NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2013, VOLUME 3, NUMBER 10
 

IN THIS ISSUE 

Forum Cities Work Together in Train-the-Trainer 

Effort 

CrimeSolutions.Gov: Accessing Information on 

Practices 

Game Blame 

Announcements & Upcoming Events 

• Training Opportunities 

• Other Opportunities 

News & Views 

• Reports 

• News 

• Other Resources 

FORUM CITIES 

WORK TOGETHER IN 

TRAIN-THE-TRAINER 

EFFORT 

Peer mentoring is a Technical Assistance strategy 

promoted and embraced by the Forum. In 

November 2013, the City of Salinas, California, 

was provided peer mentoring training by fellow 

Forum city Chicago, Illinois. 

At the September 2013 Summit on Preventing 

Youth Violence, Salinas Police Chief Kelly 

AN UPDATED 

CRIMESOLUTIONS.GOV: 

ACCESSING INFORMATION 

ON PRACTICES 

CrimeSolutions.gov provides information to a broad audience on 

what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim 

services. Forum cities can benefit from the wealth of information 

on evidence-based programs and practices by using this tool. 

Using CrimeSolutions.gov to find programs 

Supported by OJP's National Institute of Justice and launched in 

2011, CrimeSolutions.gov includes more than 275 programs and 

15 practices that have been assessed for effectiveness, based on 

rigorous evaluation evidence. Programs in different topic areas, 

including courts, corrections and reentry, crime and crime 

prevention, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and victims of 

crime, are rated as effective, promising, or no effects. 

Screen Shot of CrimeSolutions.gov 

The site is easy to use. If you've heard about a program in the 

database and want to see its rating, simply type in the name of 

the program to search the site. If you are looking for a program to 

meet the needs of a certain population or to address a particular 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

McMillin approached Dennis Mondoro, OJJDP's 

senior policy advisor, with a request for training 

on police legitimacy and how it relates to 

procedural justice. 

The legitimacy of any organization must be 

earned through thoughtful policy and applied 

effort. "Legitimacy is a property of an authority or 

institution that leads people to feel that authority 

or institution is entitled to be deferred and 

obeyed," said Dr. Tom Tyler, Yale University 

psychology professor. It represents "acceptance 

by people of the need to bring their behavior into 

line with the dictates of an external authority." 

In their study, "The Role of Procedural Justice 

and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for 

Policing," Dr. Tyler and Jason Sunshine defined 

procedural justice: "If the public judge that the 

police exercise their authority using fair 

procedures, this model suggests that the public 

will view the police as legitimate and will 

cooperate with policing efforts." 

To complete training in this vital practice, four 

Salinas police officers left for Chicago, Illinois, on 

November 3. The group, which was joined by 

officers from Oakland and Stockton, California, 

and Fort Wayne, Indiana, had already engaged in 

departmental training efforts ranging from 

defensive tactics and officer safety to weapons 

training on the range and sex crimes 

investigation. Their goal was to understand the 

training module and tailor it to the needs of the 

Salinas Police Department. "The concepts of 

procedural justice and legitimacy are foundational 

to law enforcement's ability to gain trust with the 

community," said Chief McMillin. "It will make us 

more effective peace officers. I am very excited 

and thankful the Salinas Police Department had 

this extraordinary opportunity." 

Lieutenant Bruce Lipman, one of two 

commanding officers at the Chicago Police 

Department Training Academy, created the 

training and has taught the course since July 

2012. When Police Superintendent Garry 

McCarthy approached the department's deputy 

chief to develop the curriculum, Lt. Lipman made 

the connection between procedural justice and 

legitimacy and combined the concepts into a 

flexible 1- to 2-day training program. Of course, 

he had a great deal of help. In addition to a topnotch team of instructors, Dr. Wesley Skogan 

developed pre- and posttests for course 

participants, Officer Alfred Ferreira created a 

storyboard, Officer Mark Sedevic wrote the lesson 

plans, Officer Ray Fierro created the PowerPoint 

slides and developed a link to the Participant's 

Guide, and Drs. Amy Schuck and Dennis 

Rosenbaum provided a Procedural Justice 

training program for recruits a few years before 

that served as a helpful resource. Chicago offers 

need in your jurisdiction, used the Advanced Search function to 

find programs with a variety of dimensions: topic area, age, 

gender, program type, race/ethnicity, and so on. 

