Group Violence Intervention is a relatively new strategy that seeks to reduce gun violence among groups and their members. Initiatives that seek to Reduce Gun Violence are always Good. The strategy seems to target gangs with the help of the police that provide information about alleged known gang areas or where there are high incidents of Gun violence associated with gangs. However, the GVI uses the term “group” instead of gangs so as to neutralize the power of “gangs” and to recondition efforts towards positive group activities of helping to limit gun violence. According to a story carried by The Philadelphia Inquirer entitled: “A city-led effort to reach potential shooters has produced encouraging results, Philly officials say,” by Chris Palmer dated February 28, 2023; An evaluation conducted by a University of Pennsylvania researcher said the approach, known as Group Violence Intervention (GVI), helped reduce gun violence among targeted groups of young people. The article stated that: An evaluation conducted by a University of Pennsylvania researcher said the (GVI) approach, helped reduce gun violence among targeted groups of young people by as much as 50% during a nearly 30-month period ending last spring, (Philly officials announce GVI results, a city-run initiative to reduce gun violence (inquirer.com).
Mr. David Fair, Executive Director of Turning Points For Children said:
This is good news. But it’s also frustrating because this approach was also successful when it was being implemented in the Rendell and Street Administrations as the Youth Violence Reduction Project, an evidence-based approach that was even more effective than this new project.
Moreover, I had some problems and questions concerning this report and study. I responded:
Initiatives that seek to reduce gun violence are always good. But it has to be truly effective, and studies must be representative of the strategies’ efficacy. The report is absolutely not convincing, makes question-begging-epithet i.e. “alleged certainty” that GVI works because “we know it works.” That’s unacademic and a faulty argument that should not appear in a study’s report such as this. The report stated that the project has been going on for three decades, however, violence has skyrocketed.
The Report is available in The Philadelphia Inquirer: Philly officials announce GVI results, a city-run initiative to reduce gun violence (inquirer.com)
We have a copy of the actual evaluation report if you are unable to access it from the Inquirer. Email us at: info@theneoliberal.com.
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