OLR Report 2012-R-0061 gives examples of U.S. cities similar in population to New Haven (pop. 129,779) that have reduced gun violence and their methods for achieving that reduction.
Many cities across the United States have made efforts to reduce gun violence, with initiatives at the municipal, state, and federal levels. Project Exile is a federally initiated program in Richmond, Virginia that sought to incapacitate chronic gun offenders and deter potential offenders by prosecuting gun crimes in the federal, rather than state, system. The program has been widely hailed as a success, although reports differ on whether those accolades are deserved. A statewide program in Virginia, hoping to duplicate Richmond's success, has not succeeded in reducing gun violence.
Operation SNUG ("Guns" backward) is a state initiated program targeting various cities in New York. The program employs ex-gang members as case workers and deploys them in high-risk areas to act as mentors and interveners. In-depth reports of the program's results have not been published, but published information suggests the program was successful in certain cities. The state has extended its funding for those programs considered most successful.
Project Safe Neighborhoods is a federally initiated program targeting cities and regions throughout the country. Its core strategy for the program is increased federal prosecution, similar to Project Exile, but with an emphasis on partnerships between federal, state and local officials and tailoring its program methods to the specific problems of a target city or region. A report on the program in 2009 found that the program overall had been successful in reducing violent crime in target areas. Case studies of participating cities also showed promising results.
For more information, read the full report.