Screen Shot of Advanced Search Feature 

For example, you might be interested in programs that help black 

youth in residential settings. Select these three dimensions and 

your results will return a list of programs that may help address 

your needs. Searching by topic "juveniles," setting "residential," 

and race/ethnicity "black" results in the following list of programs: 

List of Programs Resulting from Specific Search 

One benefit of the site is that it may help reduce misused funding 

by including no effects programs. These programs have rigorous 

evidence that shows the program did not have the intended 

effects on participants, or, in rare cases, had negative effects. A 

little more than 10 percent of assessed programs are rated as no 

effects. In these times of limited resources, it is important to avoid 

funding strategies and programs that will not achieve desired 

outcomes. 

Many programs simply do not have evidence rigorous enough to 

justify a rating. CrimeSolutions.gov reviewers have looked at a 

large number of programs for which no rating can be assigned. 

The lack of a rating does not mean the program works or does not 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this training at no cost to any police department 

that makes a request. 

"[What] had the most impact on me was the class 

design," said Salinas Detective and class 

participant Kim Robinson. "The vast amount of 

information available through research regarding 

procedural justice and legitimacy can be 

overwhelming, especially in the context of 

designing a class or program for police officers. 

[The] Chicago PD has done an outstanding job of 

adapting the information for this purpose. They 

have incorporated additional information into their 

program to help officers understand why we think 

the way we do, making the concepts of 

procedural justice and legitimacy much easier to 

accept and understand." 

Procedural justice teaches officers how to 

communicate with the public in ways that go 

beyond immediate cooperation or compliance 

from citizens. "It operates much like a bank 

account," said Lt. Kendall Gray of the Salinas 

Police Department, who coordinated the city's 

training. "The more you invest in good community 

relations through appropriate treatment of 

witnesses, suspects, or any citizen we interact 

with, the greater the return over time." Simply put, 

the road to police legitimacy runs through the 

practice of procedural justice. 

There is another invaluable benefit of procedural 

justice: once you begin using it, citizens respond 

more favorably. That doesn't mean suspects will 

"jump into the back of your cruiser," said Lt. 

Lipman, but officers who treat and are treated by 

citizens in a respectful manner experience less 

stress. 

Engaging with citizens in a positive way leads to 

less intense confrontations and therefore greater 

officer safety. "I think the cynicism portion of the 

training block [affected] me the most," said Officer 

Robert Zunig. "The content in this portion of the 

training really explained the different reasons why 

officers become cynical and focused on some 

things we can do to avoid it." 

Salinas plans to customize and adapt what 

they've learned and have all 142 sworn officers 

fully trained by spring 2014. Oakland, Stockton, 

and Fort Wayne have similar plans, according to 

Lt. Gray, but their cities are vastly different 

demographically. For officers to accept and use 

the material, training targeted to the specific 

needs of their communities and facilities is critical. 

The development of this course is a great 

example of partnership between the academic 

community and practitioners. To better link 

principles of procedural justice to officers in 

training, Lt. Lipman visited Dr. Tyler's classroom 

and observed a training session in Chicago, while 

work—it simply means we do not yet know if or how well it works 

based on current information. A list of such programs can be 

found on the site. If you are considering a program that is not 

rated, you may want to contribute to others' knowledge by 

evaluating that program. 

Using CrimeSolutions.gov to find practices 

Although knowing which programs have evidence of their 

effectiveness can be very useful in identifying interventions for 

potential implementation, it might also be helpful to know how 

effective a category of programs is overall. For instance, do 

mentoring programs work? Which components of these programs 

are most important to the success of an initiative? And what do 

we know about other types of programs, like adult drug courts and 

hot spot policing? 

