Volatility
• After 200 people were shot during January in Philadelphia, the total for the first week of February dropped to 21. Then, seven people were shot and killed on Monday alone. [data.phila.gov/@PCGVR/6ABC]
Lives lost
• As of midnight Monday police had recorded 62 homicides in Philadelphia, 55 percent ahead of last year’s pace. Say the names of the 50 people killed in the city during January. [PhillyPolice.com/Philly Obit Project]
Voices from the community
• Now you can listen online to four weeks of community perspectives on gun violence prevention from the Germantown Info Hub Radio Hour. [Germantown Info Hub]
Hunger strike continues
• Jamal Johnson is well into the fourth week of his hunger strike demanding that that Philadelphia Mayor Kenney respond to calls for more urgency in response to gun violence. City Council Resolution 200447 was introduced in September and calls on Kenney to implement specific measures. If you haven’t noticed all the one-person protests in Philadelphia, you might not be paying attention. [@JAMAL_SKU/The Daily Pennsylvanian/The Philadelphia Inquirer]
National emergency
• At least 22 other US cities suffered worse gun violence increases than Philadelphia during 2020. Homicide rates surged nearly 30 percent across 34 U.S. cities. In New York City: More than twice as many people were shot during 2020 than during 2019. [NBC10/CBSNews/@patrick_sharkey]
Millions more guns
• The FBI conducted three million firearm background checks in three weeks following the Capitol attack; for three of the five highest weeks ever recorded. Illinois had the highest number of new background checks in January 2021, at just over 1 million. [FBI.gov/USN&WR]
What prosecutors want
• A bi-partisan coalition of 46 prosecutors submitted comprehensive recommendations to President Biden and Vice President Harris on how to confront the crisis of gun violence. [Prosecutors Against Gun Violence]
Legislation
• The Resources for Victims of Gun Violence Act could help families and communities have the support they need to recover from daily gun violence and manage their long term needs. [@SenBobCasey]
• A new bill could authorize $50 million in annual funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence prevention over five years. [MASS LIVE]
Research
• Trump rally attendees, people who won’t wear masks or who have contracted COVID among those more likely to have bought guns during pandemic. [THE COVID STATES PROJECT]
• Gun violence survivors say that improving access to quality education and job opportunities are the keys to prevention. [Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery]
• Early exposure to gun violence and victimization are associated with perpetration during adulthood. [EurekaAlert]
Solution of the week
• A program in Denver that puts troubled nonviolent people in the hands of health care workers has responded to 748 incidents, none of which required police or led to arrests or jail time. A similar pilot program is underway in Bucks County. [Denverite/LevittownNow.com]
At the Center
• Researching gun violence? The data catalog on our site was provided by the Expert Panel on Firearms Data Infrastructure. Check our Reporting Resources tab too. [PCGVR/PCGVR]
• PCGVR founder Jim MacMillan will be participating in the 22nd Annual Law and Society Week at the Fox Rothschild Center for Law and Society at Community College of Philadelphia. Register for “The Toll of Gun Violence” on Feb 25. [CCP.edu]