How can cities address gun violence? A Q&A with a Kansas City criminologist

Violence prevention and deterrence are not new concepts to Ken Novak, a professor of criminal justice and criminology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

In fact, they’re at the heart of what he teaches and researches.

He’s also been active in the Kansas City community, working with KC No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) and the Kansas City Smart Policing Initiative.

Novak is an expert at evaluating the effectiveness of violence prevention programs. He answered some questions about what can and should be happening in cities trying to reduce gun violence.

What should cities be doing to address gun violence in their communities?

No one program or approach will reduce gun violence. Rather, cities need a portfolio of strategies that address immediate crises and longer-term needs. Gun crime is concentrated; therefore, the keyword is “focus” – focus on high-risk places (with a disproportionate amount of crime), chronic individuals (who commit a disproportionate amount of crime) who are engaging in high-risk behavior. No single program can address all of these. Therefore a portfolio that includes different partners (police, prosecutors, treatment providers, community members) is needed.

Are there any tried-and-true methods to gun violence reduction?

The evidence-based programs that outperform other initiatives tend to work best. Concentrating police resources in high-crime places can deter offending. Enhanced supervision (probation, police) and holding people or groups accountable for crime is important.

The justice system struggles to investigate and hold offenders of nonfatal shootings accountable – the certainty of punishment is low. This erodes trust between the police/prosecutors and the public, and people are reluctant to come forward when gun crime occurs. This leads to a vicious cycle of more gun violence.

What has been shown not to work at gun violence reduction?

Gun buyback programs have little consistent impact on gun crime. Unfocused enforcement or prosecution has little benefit.

How can residents take steps to address gun violence in their communities?

People should pressure leaders to implement evidence-based approaches to gun violence and hold them accountable for the results. People can also question the culture of gun violence – gun violence has become so normal in Kansas City that it may have seeped into the culture, and retaliatory violence does not have the widespread stigma that it should. People should also question the wisdom of Missouri’s relaxed gun laws.

Research demonstrates that states with weak gun laws have higher rates of gun violence (and gun suicide). Much of this is because guns are so accessible, which also contributes to the culture of gun violence. A lot of gun violence (and gun suicides) are impulsive and not well-planned – the presence of a gun in high-risk places by high-risk people doing high-risk things increases the chances a gun will be used.