KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville became one of the first cities in the U.S. to partner with the new Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction.
The violence reduction center was created at the University of Maryland, led by Thomas Abt and Rod Brunson. City leaders said the partnership will help them develop evidence-based and community-involved strategies to reduce violent crime in Knoxville.
The center gathers research on community-based violence and synthesizes it before releasing it to the public. This kind of information is then meant to help federal, state and local leaders craft strategies and policies meant to reduce violent crime.
It was created as a way to provide actionable solutions addressing gun violence across the U.S.
“To put it plainly, the mission of the VRC is to save lives by stopping violence. By combining rigorous research with real-world know-how, we can help policymakers make the right choices in this critical public policy area,” said Abt in a press release.
The center has recently published research that investigates the relationship of racial identity with crime and criminal justice, deterrence strategies, HIV care for formerly incarcerated people and risky firearm behaviors among gun carriers in New York City.