To address these questions, OJP supported the development of a 

practices module on CrimeSolutions.gov. For the purpose of the 

site, a practice is considered a general category of activities, 

strategies, or procedures that share similar characteristics in the 

issues they address and how they address them. To assess the 

effectiveness of practices, reviewers look at meta-analyses, which 

evaluate the average effectiveness of the practice in various 

outcomes across a large number of studies. For example, to 

assess the effectiveness of juvenile boot camps—rated as no 

effects—reviewers looked at two meta-analyses. The first 

included average effects across 10 studies, while the second 

calculated average effects across 17 studies of juvenile boot 

camps. 

Using the practices module is a bit different from using the 

programs module—in part because each practice is assessed for 

how it affects various outcomes. For example, reviewers looked at 

several meta-analyses and found promising evidence that adult 

drug courts were effective for reducing multiple crime/offense 

types and drug and alcohol offenses. However, adult drug courts 

had no effect on reducing drugs and substance abuse. The 

information is communicated in this way: 

Crime & Delinquency – Multiple crime/offense types 

Crime & Delinquency – Drug and alcohol offenses 

Drugs & Substance Abuse – Multiple substances 

Nominating programs and practices 

CrimeSolutions.gov staff conduct active searches to identify new 

programs and practices for the site. Cities can support and benefit 

from this process by implementing, evaluating, and nominating 

programs tried in local jurisdictions. It is as important for the field 

to learn about efforts that do not work as it is to learn about 

initiatives that accomplish positive outcomes. 

NEWS 

& VIEWS 

Reports
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Rosenbaum of the University of Illinois at 

Chicago conducted a survey to determine how 

citizens were being treated. The results were very 

positive. At this point, they believe complaints 

against officers are down. "What [affected] me the 

most about this training was the simplicity of its 

content," said Salinas Detective Gabe Gonzalez. 

"The content of the course focused on things 

most of us already do on a daily basis. It is a 

good refresher on the basic principles of the type 

of police work we should be doing." 

Procedural justice and legitimacy struck a chord 

with the National Forum's Federal Coordination 

Team and is likely to be the focus of the January 

9, 2014, site call. 

GAME BLAME
 

Every year, video games get a little more lifelike. 

As high-tech graphics and animation attempt to 

blur the line between fantasy and reality, the 

debate about how such games affect the player 

continues. 

Is a young person who plays violent games more 

likely to engage in aggressive behavior? Based 

on multiple studies that show watching violent 

television and movies or playing certain video 

games can increase the likelihood of aggressive 

behavior, it is clear that every viewer and player is 

affected in some way. But a single risk factor does 

not cause a child to act aggressively. Rather, it is 

an accumulation of risk factors that leads to an 

aggressive act, according to University of 

Wisconsin Professor Leonard Berkowitz, author 

of "Aggression: Its Causes, Consequences, and 

Control" (1993). As shown in the risk and 

resiliency model, each risk factor increases the 

likelihood of aggression. The effects on players 

vary and may not be noticeable on the surface, 

but when considering the many characteristics of 

a child and his or her environment, research 

shows media violence consumption increases the 

relative risk of aggression. 

In the 2012 "Report of the Media Violence 

Commission," which examined 800 independent 

studies and referenced more than 15 published 

meta-analyses on media violence and 

aggression, the authors noted two important 

points: each study had similar findings, and some 

researchers "interpret the effect[s] as 

unimportant, whereas others interpret them as 

highly important." All of the meta-analyses 

showed "exposure to media violence can 

increase not only aggressive behavior in a variety 

of forms, but also aggressive thoughts, 

Sharing Ideas and Resources to Keep Schools Safe 

National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, 

2013 

As the nation seeks innovative ways to keep children and adults 

safe at school, this report assesses products and apps to gauge 

and prevent potential crises. The National Law Enforcement and 

Corrections Technology Center identifies new uses for standardbearing technologies in school settings and highlights successful 

safety programs in urban and rural schools. 

