\u3cem\u3eIllicit Drug Policies, Trafficking and Use the World Over.\u3c/em\u3e Cathrina Gouvis Roman, Heather Ahn-Redding and Rita J. Simon.

Book note for Caterina Gouvis Roman, Heather Ahn-Redding and Rita J. Simon, Illicit Drug Policies, Trafficking, and Use the World Over. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005, $75.00 hardcover

Commentary: Evidence to Guide Gun Violence Prevention in America

Gun violence is a major threat to the public's health and safety in the United States. The articles in this volume's symposium on gun violence reveal the scope of the problem and new trends in mortality rates from gunfire. Leading scholars synthesize research evidence that demonstrates the ability of numerous policies and programs -- each consistent with lessons learned from successful efforts to combat public health problems -- to prevent gun violence. Each approach presents challenges to successful implementation. Future research should inform efforts to assess which approaches are most effective and how to implement evidence-based interventions most effectively

Cure Violence: A Public Health Model to Reduce Gun Violence

Scholars and practitioners alike in recent years have suggested that real and lasting progress in the fight against gun violence requires changing the social norms and attitudes that perpetuate violence and the use of guns. The Cure Violence model is a public health approach to gun violence reduction that seeks to change individual and community attitudes and norms about gun violence. It considers gun violence to be analogous to a communicable disease that passes from person to person when left untreated. Cure Violence operates independently of, while hopefully not undermining, law enforcement. In this article, we describe the theoretical basis for the program, review existing program evaluations, identify several challenges facing evaluators, and offer directions for future research

\u3cem\u3eJust Around the Corner: The Paradox of the Jobless Recovery.\u3c/em\u3e Stanley Aronowitz.

Book note for Stanley Aronowitz, Just Around the Corner: The Paradox of the Jobless Recovery. Philadelphia. PA: Temple University Press, 2005. $49.50 hardcover,$16.95 papercover

Focused Deterrence and the Prevention of Violent Gun Injuries: Practice, Theoretical Principles, and Scientific Evidence

Focused deterrence strategies are a relatively new addition to a growing portfolio of evidence-based violent gun injury prevention practices available to policy makers and practitioners. These strategies seek to change offender behavior by understanding the underlying violence-producing dynamics and conditions that sustain recurring violent gun injury problems and by implementing a blended strategy of law enforcement, community mobilization, and social service actions. Consistent with documented public health practice, the focused deterrence approach identifies underlying risk factors and causes of recurring violent gun injury problems, develops tailored responses to these underlying conditions, and measures the impact of implemented interventions. This article reviews the practice, theoretical principles, and evaluation evidence on focused deterrence strategies. Although more rigorous randomized studies are needed, the available empirical evidence suggests that these strategies generate noteworthy gun violence reduction impacts and should be part of a broader portfolio of violence prevention strategies available to policy makers and practitioners

Housing and Public Safety

"Housing and Public Safety," one of four briefs, finds that increased availability of quality, affordable or supportive housing is associated with public safety benefits. The release of this brief corresponds with concerns about the U.S. housing market and economic stability.Key findings from "Housing and Public Safety" include:Some studies found that substandard housing -- particularly where exposure to lead hazards is more likely to occur -- is associated with higher violent crime rates. Studies have shown that exposure to lead -- associated with older, deteriorated and lower-quality housing -- can result in increased delinquency, violence and crime.For populations who are the most at-risk for criminal justice system involvement, supportive or affordable housing has been shown to be a cost effective public investment, lowering corrections and jail expenditures, thus freeing up funds for other pubic safety investments. Additionally, providing affordable or supportive housing to people leaving correctional facilities is an effective means of reducing the chance of future incarceration. States that spent more on housing experienced lower incarceration rates than those states that spent less. Of the 10 states that spent the larger proportion of their total expenditures on housing, all 10 had incarceration rates lower than the national average. Of the 10 states that spent the smaller proportion of their total expenditures on housing, five states had incarceration rates above the national average (with two states having incarceration rates just below the national average)

Housing for Returning Offenders in the United States

In the United States, individuals returning home from prison face serious obstacles securing affordable, stable housing. Without appropriate housing, applying for jobs, obtaining needed social services, and successfully reintegrating to their communities becomes nearly impossible. Furthermore, a lack of stable housing is a predictor for recidivism and homelessness, which places pressure on municipal budgets. Because no one agency or level of government sees housing for returning offenders as its responsibility, there has been little action on or attention to this problem. In this article, I first review the literature describing the barriers returning offenders face in securing housing, including legal prohibitions, limited family support, and fragmented social service delivery. Then, I examine policy models to address these problems in Washington State, New York City, and Ohio. Based on the results of these programs, I conclude with policy recommendations, including removing barriers to public housing based on past offending, search assistance programs for returning offenders, improving coordination across the criminal justice system and post-release service providers, and revitalizing neighborhoods that support high levels of returning offenders.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136592/1/Baccile_HousingForReturningOffendersInTheUnitedStates.pd

Effects of Policies Designed to Keep Firearms from High-Risk Individuals

This article summarizes and critiques available evidence from studies published between 1999 and August 2014 on the effects of policies designed to keep firearms from high-risk individuals in the United States. Some prohibitions for high-risk individuals (e.g., those under domestic violence restraining orders, violent misdemeanants) and procedures for checking for more types of prohibiting conditions are associated with lower rates of violence. Certain laws intended to prevent prohibited persons from accessing firearms -- rigorous permit-to-purchase, comprehensive background checks, strong regulation and oversight of gun dealers, and requiring gun owners to promptly report lost or stolen firearms -- are negatively associated with the diversion of guns to criminals. Future research is needed to examine whether these laws curtail nonlethal gun violence and whether the effects of expanding prohibiting conditions for firearm possession are modified by the presence of policies to prevent diversion

Improving the Lives of Public Housing's Most Vulnerable Families

The CHA's ambitious Plan for Transformation necessitated relocating thousands of vulnerable families. Although the conditions residents were living in at the outset were deplorable, the relocation was involuntary and was a major disruption to theirlives.Many residents were extremely vulnerable, suffering from serious mental and physical health problems that could be exacerbated by major stress.The CHA had littleexperience in providing effective relocation services and even less in providing wraparound case management that could help stabilize residents' lives and help them move toward self-sufficiency. Given these circumstances, there were reasons for serious concern about how residents would fare and whether they might end up even worse off as a result of relocation.Our ten-yearstudy of CHA families shows that most residents are better off overall as a result of the Plan for Transformation; they live in higher-quality housing in neighborhoods that are generally safer and offer a bette rquality of life for them and their children. However, incorporating intensive supportive services for the most vulnerable public housing residents produces additional gains.Our findings indicate positive outcomes on a range of adult health and employment-related outcomes that are key to improving family stability