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Effects of Baltimore’s Safe Streets Program on Gun Violence: A Replication of Chicago’s CeaseFire Program

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Abstract

Chicago’s CeaseFire program is an evidence-based public health approach to preventing gun violence. Baltimore is one of many US cities attempting to replicate the program. We compared changes in the number of homicide and nonfatal shooting incidents per month in four intervention neighborhoods with changes in high-crime comparison areas (police posts) without the intervention, while controlling for several measures of police activity and baseline levels of homicide and nonfatal shootings. In South Baltimore there were large program-related reductions in homicide and nonfatal shooting incidents. Among three East Baltimore program sites, the program was associated with a reduction of homicides in one area, a reduction in nonfatal shootings in another area, and a simultaneous increase in homicides and decrease in nonfatal shootings in another area. In some instances, program effects extended to neighborhoods bordering the intervention areas. Program-related reductions in homicides appear to be linked with conflict mediations conducted by program outreach workers.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CE000728) and a contract with the Baltimore City Health Department.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Daniel W. Webster, Jennifer Mendel Whitehill & Jon S. Vernick

  2. Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Jennifer Mendel Whitehill

  3. Departments of Environmental Health Sciences and Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Frank C. Curriero

Authors
  1. Daniel W. Webster
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  2. Jennifer Mendel Whitehill
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  3. Jon S. Vernick
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  4. Frank C. Curriero
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Correspondence to Daniel W. Webster.

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Webster, D.W., Whitehill, J.M., Vernick, J.S. et al. Effects of Baltimore’s Safe Streets Program on Gun Violence: A Replication of Chicago’s CeaseFire Program. J Urban Health 90, 27–40 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9731-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-012-9731-5

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