Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative: Youth Violence in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, North Carolina. Summary of Research 1997-1998

摘要

The overall goal of this two-year initiative is to substantially reduce juvenile violent and assaultive crimes in Forsyth County,-North Carolina to below state and national levels, using both short-term and long-term strategies. To accomplish this goal, research was conducted in order to identify prospective and serious violent juvenile offenders in three age groups (0-11,12-15, and 16-17). Research was also used to determine the characteristics of violent incidents (e.g., locations, time of day, incident type) and of victims and offenders (e.g., family history, place of residence, relationship between victim and offender). Results of this research was used to develop short-term strategies of enforcement and prevention for reducing juvenile violence, longer-term strategies for preventing its occurrence, and to guide implementation of these strategies in the local community. Results of continuing research will be used to evaluate the overall effectiveness (cost and otherwise) of each strategy and adjust each accordingly. This report presents key nsearch findings from three research initiatives: focus groups, Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) incident nviews, and agency statistical data.