Leadership

Reducing Violence through Place Network Investigations

Location: Ballroom A1, KBHCC

Tamara D. Herold, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Graduate Director
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, United States
Wendell Nicolson

Captain
Wichita Police Department, United States
Robin S. Engel

Senior Vice President
National Policing Institute, United States
Pedro Rosario

Captain
Philadelphia Police Department
Christopher Darcy

Undersheriff
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Matthew M. Lunn, Ph.D.

Director of Strategic Initiatives
Denver Police Department
Denver, Colorado, United States

Recent increases in gun violence demonstrate that many violence reduction strategies often generate short-term impact, but sustained violence reductions remain elusive. In addition to offender networks, violence is concentrated among a small network of places that provide crime opportunities. A recent evidence-based violence reduction strategy, Place Network Investigations (PNI), is being implemented in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Tucson, Arizona; and Wichita, Kansas. Police identify and investigate places contributing to violence, and city leaders strategically deploy existing resources to dismantle crime-place networks. Practitioners and researchers describe their experiences implementing PNI in chronically violent locations and its effectiveness in reducing gun violence.