Check out this valuable resource from the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform Identifying High-Risk Populations for a Public Health Approach to Community Violence Intervention.
Access the report here: nicjr.org/files/galler...
Join the upcoming webinar: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Here's a good story on correcting progressive overreach on drugs in San Francisco. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/o...
read the report Executive Override How the Trump administration is using federal power to deceive Americans, disrupt our elections, and deny fair results — and what we can do to stop it
All eyes are on the midterms as Trump uses the gov's full force to supercharge election lies in case he doesn't like the results.
NEW: We just published a roadmap for journalists, advocates, and voters outlining what we can do about it. Join us, start here:
🔗 https://protdem.org/executive-override
"At least 12 of the pardoned rioters have since been charged with other serious crimes, including child molestation, assault, harassment, murder plots and charges related to a vicious dog attack." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/o...
vrc.umd.edu/sites/vrc.um...
Here's a nice NYT piece on Camden, a violence reduction success story. As you can see, it's not one thing, it's many. It's the police, but not just the police, it's the community as well. Success is hard to reduce to a bumper sticker. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I'm a week late but this is still a good Sunday, non-crime and justice read from @mattyglesias. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/o...
If you work in the violence reduction field, you already know how social media can catalyze violence IRL. We need to move beyond mere awareness to developing, implementing, and testing concrete strategies.
The time to act is now. Prevention requires coordination and commitment from tech platforms, community violence interrupters, researchers, law enforcement and impacted youth. www.techpolicy.press/social-media...
#communityviolence #socialmedia #gunviolence
To learn more, get the white paper, and check out a webinar on the same topic, go here: vrc.umd.edu/convenings
Please read this piece by @dupatton.bsky.social, Joseph Richardson, and myself, following @vrcinfo.bsky.social's symposium and white paper on the same topic. Everyone knows social media accelerates conflicts resulting in violence IRL, but so far responses have been ad hoc. We need to do better.
This is disturbing. But read it anyway. Especially if you're a parent. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/o...
This is disturbing. But read it anyway. Especially if you're a parent. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/o...
The VRC published "Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence", a white paper that documents symposium discussions, describes new strategies, proposes pilot programs, and identifies areas for future research. Watch a recording of webinar release: vrc.umd.edu/convenings
The VRC just released a new white paper on social media and community violence and UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences did a nice writeup on it. Our thanks to @progressumd.bsky.social and @everytown.org for supporting this important work.
Read here: bsos.umd.edu/featured-con...
Excellent integration of the conclusions and recommendations found in our new white paper Addressing the Role of Social Media in Catalyzing Community Gun Violence. Thanks to Crime and Justice News for the attribution.
Read here: crimjj.wordpress.com/2026/03/06/s...
We just released our new white paper on social media and community violence and UMD did a nice writeup on it. Check them both out here and thanks to @progressumd.bsky.social and @everytown.org for their strong support! bsos.umd.edu/featured-con...
Our latest white paper is out on the connection between social media and community gun violence. Take a look and join us for a webinar discussing the paper today at 1pm ET!
Our mission is simple: saving lives by stopping violence, using science. And we're doing it. If you believe in this mission, please consider the VRC on #GivingDayUMD.
Always fight for what's right. Ashamed that my old law firm, Paul Weiss, didn't. I think it will be the end of the firm, and it should be. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...
Don’t miss your opportunity to join our webinar on March 5th at 1 PM EST.
Register now to be part of this important conversation: umd.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Photo features: Retired @nypdnews.bsky.social Assistant Commissioner, Kevin O'Connor
Thursday!
Join us!
"The willingness of Good and Pretti to put themselves in danger for the cause of racial justice proved an unparalleled galvanizing force, one that simultaneously affirms the best about America, and the worst." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/m...
A very important study with practical significance for the field of violence reduction was just published in Criminology & Public Policy. Read on. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
n sum, focused deterrence works to reduce crime and violence, and this high-quality, comprehensive review should put any remaining debate on that to rest. The next question is how to scale the strategy while preserving quality and fidelity.
Is this the ONLY thing cities should do? Of course not. In our work with cities, @vrcinfo.bsky.social recommended focused deterrence to 3 of 4 current partners, all of whom are successfully pursuing it. But we've recommended other strategies as well. vrc.umd.edu/practice
In my professional view, any city suffering from high rates of violent crime should at least consider this strategy. It is the most powerful program out there, and this body of evidence is, in my view, now pretty much undeniable.
To be clear, the review indicated that focused deterrence doesn't always work and that it can be challenging to implement and sustain. But that's true of just about every worthwhile program in this area.
