Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Fact Sheets and Research
Fact Sheets
Current Research & Topics
Publications
Indicators of Violence in Los Angeles County (2005-2009)
This chart provides a snapshot of data on violence in Los Angeles County. It lists various indicators of fatal and non-fatal violence with data from 2005-2009. Sources: CDPH Vital Statistics Death Statistical Master Files, LA Sheriff Dept, LA Police Dept, LA Dept of Coroner.
Fact Sheets
Current Research & Topics
New Report: System Overload: The Costs of Under-Resourcing Public Defense
The ongoing overburdening of U.S. public defense systems that serve millions of people annually is jeopardizing the fairness of our justice system and can result in more and longer prison sentences, according to a report published today by the Justice Policy Institute. According to the report, 73 percent of county-based public defender offices lacked the requisite number of attorneys to meet caseload standards; 23 percent of these offices had less than half of the necessary attorneys to meet caseload standards. With an increasing overload of cases, lack of quality defense and a shortage of resources, the report argues, justice is not being served and the well-being of millions of people is at stake.
Conversation with Meda Chesney-Lind
Meda Chesney-Lind is a feminist criminologist and an advocate for girls and women who come in contact with the criminal justice system. She works diligently to find alternatives to women's incarceration crime and criminal justice problems in Hawaii. Dr. Chesney-Lind is greatly concerned about the treatment of youth and women in the criminal justice system. Specifically, she focuses on and teaches courses on girls' delinquency and women's crime; issues of girls' programming and women's imprisonment; youth gangs; the sociology of gender; and the victimization of women and girls.
On 4/15/11, the VPC hosted Dr. Chesney-Lind for a discussion on issues facing girls and women.
New YJC Report on Police Spending in Los Angeles
The Youth Justice Coalition releases an extensive report highlighting law enforcement spending throughout LA County and the impact that suppression-oriented policing has on youth and communities. The report includes comparisons on LA's spending to other large municipalities throughout the nation, and recommends new funding priorities.
Click here for the full report
Gang Trends and Solutions - National Gang Center
2011 County Health Rankings
In February 2010, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute released the inaugural County Health Rankings, the first project to rank the overall health of nearly every county in all 50 states. Learn more about how Los Angeles stacks up, and how you can use the ranking to motivate for community action HERE.
New Report: Overreliance on Drug Courts Comes at Too High a Cost
Addicted to Courts: How a Growing Dependence on Drug Courts Impacts People and Communities America's growing reliance on drug courts is an ineffective allocation of scarce state resources. Drug courts can needlessly widen the net of criminal justice involvement, and cannot replace the need for improved treatment services in the community. Of the nearly 8 million people in the U.S. reporting needing treatment for drug use, less than one fourth of people classified with substance abuse or a dependence on drugs and/or alcohol receives treatment, and for those who do receive treatment, over 37 percent are referred by the criminal justice system.
New Report: Removing Youth from the Adult Criminal Justice System
The Campaign for Youth Justice released a new report, State Trends: Legislative Changes from 2005 to 2010 Removing Youth from the Adult Criminal Justice System, cataloging recent legislative victories removing youth from the adult criminal justice system. The report provides state policymakers, the media, the public, and advocates with the latest information about youth in the adult justice system. The first half of the report explains the dangers to youth, public safety, and the overall prosperity of our economy and future generations. The second half of the report examines 27 positive pieces of legislation enacted in 15 states during the last 5 years, as well as highlights active reform efforts.
Guns Guns Guns: All Resources About Guns
Every year, thousands of people die from gun-related incidents. Whether it is suicide, violent crimes, or domestic disputes, peoples’ lives are often taken at the hand of either careless or criminally dangerous gun users. While guns can be a protective factor for many, they can also have very serious and deadly outcomes. It is important for people to be aware of the various statistics when it comes to gun use, and to have a healthy understanding and knowledge of guns.
Click here to view gun violence information and statistics
Place Matters
New research, and an announcement of a new challenge by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), advance the effort to ensure that all children have stable, affordable health insurance.
A report, Uninsured Children: Who Are They and Where Do They Live? written by Victoria Lynch and colleagues at the Urban Institute, looks for the first time at the most recent, available numbers on the uninsured and analyzes variations in children’s insurance rates across and within states. The report finds that where in the U.S. children live is a significant factor in their likelihood to be uninsured, with the rates of uninsurance among children ranging from a low of 1.7 percent in Massachusetts, to a high of 20.1 percent in Nevada.
- Read Uninsured Children: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?
- View slideshow of Uninsured Children: Who are They and Where do They Live?
- Read Health Affairs article.
- Read about the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge.
The latest edition of PRIO's 'Gender, Peace and Security Update' for July-August 2010 is now available
PRIO is The International Peace Research Institute, Oslo, part of the NISAT Coalition which is an IANSA member in Norway. Initiated by the Gender Team of PRIO, the newsletter provides updated information about women, peace and security (WPS) related issues internationally, as well as in Norway.
Click here to view the newsletter.
Join the Conversation: Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been holding an ongoing online discussion about youth, trauma and neuroscience – and there’s still time for you to join and share your thoughts, experiences, and questions. RWJF is exploring the impact of chronic trauma on the healthy brain development of young people and they want to hear from you!
- Join the Vulnerable Populations Community Forum for a conversation on Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain.
- Follow the conversation threads and learn about neuroscience research, best practices and ethical challenges in this emerging field.
