Law enforcement perceptions of their relationship with community: Law enforcement surveys and community focus groups

The Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination (BRAVE) Project is a group violence reduction strategy based on the Boston Gun Project’s Operation Ceasefire. This violence reduction model is predicated on the idea that violence can be dramatically reduced when community members and law enforcement join together to directly engage with criminal groups. In Baton Rouge, selected law enforcement officers have received specialized training regarding the implementation of the BRAVE Project and additional training with regard to working with residents in the community. To that end, surveys and focus groups were administered to residents in the intervention target area to identify their perceptions of crime, law enforcement, and leaders in their community. In addition, law enforcement officers completed surveys that focused on their perceptions of crime and other problems in the target area and their thoughts about whether this intervention could be successful. Results suggest that law enforcement and community...