An investigation of the impact of the pandemic era on shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan

Despite the devastating effects of firearm violence on individuals, families, and communities, research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firearm violence remains at a minimum. Our study contributes to this body of research by estimating the impact of two critical pandemic era timeframes on fatal and nonfatal shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan, using an innovative Bayesian Structural Time Series methodology. For each timeframe, we consider the impact of the pandemic era on total shooting victimizations, shooting victimizations that occurred at a residence (or at home), and shooting victimizations that occurred elsewhere. Our findings suggest that the pandemic era contributed to all three types of shooting victimizations in Detroit. We discuss the limitations of our study, along with directions for future research. Overall, we believe that our study underscores the importance of adopting a comprehensive and evidence-based strategy to prevent firearm-related fatalities and injuries. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Crime & Justice is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Insights from law enforcement personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic: a focus on violence reduction and prevention initiatives and firearm violence

In the United States (U.S.), elevated levels of firearm violence following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in late March 2020 drew attention to efforts taken by law enforcement to reduce and prevent firearm violence through policing innovations. However, it is not well-understood how operational changes in policing during this time impacted these efforts. Our study is the first to consider the perceptions and experiences of law enforcement personnel during the pandemic as it relates to violence reduction and prevention initiatives (VRPIs) and firearm violence, more broadly. By leveraging partnerships between an academic research team and law enforcement practitioners, our action research approach is well-positioned to offer recommendations to support policies and practices that are responsive to emerging crises. While our study is based within the U.S., our focus on the impact of a global phenomenon on firearm violence is of international interest. To this end, an anonymous and voluntary online survey was distributed to both sworn and civilian personnel of the Detroit Police Department (Detroit, Michigan) in August 2020 to understand how the department's VRPIs and related routine police operations were impacted during the pandemic, and identify potential community and criminal justice system drivers of firearm violence during this time. Our focus on the city of Detroit represents a unique opportunity to explore these connections given the city's volume of firearm violence, as well as the severity and scope of challenges faced in cities of color. We discuss how our findings can be applied to guide the construction of systems that are more robust against and responsive to external and internal pressures. We also provide several recommendations to guide future research in this area. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Police Practice & Research is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

An investigation of the impact of the pandemic era on shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan

Despite the devastating effects of firearm violence on individuals, families, and communities, research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on firearm violence remains at a minimum. Our study contributes to this body of research by estimating the impact of two critical pandemic era timeframes on fatal and nonfatal shooting victimizations in Detroit, Michigan, using an innovative Bayesian Structural Time Series methodology. For each timeframe, we consider the impact of the pandemic era on total shooting victimizations, shooting victimizations that occurred at a residence (or at home), and shooting victimizations that occurred elsewhere. Our findings suggest that the pandemic era contributed to all three types of shooting victimizations in Detroit. We discuss the limitations of our study, along with directions for future research. Overall, we believe that our study underscores the importance of adopting a comprehensive and evidence-based strategy to prevent firearm-related fatalities and injuries. [ FROM AUTHOR]