Abstract This study evaluates the community impact of a locally popular gang intervention strategy, the Civil Gang Injunction, on neighborhood residents. Researchers predicted immediate and long-term effects on residents’ perceptions and experience of crime, gang activity and neighborhood quality. The study results offer guidance for program development for practitioners contemplating use of this strategy. Coauthored [...]
Abstract Community residents' perception of the police are often ambivalent, they see officers both as friend and enemy. Police may be a welcome sight when residents are threatened or in need of help, but they are unwelcome or even feared in other situations. The quality of services and effectiveness of police overall can be increased [...]
Abstract This study compared two modes of administration, mail and random-digit dialing (RDD), in surveys targeting four diverse community areas within a large metropolitan area. The modes' differential susceptibility to nonresponse bias and response bias is revealed by directly comparing the two modes and procedures. The authors conclude that RDD phone community surveys on attitudes [...]
Abstract Civil gang injunctions are an increasingly popular gang suppression tactic. This article reports on the first scientific evaluation of the community impact of this strategy. San Bernardino residents in five neighborhoods were surveyed about their perceptions and experience of crime, gang activity, and neighborhood quality 18 months before and 6 months after the issuance [...]
Abstract Civil gang injunctions (CGIs) are an increasingly popular street gang control technique. Although admired by criminal justice officials, we know relatively little about how differing implementation approaches might affect their efficacy. In this study, we interviewed youth in contrasting neighborhoods—some under a CGI and others not—to observe the ways gang injunctions may strengthen or [...]
Abstract How people feel about places matters, especially in their neighborhood. It matters for their health, it matters for the health of their children, and it matters for their social cohesion and use of local resources. A growing body of research in public health, planning, psychology, and sociology bears out this point. Recently, a new [...]