The programs, policies, and people driving positive change in America’s gun violence problem.
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Chicago
In response to punitive sentencing laws, the state created a pilot program that offers young people rehabilitation instead of jail. Now, an effort is underway to make it permanent.
ATF
The legislation was prompted by a 2022 investigation by The Trace and VICE News.
Ask The Trace
Offering cash for guns can be a quick way to get some firearms off the streets. Readers question whether the programs actually reduce violence.
Philadelphia
Parents say that no one has been arrested for the murders of their children, even after they've passed along tips to the police. Now they're skeptical of a new campaign to locate homicide fugitives.
Public safety was the most important issue in this year’s mayoral race between Brandon Johnson and his tough-on-crime opponent, Paul Vallas.
A recent study found that a Philadelphia program can reduce shootings among participants by about half.
Fifteen months after the community’s last high-profile killing, Philadelphia’s largest university is still struggling to keep its people safe.
In neighborhoods that account for 43 percent of Philadelphia's shootings, residents are wary, with some only leaving their homes for essentials.
Laws to expand the technology's use have passed in three states and the District of Columbia. But some are questioning its effectiveness.
Danielle Outlaw heads a dwindling police force in a city that just logged 500 homicides, but Philadelphians from all walks of life are giving her the benefit of the doubt.
Features
In the spring of 2020, Rochester, New York, was poised for genuine police reform. Then came a 911 call for a Black man in crisis.
Shootings at gas stations are rising across the city. As police search for answers, the families of victims are grieving — and filing lawsuits.
Few police are ever prosecuted for on-duty killings. In Philly, Krasner charged three officers; one has been convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
Community Violence
As city leaders double down on policing amid a spike in shootings, a new idea is gaining hold among experts: could less policing actually reduce gun violence?
Civil liberties advocates worry the NYPD is repeating the mistakes it made with its gangs list — and that innocent people are being tracked without even knowing it.