Publications [#266284] of Philip J. Cook

Chapters in Books

1. Cook, PJ, The Epidemic of Youth Gun Violence, in Perspectives on Crime and Violence:1997-1998 Lecture Series (1998), pp. 107-125, National Institute of Justice
   (last updated on 2024/04/19)

   Abstract:
   An epidemic of youth gun violence has swept the United States in recent years. The increase in youth homicide, which began in the mid-1980s and peaked in 1993, was unusual, large, abrupt, and unprecedented. Although it is now 5 years past the peak, great uncertainty remains about its causes and what can be done to head off the next epidemic. During the early 1980s, violent crime rates in the United States were generally headed down from a previous record-breaking peak in 1980. But in 1985, this positive trend reversed—not for everyone, but for demographic groups with the highest prevalence of perpetrators and victims of violent crime. While homicide rates for older adults continued to decline, adolescents and young adults in minority communities increasingly resorted to gunplay and suffered its deadly consequences. My objective is to describe this epidemic of youth gun violence and consider two prominent explanations of the problem that have influenced policy over the past 7 or 8 years. One school of thought explains the epidemic in terms of the character of the youths involved. Other researchers see the problem in terms of the context in which the youths operate. In my opinion, the evidence favors context over character. A focused response to this epidemic was slow in coming, but in recent years a number of law enforcement innovations designed to separate kids from guns have been implemented around the country. Although the research results are not yet in, many of these efforts may have helped turn the corner in reducing homicide rates.