US City Turns to Science to Help Reduce Gun Violence
2023-09-05
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1"That's where I got shot," said Rashaad Woods, pointing toward a small store in the city of Knoxville in the state of Tennessee.
2Nearby are a nightclub where some people were shot and killed and a church with bullet holes in the walls.
3"There was a point in time I wasn't comfortable standing here," said Kodi Mills.
4"But that time is passing."
5The two men work for Turn Up Knox, a community-based organization that began operating in July of 2022.
6It mentors children and teenagers on how to prevent conflicts from becoming violent.
7The project is a central part of city efforts to use research-based methods to reduce gun violence.
8Turn Up Knox began operating after a sharp rise in shooting deaths in Knoxville.
9The larger city effort to reduce gun violence includes policy changes in policing and other action.
10However, it does not depend on restrictions to gun ownership.
11That was important, since Tennessee has repeatedly moved to loosen gun restrictions.
12In 2021, Tennessee started letting people carry handguns in the open or hidden, without a permit.
13This year, the minimum age for carrying handguns dropped to 18.
14Indya Kincannon is the city's mayor.
15"I wanted to be able to fix it," she said of the rising gun violence.
16As the gun violence goes up in the United States, so has research into how to stop it.
17Researchers estimate there were more than 48,000 gun deaths last year, with gun-related killings and suicide rates not seen since the early 1990s.
18Gun-related incidents are now the leading cause of death among American children and teenagers.
19Now, researchers say they know more about which public health strategies help reduce gun violence and which ones do not.
20A report from the non-profit research group Rand Corporation points to policies that it found help reduce gun violence.
21These steps include laws that permit the charging of adults who let children have unsupervised access to guns.
22The researchers say strong background checks on gun purchasers also helps reduce gun violence.
23Another helpful measure involves banning guns from people with a legal record of family violence, Rand reported.
24The RAND report also noted policies that do not help reduce gun violence.
25For example, it said concealed carry laws increase gun killings, as do gun buyback programs.
26About 16 percent of Knoxville's population is Black and about 40 percent of that group is very poor.
27Many of them live in East Knoxville, where the firearm violence has greatly increased.
28Like other American cities, violence increased in Knoxville during the COVID-19 pandemic.
29Before the pandemic, there were around 20 shooting deaths per year.
30The number rose to 38 in 2020 and grew again to 41 in 2021.
31As shootings increased, Kincannon, the city's mayor, looked to ideas by Thomas Abt, a crime researcher at the University of Maryland.
32His plan includes having police and community organizations work closely together.
33Abt's Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland worked with an outside researcher to study Knoxville's violent crime.
34The study contained a few surprises, said Knoxville Deputy Police Chief Tony Willis.
35Just 12 percent of killings by gun were related to organized criminal groups alone.
36That suggests many of the shootings only involved personal disagreements.
37The city's plan centered first on areas in East Knoxville with high rates of gun violence.
38The effort involves church leaders and community organizations.
39It also included a new police chief, an investigative division centered on homicides and shootings, and officers who work mostly in areas with many shootings.
40A goal is to increase public trust in law enforcement, which had been low.
41"We would have someone get killed in broad daylight, with a lot of witnesses, but no one wanted to talk," Kincannon said.
42"That means we need more partnership in the community, to build trust."
43That is where Turn Up Knox is expected to help.
44It involves ex-offenders, victims and other community members assisting.
45They help identify those most likely to be shot or to become shooters.
46They also mentor teenagers and operate a lawn service that gives jobs to kids.
47And, they teach families how to settle conflicts and deal with shooting events.
48Sometimes, when someone is in danger of becoming the victim of a revenge shooting, Turn Up Knox gives the person a bus ticket to leave town for a few days.
49However, some experts say programs built around Thomas Abt's ideas do not deal with enough of the problem.
50They note that the programs do not deal with suicide by gun nor the issue of poverty as a risk for gun violence.
51Charlene Roberts' 25-year-old daughter, Jessie, was shot and killed in 2019 while sitting in a car.
52Her son Kevin, 33, was killed in 2021 in gunfire at a birthday party.
53She is now raising Jessie's son, Princeton.
54She says he is strong but that he has also changed.
55"He always had the biggest smile, just like his mother," she said.
56"It breaks my heart. He fakes a smile now. He don't have that smile anymore."
57I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Dorothy Gundy.
