Impacting the Problem of Inner-City Youth Violence: “Educating Kids about Gun Violence” Program

Abstract

The Educating Kids Against Gun Violence (EKG) program was developed in response to high levels of gun violence in an urban inner-city county through a partnership between the county prosecutor's office, local law enforcement, and a Level 1 trauma center. This program incorporates short video clips and interactive presentations, which address legal and medical consequences of gun violence. The program was presented to youths varying in age and degree of prior contact with the criminal justice system. Pre and post surveys were used to evaluate the short-term impact of the EKG program on the legal and medical knowledge and attitudes of youth participants. There were 130 pre and post surveys that could be exactly matched. Sixty-three per cent of participants had been arrested and 35 per cent had been convicted of a crime. On the post survey, 79 per cent stated that "the program will help keep me out of trouble" and 69 per cent stated that "in the future because of this program I will be less likely to carry a gun". The EKG program seemed to have positive short-term impacts on youth knowledge of legal and medical consequences and attitudes regarding gun violence.