Planting produce gardens, trees, and flowers in a neighborhood, is good for residents. Creating green spaces and improving blighted properties (removing graffiti, litter, signs of poor home maintenance, etc.) can lead to improved mental health, and reduced crime. In addition, greening in a neighborhood can indicate community investment, which may spread to the surrounding properties as well. Our latest study explored this phenomenon and tested whether yard …
Staff Spotlight: Steven Thompson
The Michigan YVPC team is made up of a diverse group of people, and each brings a unique set of skills and experience to the table. Over the next several weeks we will be highlighting several of our team members working in the field and behind the scenes at the university. We’ve asked them a little about themselves and their role with …
Attitudes toward police: A cycle of distrust
By: Briana Jefferson, MI-YVPC Intern Growing up, I remember my biggest heroes were police officers. I admired the crisp uniforms and hats, but most of all the shiny badges each police officer wore. I also felt grateful for the sense of protection they provided when I saw officers patrolling my neighborhood. Unfortunately, not everyone has favorable attitudes toward the police. …
Preventative Policing
After noticing a sharp increase in robberies in Brownsville, a New York City neighborhood with many public housing developments, New York City Police Department Housing Bureau Chief Joanne Jaffe first tried to increase conventional policing strategies. However, by early 2007 Chief Jaffe had begun to think of new ideas for police interventions in the neighborhood. Chief Jaffe had decided to …
Lessons from a Sandlot
By: Pete Hutchison, YES Program Director As a kid we used to head to the vacant lot to play ball, rather than stay home to do chores or homework. It did not matter how many of us showed up to play, the game was always played because no one wanted to face the alternative awaiting us at home. As a …
Shutting Out the World: Preventing Violence in Flint
By: Pete Hutchison, YES Program Director The real frustration of the current rate of violence in Flint is that there are so many concerned people working to prevent it. There are active neighborhood groups, collaborations amongst the faith community, a multitude of youth serving organizations meeting together and looking for solutions. Yet with all of this we still can’t seem …
Four Hugs and a Cupcake
By: Pete Hutchison, YES Program Director For 20 years I labored in the field of youth violence working, as a juvenile caseworker. The work was fulfilling and I believe we were having some positive effects on the youth, however it was clear that the young people we were involved with had developed their lifestyles to a point where it was …
What Does Violence Have to Do With Public Health?
By: Susan Morrel-Samuels, MA, MPH, MI-YVPC Managing Director According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, violence in the U.S. causes approximately 50,000 deaths a year and over 2 million injuries. In 2007, 18,000 people were victims of homicide and 34,000 people took their own lives. Let’s think about that for a moment. Cities like Sheboygan, Wisconson, Ames, Iowa, …
Reducing Urban Blight as a Crime Prevention Strategy
Can programs like the Genesee County Land Bank’s Clean and Green Program prevent crime? Tom Reischl, PhD, Evaluation Director at MI-YVPC and the Prevention Research Center of Michigan, recently spoke to the Genesee County Board of Commissioners in support of funding for the Land Bank’s property maintenance programs. His remarks are posted below: Both violent crime and property crimes are …
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