Priscillia Hunt

RAND Corporation Website

Priscillia Hunt is Senior Economist at the RAND Corporation and Professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick.

Voting History

Reducing gun violence

Taking into account both potential implementation challenges and expected efficacy, investing in police-led targeted enforcement directed at places and persons at high risk for gun crime (e.g.,\"hot spot\" policing; gang enforcement) would reduce gun violence.

Vote Confidence
Disagree 6
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 7
Comments

Better identification of people or places is only part of the puzzle. The other part is what police officers are asked to do (e.g. stop-and-frisk, warrants on crimes involving firearms, etc.) and whether that can reduce current gun violence.

Taking into account both potential implementation challenges and expected efficacy, investing in police-led focused deterrence programs (clearly communicating “carrots and sticks” to local residents identified as high risk, followed by targeted surveillance and enforcement with some community-based support for those who desist from crime) would reduce gun violence.

Vote Confidence
Agree 6
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 6
Comments

Studies suggest they work better for groups, so if current gun violence problems are group-based (e.g. gangs) this could be an effective strategy. That said, implementation of these programs are not trivial.

Taking into account both potential implementation challenges and expected efficacy, investing in purely community-led violence-interruption programs (community-based outreach workers try to mediate and prevent conflict, without police involvement) would reduce gun violence.

Vote Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Comments

I'm not familiar with the evidence on these programs.