Kansas City Gun Experiment

This Research in Brief discusses an evaluation of a police patrol project to reduce gun violence, driveby shootings and homicides in a patrol beat where the homicide rate was 20 times higher than the national average. Gun crime is rising rapidly nationwide, while other types of crime are falling. The need for strategies to control gun crime is critical. If police could get more guns off the street, would there be fewer gun crimes? This was the question posed by the Kansas City program. The results of the evaluation indicate that directed police patrols in gun crime "hot spots" can reduce gun crimes by increasing the seizures of illegally carried guns.