Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction

The Philadelphia Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP) is a multi-agency effort involving various youth-serving organizations and criminal justice agencies partnering to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put violent youthful offenders on the path toward a productive majority. Since its establishment in 1999, YVRP has sought to help 14- to 24-year-olds at greatest risk of killing or being killed. Almost all YVRP participants are under court supervision, having contact with a probation or parole officer, and most have been convicted or adjudicated on a violent or drug-related charge at least once.

YVRP not only provides participants with increased supervision but also brings them support through access to critical resources such as employment, mentoring, healthcare, and drug treatment. While most probation departments are short on resources and face extremely heavy caseloads, in YVRP street workers, smaller caseloads, and police partnerships help bridge the gaps. Street workers in consultation with probation officers develop mentoring relationships with the participants and connect them with much needed social support, ranging from mental health counseling to employment assistance. Street workers also help participants' parents get jobs and find housing and health care, thereby providing participants with more stable family lives.

The goal of this program is to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put violent youthful offenders on the path toward a productive majority.

The evaluation relied on monitoring data collected from January 2000 to July 2003. Preliminary analysis of youth homicides in the YVRP Police Districts seems to provide at least initial evidence that the YVRP is indeed helping high-risk youths stay alive. The 10 years of homicide data collected from the Philadelphia Police on the YVRP Police Districts reveals that homicides in the 24th and 25th Police Districts were significantly lower after the start of YVRP. In looking at the raw averages, the 25th District saw a decrease from an average of 5.8 youth homicides per quarter before YVRP to 3.4 after YVRP. In the 24th District, youth homicides declined by an average of 1 per quarter over 4 years. The 25th District also saw a significant reduction in the number of homicides for all ages. There was, however, not a significant decrease in the number of homicides for victims of all ages in the 24th District.

Homicide trends also may support the conclusion that YVRP is having a positive effect in the districts in which it operates. The rate of homicide reduction was greater in the YVRP Police Districts than in the city as a whole. Trends show that 24th District homicides were slowly increasing over time, and during the quarter that YVRP was implemented there was a dramatic decline in homicides. However, following the immediate decrease, homicides have continued to increase at a faster pace than before YVRP. But this rate is significantly lower than the increase citywide.

In the 25th Police District, youth homicides dropped after the inception of YVRP and have continued to drop. This is in stark contrast to the city as a whole, where since the introduction of YVRP there has been a trend toward increased youth homicides. A similar pattern is seen in the trend of homicides of individuals of all ages in the 25th District.