Implementation of the Proposed Policy or Initiative Section - Assignment Example

Topic: Implementation of the proposed policy or initiative section The recent rise of gun violence in Arkansas has brought awhole new focus regarding the issue of gun violence prevention from both the general public and the federal government. For most individuals it is certainly clear that any form of comprehensive plan that is proposed to address the issue of gun violence in the United States should thus include extensive research into the problem. The comprehensive research that has been conducted by public health researchers, criminologists as well as sociologists based on youth gun violence should guide all local or state intervention on prevention initiatives. The proposed initiative dubbed ‘Arkansas’s Youth Gun Violence Initiative’ is a community based initiative that will involve solicitation of some ideas from the state agencies, learning institutions and non-profit organization regarding pilot programs that will reduce gun violence. The idea of the initiative is to implement a program that will promote a positive youth outcome. The proposed initiative will focus on establishing work relations among the institutions in Arkansas such as the health, school, leaders and non-profit organizations in order to identify all the drivers of youth gun violence. Identification of such drivers will aid in the establishment of relevant evidence based strategies that will focus on addressing each issue regarding the reasons why youths are involved in gun violence. The proposed initiative will involve working with all community partners that are involved with youth based institutions so as to engage the residents of Arkansas in the implementation of the initiative plan and ensure that the plan will be sustained through refraining the youth from any gun violence incidence. Gun violence in Arkansas as in many other states is highly concentrated on the young population. Thus the long-term goal for the proposed initiative is to reduce youth gun violence and increase collective efficacy in Arkansas State. Funding The issue of youth gun violence in United States has passed extreme conditions and is now regarded as an epidemic. Between 1976 to around 1991 guns were used by an estimated 65% of the juvenile homicide offenders. Homicides resulting to gun violence have been the leading cause of death among many youths. Most male teenagers in all ethnic and racial groups are likely to die from gunshot wounds instead of natural causes. As a result of this the Department of Justice (DOJ) has over the years been involved with funding community based initiatives and policy programs to help curb the problem of gun violence (Cefrey, 2009). The Boston Police Department in 2013 applied for a grant from the government in order to reduce gun violence in Bowdoin Geneva. The initiative was dubbed Boston Innovation Program to reduce gun violence. The aim of the program was to support the revitalization of Bowdoin Geneva from gun violence which was on the rise. Thus Boston Police Department applied for a grant as a major source for funding. The funding request by the Boston Police Department was for a grant amounting to $1000000. This fund was meant to assist the community with crime prevention strategies (Office of Justice Programs, 2013). Based on the support that has been given by the Department of Justice in every state in the United States, the proposed initiative will be funded by the Department of Justice in Arkansas State. The leading fiscal funding agent for the proposed initiative will be the Department of Justice which offers grants on a regular basis to various states. However, some other funding sources will emerge from the Arkansas Police Department and the Arkansas Public Health Commission. The Arkansas Police Department is involved in combating crime in the state thus the proposed community initiative to curb gun violence will motivate their participation and interest in funding the initiative. The issue of gun violence is no longer a political issue but it is also a public health issue thus seeking financial funding from the Arkansas Public Health Commission will be relevant. Apart from the major funding body the Department of Justice the association of the Arkansas Police Department and the Arkansas Public Health Commission will cover the total cost for the planning and implementation of the project. The total cost for the project including $ 50000 for planning and $450000 for implementation will be $ 500000. The state of Arkansas is fortunate to have a number of various neighbourhood watch groups that will assist in supporting the initiative beyond the funding grant by the Department of Justice. Staffing The proposed initiative by Boston Police Department was focussed on reducing the cases of gun violence through the involvement of relevant organizations and individuals that were willing to aid in the implementation of the initiative. The major individuals involved with the project were the stakeholders who were the Boston Police Department and the Boston Public Health Commission. Inclusion of the school, learning institutions, non-profit organizations and the community in general was also a major success factor for the Boston Police Department as they were able to gather some resources that assisted in reaching their goal of reducing gun violence (Office of Justice Programs, 2013). The proposed initiative for Arkansas will require the participation of the major stakeholders who will be the Arkansas Police Department as well as the Public Health Commission. The project will also require the services of a specialised agent dealing with community based initiatives in response to violence. The involvement of neighbourhood watch groups as well as learning institutions and non-profit organizations will also aid in the accomplishment the goal of the proposed initiative which is to reduce youth gun violence. Ethical issues Most of the community initiatives that have been proposed in the past to curb gun violence in the United States have been faced with a number of ethical issues. The ethical issues are quite significant in the execution of the proposed initiative, thus these issues must be addressed prior to implementation of the proposed initiative so that they can be prevented and reviewed. The reason for this is to ensure that in the process of trying to curb gun violence no harm will be inflicted on individuals in the community (Cefrey, 2009). In the case of Boston Police Department, the proposed initiative to reduce the rate of gun violence in the state faced a number of ethical challenges that also resulted in the issue of low staffing. Some of the ethical issues that are faced by the police department include reliability, trust as well as corruption in the department. In order for the proposed initiative to pass for funding there was need for