Women and Trauma 

Federal Partners Committee on Women and Trauma, 2013 

This report demonstrates the application of trauma-informed 

approaches across a wide range of settings and systems and 

encourages agencies to implement a cross-sector, interagency, 

intersystem realization, recognition, and response to trauma. 

How OJJDP Is Working for Youth Justice and Safety 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2013 

OJJDP's Annual Report summarizes past-year funding and 

initiatives as a voice for youth and families. How the Office has 

promoted youth safety is evident in its mentoring, reentry, drug 

court, bullying prevention, and other efforts outlined in the report. 

Suicide and Bullying 

Suicide Prevention Resource Center, accessed 2013 

In a study of 6th, 9th, and 12th grade Minnesota students 

involved in social and verbal bullying, self-injury was identified as 

"the most powerful risk factor associated with thinking about or 

attempting suicide" among young people. Emotional distress was 

also a significant risk factor. The most significant protective factor 

was parent connectedness. 

Law Enforcement's Leadership Role in Juvenile Justice

Practices 

International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2013 

When asked whether they believe law enforcement leaders play a 

significant part in the juvenile justice system, 79 percent of survey 

respondents agreed they should. However, results showed a 

divergence between the role law enforcement leaders believe 

they should have and the one they actually play. 

News 

In North St. Louis, Gunfire Still Rules the Night 

Despite decreases in crime over the past two decades, violence 

still plagues the North Side of St. Louis, where drugs, poverty, 

and struggle go hand in hand with gun activity. Some communities 

have installed surveillance cameras to reduce crime, but 

monitoring the cameras 24/7 isn't yet possible. 

Sex Trafficking Survivor Testifies Before Congress 

In a testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways 

and Means Committee, Rights4Girls board member Withelma 

Ortiz Walker Pettigrew shared her story of abuse and neglect in 

foster care, where she was forced into sex trafficking. According 

to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 60 

percent of children who are reported missing (and who are likely 

sex trafficking victims) were in foster care or group homes when 

they first ran away. Ms. Pettigrew encouraged the government to 

improve the child welfare system, enact protections to prevent 

youth from experiencing similar situations, and provide trauma-
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aggressive feelings, [and] physiological arousal, 

and decrease prosocial behavior." 

Just how significantly exposure affects behavior is 

arguable. When news broke that D.C. Navy Yard 

shooter Aaron Alexis was obsessed with military 

video games, the assumption by many was that a 

direct and strong link connected the two. But 

author and sociologist Katherine Newman says 

research shows only a modest relationship 

between violent video games and the actions of 

people influenced by them. "After all," she told 

ABC News, "millions of kids use video games as 

entertainment and almost none of them do these 

kinds of acts." In a similar vein, although data 

indicate an association between engaging in 

violent media and aggressive behavior, few 

studies have looked at the possible relationship 

between violent games and serious, criminally 

violent behavior. 

While scientific evidence has yet to demonstrate 

that combative video games have a prolonged 

negative neurological effect, media violence 

researchers are conducting studies to determine 

if changes in cognitive function and emotional 

control are associated with extended play. As with 

many examples of what "sticks" in early exposure 

versus what has little or no impact, a neural 

process is involved. Different indicators of 

aggression and violence are linked by neural 

paths. According to the Media Violence 

Commission, "whenever a person is exposed to a 

violent scene, the resulting activation of nodes 

spreads out to linked nodes and activates them, 

at least a little. ... Often in life, a complex array of 

sensations, feelings, and concepts are activated 

together in certain circumstances, and these 

become linked together in a complex knowledge 

structure in our brain called a schema or script." 

Once active, the knowledge structures become 

key determinants of behavior and may influence 

what people do beyond their consciousness. 