Poorest People at Highest Heart Disease Risk: U.S. Data
HealthDay News, 08/04/2010
Socioeconomic status plays a more important role than race or ethnicity in cardiovascular disease risk disparities in the United States, a new study has found. Researchers analyzed data from 12,154 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2006) and found that the poorest people have the highest risk of cardiovascular disease, but there are few differences in risk between racial and ethnic groups.
Click here to view the article.
Positive School Climates
Research about the effects of school climates on students' abilities to learn and teachers' capacity to teach.
Click here to view the article.
Summer 2010 Issue of Home Front Covering Family Violence Topics
The California District Attorneys Association's Violence Against Women Act Project is pleased to present the Summer 2010 issue of Home Front, a quarterly publication covering family violence topics.
Click here to view the PDF document.
In this issue:
The Importance of Civil Domestic Violence Restraining Orders, written by Krystal Callaway Jaime,UC Davis Family Protection and Legal Assistance Clinic.
Restraining Orders, written by Jean Jordan, Violence Against Women Project Director -- CA District Attorneys Association.
Court Orders and Their Enforcement
A Quick Guide to California Restraining Orders
2010-2011 CDAA Training Calendar
OPINION: Friendly Fire in Prevention?
The Huffington Post, James S. Marks, 07/23/2010
It's worth noting that prevention and public health were prominent in the national debate on health reform. And it is a big step that prevention and especially prevention of illness that occurs outside the medical care system got dedicated funding in the new Affordable Care Act -- seemingly a lot of it -- $15 billion over 10 years. While $15 billion certainly is nothing to sneeze at, do the math. Click here for full article.
Future of Prevention Funding Lies in Broad, Public-Health Approach
Fueled in part by national healthcare reform, a quiet revolution is taking place in how the federal government conceives of prevention and funds preventive services, and the upshot could mean more money for programs that take a public-health approach to addiction and mental health problems and less for standalone programs that focus solely on alcohol and other drugs. Click here for full article.
Documentary about Re-entry, and Those Struggling to Create a Life on the Outside
VPC Member Herb Blake, of the Center for Health Justice, is working on a documentary profiling the challenges of California's prison system. View the trailer HERE.
New Fact Sheets Highlight Findings from NCJJ's Juvenile Court Statistics 2006-2007 report
OJJDP recently released four Fact Sheets summarizing findings from Juvenile Court Statistics 2006-2007, the 78th report in the series. Click here to view the fact sheets.
Juvenile Justice System State Profiles
The National Center for Juvenile Justice's Profile Tool features analysis, details, and statistics on each state's Juvenile Justice system. Check it out, and see how California stacks up nationally.
New Report Urges Cost-Effective Reforms of Juvenile Justice Systems
Real Costs and Benefits of Change: Finding Opportunities for Reform during Difficult Fiscal Times
National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) has recently released a new report exploring an array of reforms that states have successfully utilized to improve outcomes for youth, increase public safety, and reduce costs. The report highlights concrete strategies, both substantive and tactical, that have been proven to save states money and treat youth more appropriately and effectively. Click HERE to read more, and see the full report.
Whether a Child Lights Up, or Chows Down
The New York Times, Gina Kolata, 07/09/2010 - If you had to choose one public health problem to attack, which would it be: teenage smoking or childhood obesity? To answer that question, you might want to pose another. Who will have the harder road in life, or indeed the longer one: the teenage puffer or the chubby child? Pitting smoking against obesity is tricky because it can mean comparing apples and bonbons, but there is some suggestion that a kind of weird zero-sum game is actually going on. Read more...
Open-Carrying: Provocative Conduct, Dangerous Consequences
For those interested in learning more about Open Carry, and why we at the VPC are so opposed to this dangerous policy, here's a link to the Legal Community Against Violence's excellent recent article: http://www.lcav.org/content/open_carrying.pdf
Baltimore Behind Bars: How to Reduce the Jail Population, Save Money and Improve Public Safety
A new report from the Justice Policy Institute examines factors leading to over-incarceration at the Baltimore City Detention Center and recommends that by implementing effective solutions to reduce the number of people in the current jail, money could be re-directed toward services like education, employment support and treatment. While not juvenile specific, the report addresses alternatives that are relevant and transferable. Click HERE to read the report.
New Reports from the California Endowment
New reports from The California Endowment show that place matters when it comes to the health of young men and boys of color. Negative health outcomes for boys and young men of color are a result of growing up in neighborhoods of concentrated disadvantage - places that are more likely to put boys and young men directly in harm's way and reinforce harmful behavior. Click HERE to read more.
Publications |
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Weiss BP, Evans CA: Developing a Violence Prevention Coalition in Los Angeles in Down to Earth Community Perspectives on Health, Development, and the Environment pp35-43. Edited by Bonnie Bradford, Margaret A. Gwyne. Kumarin Press, Connecticut, USA, 1995 |
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A Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention: the Los Angeles Coalition |
Weiss BP: A Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention: the Los Angeles Coalition in Preventing Violence in America pp197-209. Edited by Robert Hampton, Pamela Jenkins, and Thomas P. Gullotta. SAGE Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, California. 1996 |
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Weiss BP: Violence in the United States in Defining Violence pp. 83-99. Edited by Hannah Bradby. Averbury Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., Hants, England, Ashgate Publishing Company, Brookfield, Vermont, USA. 1996 |
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| An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in U.S.A. Cities | Weiss, BP: An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in USA Cities. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center. 2008 |