Gun Violence Among African American Community Research Paper

Gun Violence Effect on African American Community

Introduction

The African American community has faced the brunt of the criminal justice system in the aftermath of gun violence. For starters, the violence takes a toll on these communities. The violence that emanates from the use of guns and other incidences of shooting rips families apart and tears the family and community fabric. There's often a second devastating effect that results from the violence. The police frequently have to stop members of the colored community on the streets and run inspections. The outcome is that the community becomes suspicious of the law enforcement authorities. Indeed, any government departments, including but not limited to the police, are under thorough scrutiny regarding the treatment of people of color. There are calls for reforms in the justice system owing to the disproportionate numbers of people of color in incarceration. Also, the increase in gun violence across the populace and the states has triggered public outcry for changes in the judicial system to bolster the safety of the public(Urban Institute, 2016).

System failures to address the challenge of systematic discrimination, inability to restrict guns from being accessed by deviant elements that are likely to misuse them, and failure to allocate resources in gun violence prevention programs, all converge to exacerbate the gun violence crisis (Amnesty International, 2020). Societies across the globe are trying out new approaches to reduce or even prevent the incidence of gun violence. Some methods seem to be working and could be emulated. Violence reduction efforts that are enforcement-based can produce instant results. However, they call for continuous coordination. Scholars and analysts have argued over the years that changing the social paradigm is the true resolution to gun violence. Changing the social norms that encourage violence holds the key to success in these efforts. The public health approach to dealing with violence follows a similar template (Butts, Roman, Bostwick& Porter, 2015).

This paper will give an overview of a policy for the prevention of gun violence.

Policy Development

A policy document is usually drafted by an individual or an agency that has been conferred with the authority to complete the task. For national policy issues, such an agency could be a team of employees of the government or a consultant contracted by the government to act on its behalf. Whichever the case, the group or individual selected for such a task must be knowledgeable and conversant with policy formulation guidelines. More importantly, the person or agency chosen should have the capacity to work with stakeholders harmoniously. The views of all stakeholders must be brought on board before a decision to formulate policy is arrived at. For the present project, a policy document would be crafted in an easy-to-understand form. The use of highly technical phrases would then be avoided whenever possible (Schopper, Lormand&Waxweiler, 2006). Mental health professionals will also be included in the policy development process. The trauma of a community may be an outcome of the violent experience. The trauma may predispose violence, in turn, promoting a vicious cycle of violence. Mental health experts can be deployed to help with psychological issues that arise from violent experiences by citizens. They could help build resilience and promote healing through the use of strategies that reconstruct social relationships and links in addition to reclaiming public spaces. There is a need to conduct more studies to enhance impact control patterns, how to solve problems, anger management, and empathy.

Similarly, more information is needed concerning how these functions interact with the unwanted norms highlighted in the earlier recommendations. We can use the public health approach to get to grips with such dynamics as who perpetrates the violence and who is at the greatest risk of violence. This is a way of finding permanent solutions to the problem. The detailed analysis could help signal us to the networks and how to react when functions have been compromised.

Keys Traits

The characteristics of the policy are as follows:

· Restricting access to ammunition: Research has demonstrated beyond doubt that there are benefits linked to restricted access to ammunition. The policy recommends extending the background checks for the purchase of ammunition. Alternatively, the ammunition purchase should also be used to track down individuals who are likely to be prone to abuse of firearms or in illegal possession of the same. Besides, it…

Some parts of this document are missing

Click here to view full document

…review programs to help in strategic planning

• Organize for frequent meetings of stakeholders to develop strategies to curb and prevent gun violence practices, with an outlined performance measurement system (Urban Institute, 2016)

Effectiveness of Policy

For a policy to be successfully implemented, the practical aspects must be carefully discussed and concerns addressed in its development. Local and national priorities must be reviewed and set. The responsibilities of each player must be clearly defined. There must be a clear co-coordinating mechanism developed. The financial and human resource needs must be assessed and tackled beforehand by identifying funding resources and specific human resource bases to being used. Limitations and constraints of the policy should also be reviewed. It is only after all these actions have been performed that consensus can be expected to be reached between all stakeholders, and implementation seamlessly done (Schopper et al., 2006).

To show that there can be progress results in the short term, even as the mission is geared towards achieving long term goals, the policy may be split so that there are those aspects that deal with rapid preventive outcomes. It can be split within 12 months, the ones that have to take time between a year and 36 months and those that target outcomes in three years and longer. The policy effectiveness can be monitored by maintaining a record of incidents of gun violence and their frequency happening before the implementation of the policy and after it has taken effect (Schopper, Lormand & Waxweiler, 2006).

The results from the approach can be impressive because the recommendations are the brainchild of appropriate research. Coordination of agencies charged with crime prevention is a complex affair. The intervention measures are equally tricky. Those trusted with preventing crime incidents and intervening are usually suspicious of the intentions of the law enforcement agents. On their part, law enforcement is likely to overlook or ignore the role of the alternative strategies. The philosophical stands on how problems should be solved may also pose a challenge and trigger tension among committee members. It is notable that the overriding challenge, though, has to do with resources for funding the project.

Conclusion

Everyone realizes…