption is a community-based strategy to reduce gun violence and improve public safety in neighborhoods. Our anti-violence program Save Our Streets is profiled and named as a highly successful example of curbing gun violence in the South Bronx, reducing gun victimization by 63 percent in its initial years of implementation.

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.

A coalition of criminal justice advocates and experts, including the Center, are calling on New York City officials to study ways to safely release 70% of the women and gender-expansive people being held in Rose M. Singer Center (“Rosie’s”) on Rikers Island. The plea comes a little over a month after the death of Mary Yehudah on Rosie’s. Recommendations include the city form a “population review team” to examine who would be good candidates for release.

"I’d just like people to know that we’re here to continue to help people and try to make a difference for the community,” says Edna McGoldrick of the Red Hook Community Justice Center and the services offered. After operating virtually during the pandemic, our Red Hook Community Justice Center and housing court are re-opened, allowing our staff to assist residents access the repairs, renewals, and services they need, and as always, treat every person that comes through the doors with dignity and respect. 

In a series on gun violence in New York by The Trace and The Guardian, the final article details the complex reasons that shootings have declined in Brooklyn, crediting Brooklyn’s more-developed infrastructure of Crisis Management System groups and its network of community-based organizations, like the Brownsville Community Justice Center. Hailey Nolasco, our director of community-based violence prevention; Mallory Thatch, program manager; and Deron Johnston, the deputy director for community development, share their perspectives on on the changes—both positive and negative—Brownville has seen regarding gun possession and violence.

Also published by The Guardian: The Borough That Figured It Out: How Brooklyn Reduced Gun Violence

In a series on gun violence in New York by The Trace and The Guardian, the second of three articles looks at how law enforcement’s ability to solve a crime, especially a shooting, can build or erode trust between law enforcement and the community affected. The article references multiple studies, including the Center's own report, Gotta Make Your Own Heaven, which documented that young people who carry firearms in communities with higher rates of violence often fear the police, which contributes to their decision to carry. 

Also published by The Guardian: The ‘Clearances Paradox’: Could Less Policing Actually Reduce Gun Violence In New York?