Consent to search and seize: Evaluating an innovative youth firearms suppression program

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Consent to search and seize: Evaluating an innovative youth firearms suppression program

Category: Crime, Firearm Policies, Youth|Journal: Law and Contemporary Problems (full text)|Author: R Rosenfeld, S Decker|Year: 1996

With the increase in youth firearm violence in recent years, policymakers have scrambled to develop feasible and effective responses. Over the past decade, officials have initiated numerous local-level interventions, including gun buy-back programs, targeted weapon sweeps, increased scrutiny of gun dealers, and various forms of “gun education.” Unfortunately, however, there have been few evaluations of these interventions. One such local initiative is the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s Firearm Suppression Program (“FSP”), a program that seeks parental consent to search for and seize guns from juveniles. The program has received extensive national attention for its creative, yet controversial approach to reducing youth firearm violence. This paper describes the FSP, considers criticisms of its methods and purposes, and sets forth a plan for evaluating the operation and outcome of this and similar programs. The paper begins by placing the issues for evaluation in the context of recent increases in the level of youth firearm violence.

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