“Violence prevention lends itself to a public health approach for a number of reasons. Violence shares many of the special characteristics of epidemics, according to Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist and the founder of the Chicago Project for Violence Preventions Cure Violence (formerly Chicago CeaseFire) program. For example, violence is said to be infectious, but rather than being transmitted by a vector, such as bacteria, it is transmitted through behavior, such as modeling (for example, a parent modeling behavior for a child) or social pressure. In addition, crime mapping uses many of the techniques originally developed to study disease patterns, and when researchers map incidents of violence, they often find that geographic clusters of crime closely match geographic clusters of disease. Today, one of the most visible programs to take a stated epidemiological approach to violence is the Cure Violence model. This model enlists members of the community, including former gang members, to serve as violence interrupters, who hold community demonstrations and counsel those affected by gun violence in an effort to halt the cycle of violence and retaliation after a shooting occurs.” Schweig, Sarah, “Healthy Communities May Make Safe Communities: Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention,” NIJ Journal 273 (2014): 52-59, available at go.usa.gov/NCWd
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:22:00 +0000
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