Save our streets: Findings from the impact evaluation of a cure violence replication project

Background: Gun violence is a pandemic—or ongoing public health threat—which disproportionately impacts African diaspora communities, including urban centers in the United States. The SOS project is a replication of the Cure Violence model, a theory-driven model for violence prevention, located in a primarily African-American and West Indian community in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to SOS implementation, the Cure Violence model was found to successfully reduce violence in Chicago and Baltimore. Methods: Based on police data, the researchers utilized time series analysis to measure the impact of the program on gun violence in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, when compared to other precincts with similar socio-demographic characteristics and rates of violent crime. The analysis controls for overall trends in violent crime across Brooklyn and for potential displacement effects. Additionally, researchers measured the impact of a community-wide mobilization campaign on resident attitudes using a representative sample of Crown Heights residents before and after SOS implementation. Results: Findings suggested a statistically significant downward trend in gun violence in Crown Heights attributable to the SOS Program. They also showed increased confidence in the potential of community mobilization among residents. Conclusions: There are several relevant policy implications for practitioners working on domestic and global violence prevention efforts, including the applicability of public health theory to the problem of gun violence and the importance of model fidelity to success.