The Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative is a state-wide program designed to reduce youth and gang violence in cities across Massachusetts. The initiative supports regional and multidisciplinary approaches through the implementation of the Comprehensive Gang Model, an evidence-based and intentional integration of prevention, intervention, suppression, organizational change, and community mobilization strategies. This multidisciplinary approach includes law enforcement initiatives such as hot spot analysis and anti-gang task forces, coordinated reentry programs for young adults and juvenile offenders, and education and employment programs for high-risk youth. Marsh Institute researchers Laurie Ross (SSJ) and Jennifer Safford-Farquharson (SSJ) received additional funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to continue providing strategic research support and program evaluation of the Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative. Ross and Safford-Farquharson will continue serving as the Local Action Research Partner for Worcester.

For full project descriptions, see the Marsh Institute Research Projects web page.