Richardson challenges traditional views on firearm violence

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Faculty Associate Joseph Richardson and his colleagues challenge traditional public health research, which often focuses on individual "risk factors" for gun violence. They argue that "such a paradigm elides the deeper, structural forces" - such as resource distribution, police practices, and economic systems - which significantly influence such risks.

Richardson notes that increased incarceration rates in Chicago's black communities are linked to higher firearm homicides, challenging the belief that incarceration reduces violent crime. This association points to broader systemic issues, as he highlights that it does not hold for other racial groups. 

See the editorial in JAMA

Chaudhary MJ, Zakrison TL, Richardson J. (2024). "The Link Between State Carceral Violence and Firearm Homicide". JAMA Surg. Published online June 05, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2024.1644