1"That's where I got shot," said Rashaad Woods, pointing toward a small store in the city of Knoxville in the state of Tennessee. Nearby are a nightclub where some people were shot and killed and a church with bullet holes in the walls. 2"There was a point in time I wasn't comfortable standing here," said Kodi Mills. "But that time is passing." 3The two men work for Turn Up Knox, a community-based organization that began operating in July of 2022. It mentors children and teenagers on how to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. The project is a central part of city efforts to use research-based methods to reduce gun violence. 4Turn Up Knox began operating after a sharp rise in shooting deaths in Knoxville. The larger city effort to reduce gun violence includes policy changes in policing and other action. 5However, it does not depend on restrictions to gun ownership. That was important, since Tennessee has repeatedly moved to loosen gun restrictions. 6In 2021, Tennessee started letting people carry handguns in the open or hidden, without a permit. This year, the minimum age for carrying handguns dropped to 18. 7Turning to research for answers 8Indya Kincannon is the city's mayor. 9"I wanted to be able to fix it," she said of the rising gun violence. 10As the gun violence goes up in the United States, so has research into how to stop it. Researchers estimate there were more than 48,000 gun deaths last year, with gun-related killings and suicide rates not seen since the early 1990s. 11Gun-related incidents are now the leading cause of death among American children and teenagers. 12Now, researchers say they know more about which public health strategies help reduce gun violence and which ones do not. 13A report from the non-profit research group Rand Corporation points to policies that it found help reduce gun violence. These steps include laws that permit the charging of adults who let children have unsupervised access to guns. The researchers say strong background checks on gun purchasers also helps reduce gun violence. Another helpful measure involves banning guns from people with a legal record of family violence, Rand reported. 14The RAND report also noted policies that do not help reduce gun violence. For example, it said concealed carry laws increase gun killings, as do gun buyback programs. 15East Knoxville and trusting police 16About 16 percent of Knoxville's population is Black and about 40 percent of that group is very poor. Many of them live in East Knoxville, where the firearm violence has greatly increased. 17Like other American cities, violence increased in Knoxville during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, there were around 20 shooting deaths per year. The number rose to 38 in 2020 and grew again to 41 in 2021. 18As shootings increased, Kincannon, the city's mayor, looked to ideas by Thomas Abt, a crime researcher at the University of Maryland. His plan includes having police and community organizations work closely together. 19Abt's Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland worked with an outside researcher to study Knoxville's violent crime. 20The study contained a few surprises, said Knoxville Deputy Police Chief Tony Willis. 21Just 12 percent of killings by gun were related to organized criminal groups alone. That suggests many of the shootings only involved personal disagreements. 22The city's plan centered first on areas in East Knoxville with high rates of gun violence. The effort involves church leaders and community organizations. It also included a new police chief, an investigative division centered on homicides and shootings, and officers who work mostly in areas with many shootings. 23A goal is to increase public trust in law enforcement, which had been low. 24"We would have someone get killed in broad daylight, with a lot of witnesses, but no one wanted to talk," Kincannon said. "That means we need more partnership in the community, to build trust." 25That is where Turn Up Knox is expected to help. It involves ex-offenders, victims and other community members assisting. They help identify those most likely to be shot or to become shooters. They also mentor teenagers and operate a lawn service that gives jobs to kids. And, they teach families how to settle conflicts and deal with shooting events. 26Sometimes, when someone is in danger of becoming the victim of a revenge shooting, Turn Up Knox gives the person a bus ticket to leave town for a few days. 27However, some experts say programs built around Thomas Abt's ideas do not deal with enough of the problem. They note that the programs do not deal with suicide by gun nor the issue of poverty as a risk for gun violence. 28Charlene Roberts' 25-year-old daughter, Jessie, was shot and killed in 2019 while sitting in a car. Her son Kevin, 33, was killed in 2021 in gunfire at a birthday party. 29She is now raising Jessie's son, Princeton. She says he is strong but that he has also changed. 30"He always had the biggest smile, just like his mother," she said. "It breaks my heart. He fakes a smile now. He don't have that smile anymore." 31I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Dorothy Gundy. 32Mike Stobbe reported this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted the story for Learning English. 33_________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35nightclub -n. an indoor social gathering place with music and dancing or other entertainment 36comfortable -adj. feeling relaxed and at ease 37access -v. to reach or get something or be someplace 38conceal -v. to hide something 39lawn -n. an area of cut grass, typically in the yard's of people's homes 40revenge -n. an action in retaliation against a perceived ethically wrong action done against oneself or others 41fake -v. to pretend to do something but not really do it