There's much parents and teachers can do to 

change the way youth process violent media, 

including curbing access. Focusing on the roles of 

caregivers who shape a child's early environment 

and experiences, one component of the Adults 

and Children Together Raising Safe Kids 

curriculum explores the relationship between 

exposure to violent imagery and aggressive 

behavior, as well as ways to reduce the potential 

impact on kids. Most important, parents must get 

the message across that movies, TV shows, and 

video games are not accurate depictions of real 

life and should not be taken at face value. Open 

discussion at home and in the classroom goes a 

long way in promoting critical thinking and 

processing of media violence. 

informed services for children who have. 

Target Announces 'Ban the Box' Policy 

Responding to a new Minnesota law and pressure from a 

grassroots campaign to reduce employment barriers faced by 

people with criminal records, the Target Corporation announced it 

will remove criminal history questions from job applications 

in Minnesota and throughout the nation. Although 10 states and 

more than 50 cities have enacted "ban the box" policies, Target is 

part of a select group of large private employers that has thwarted 

hiring exclusions preventing people with criminal records from 

getting work. 

Other Resources 

Gun Violence Trends in Movies
 

Results in this Pediatrics study found film violence has more
 

than doubled since 1950, and gun violence in PG-13–rated films
 

has more than tripled since 1985. Even if youth do not use guns,
 

the findings suggest they are exposed to increasing gun violence
 

in top-selling films. The results are concerning because many
 

studies have shown violent films can increase aggression.
 

New Section on Juvenile Justice Resource Hub
 

The Juvenile Justice Resource Hub recently added a juvenile

indigent defense section. This page features key issues,
 

resources, reform trends, and a list of organizations with expertise
 

on juvenile indigent defense.
 

Youth Engaged for Change

Youth Engaged 4 Change is an extension of FindYouthInfo.gov
 

created to encourage young people to shape programs, policies,
 

and services that affect them; promote meaningful partnerships;
 

share federal resources; and connect youth and young adults to
 

opportunities funded by the federal government.
 

Highlights of the 2011 National Youth Gang Survey 

In 2011, there were an estimated 29,900 gangs throughout 3,300 

jurisdictions. The number of reported gang-related homicides 

decreased from 2,020 in 2010 to 1,824 in 2011. Based on law 

enforcement reports, the survey found the following: 

Nearly one third of all responding law enforcement 

agencies reported gang activity 

Slightly fewer jurisdictions experienced gang activity in 

2011 than in 2010 

Gang activity was concentrated in urban areas, especially 

larger cities 

Overall, gang-related homicides declined nationally but fell 

only slightly in metropolitan areas 

http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/242884.pdf 

Introduction to Positive Youth Development 

An updated version of Introduction to Positive Youth 

Development, a self-paced, online training for staff, is now 

available. Youth- and family-serving organizations throughout the 

country and world have used this course from the National 

Clearinghouse on Families & Youth. 

New Suicide Prevention Publications Available 

The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention has released 

nine publications addressing critical program areas and 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

& UPCOMING EVENTS 

Training Opportunities 

The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps
 

(21CSC) National Council has requested letters
 

of interest from all conservation and youth corps
 

programs that would like to be identified as
 

21CSC member organizations. The 21CSC is a
 

national effort to put youth and veterans to work
 

protecting, restoring, and enhancing public lands
 

and waters. The deadline for letters is June 30,
 

2014. 

Other Opportunities 

OJJDP annually recognizes individuals,
 

organizations, and agencies that have made a
 

difference in recovering abducted children and
 

protecting children from exploitation.
 

Nominations are being accepted for the 2014
 

Law Enforcement, Citizen, Child Protection, and
 

Attorney General’s Special Commendation
 

Awards. All nominations must be submitted by
 

January 17, 2014.
 

Contact Us 

Send questions or feedback about the newsletter to 

NFYVP@dsgonline.com or subscribe. 

promoting life-saving practices, including effective screening, risk 

assessment, and drafting of model policies in collaboration with 

other child-serving agencies. 

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention 

Newsletter is prepared under Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) 

Cooperative Agreement No. 2012–MU–FX–K009 

with Development Services Group, Inc. 

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter 

are those of the authors and do not necessarily 

reflect the views, opinions, or policies of OJJDP.