Addressing gang-related violence in Glasgow: a preliminary pragmatic quasi-experimental evaluation of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV)

Youth gang-related violence is a public health concern in Glasgow. The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence aims to address physical violence and weapon carriage among gang-related youths in a deprived area of Glasgow. It offers access to diversionary activity, personal development, and employment preparedness in exchange for adherence to a "no violence, no weapon" pledge. A preliminary post hoc before-and-after quasi-experimental design compared rates of criminal offending (including violent and non-violent offenses) for the 167 male youths (aged 16-29) who engaged with the initiative with data for one or two years follow-up for age-matched gang-involved youths from an equally deprived area of the city. Violent offending reduced across all groups over the time of the study. In the cohort followed for 2-years the rate reduction was greater in the intervention group (52%) than the comparison group (29%). The reduction in the rate of physical violence was not significantly different between the intervention group and the comparison group; however, the rate of weapons carrying was reduced more in the intervention group than the comparison group (84% vs 40% respectively in the 2-year follow-up cohort). The study suggests that adopting a public health approach with gang-related youth was associated with reduced weapon carriage, which can prevent consequences for victims, offenders, and society.