the Boston Police Department to ensure that there was trust and reliability between the police force and the citizens (Office of Justice Programs, 2013). For trust to be maintained between the citizens and the police department police officers need to maintain high ethical and moral values. The Boston innovation program to reduce gun violence faced ethical issues that simply revolved around their relationship with the public in general. Some of the ethical issues that the proposed initiative for Arkansas may face revolve around special population such as prisons, children and the elderly. In reducing cases of youth gun violence the juvenile prison population will definitely decrease. Ethical issues that may face the proposed initiative will be based on two main ethical principles that is autonomy and justice. Autonomy simply addresses the issue of human rights while implementing the proposed initiative. There is need to ensure that all the strategies implemented in the proposed initiative are able to cater for the independence of all individuals in the community. Another issue is justice. For instance, the proposed initiative faces the challenge of government distrust based on the fact that some speculations have been made regarding illegal association of the government and organizations such as National Rifle Association. It is through such associations that the increase of illegal gun ownership has become a norm resulting to the exposure of the youths to gun violence. To deal with this ethical issue there is need to ensure that the government as well as the relevant authorities maintain a high level integrity. Thus with regards to staffing strict measures must be undertaken to maintain integrity. Political Issues Section The congress still continues to debate about the constitutionality and the efficacy of the federal regulation of both firearms and ammunition. The United States government has enacted various federal laws since 1934 in order to promote gun control regulations. Gun control advocates tend to argue they are responsible for curbing access by juveniles, criminals as well as other high risk individuals. The claim raised by the advocates is that it is only the federal government that can be able to curb matters concerning youth gun violence. Political issues concerning reduction of gun violence in Arkansas revolve around a number of political obstacles such as constitutional barriers as well as government distrust. Legislative issues The issue of gun violence is in itself regarded as a major political issue with regards to the proposed initiative. A lot of concerns have emerged regarding the extent to which the federal government should be involved in community based initiatives. However, it is clearly noted that the issue of gun violence is not only a political issue but is more so becoming a public health issue. A majority of the Congress advocates support the claim that it is the federal government that is in a position to stop any form of gun violence. Thus the aspect of community initiatives is regarded a lesser way of curbing the issue on gun violence. Among some of the political obstacles that the proposed initiative may face are constitutional barriers and distrust for the government (Sweig, 2013). The community with emphasis on gun violence are seeking more extensive initiatives changes such as registration of all firearms owners or the prohibition of non-police gun ownership. There are many more changes that need to be addressed based on the extent of the political issues arising from gun violence. Regarding the issue of gun control in the proposed initiative there are barriers owing to the fact that there are no form of constitutional aspects that supports the initiatives for gun control. The major concern with the community based initiatives is that individuals do not simply trust the government when it comes to issues concerning reduction of gun violence. The aspect of distrust of the government is another major political issue that needs to be addressed. According to Jill Stein, individuals do not trust the government because there is a great belief that the government has been bought by strong and powerful organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA). It is such organizations like NRA that are bringing a great disservice to the various states in the United States as more states are becoming greatly dominated by industries promoting gun ownership and sales (Stein, 2013). Despite the major political obstacles that encompass the community based initiatives in Arkansas the main political support that has been seen is that made by President Barrack Obama in his initiative for reducing gun violence in the United States. The Obama initiative supports the introduction of research plans that are able to aid communities in reducing gun violence especially with emphasis on youth participation in gun violence crimes (Feldmann, 2013). Media-related issues In response to the gun violence that ensued in Sandy hook in December 2012, White House brought up an initiative plan that was proposed in order to curb and reduce the effect of gun violence. The initiative plan called for research studies into the relationship that exists with violence propelled by media images or digital images, Media is thus regarded as a credible resource regarding the issue of gun violence (Newmark, 2012). The media can be used to control and impose initiatives aimed at the reduction of gun violence in a state but it can also be a major stimulating factor for propelling more gun violence. Research conducted on gun violence indicate that majority of the youth are exposed to the problem of gun violence at school, in the communities, at home or especially through the media. The Chicago Youth gun violence initiative was greatly supported by the media through the public information campaigns that were set up. The media can aid in steering up the success of the proposed initiative by planning youth reduction gun violence media campaign. This campaign will focus on gaining a broader community outreach thus promoting the relevant information regarding the reduction of gun violence among the youth. Studies conducted have shown that the media in as much as it can promote initiatives of gun reduction through use of persuasive campaigns, it however needs some monitoring. Parents have been more concerned over the years on regulating the violent imagery that their children watch as they grow up. This concept of monitoring the media is a clear indication that the media content at times may affect the initiatives that are set up to curb gun violence (Grimes, 2013). There are efforts that have been made in order to impose restrictions on certain forms of violent media that stir up gun violence. The media will definitely assist the proposed initiative by creating a positive image of the initiative through the efforts of the campaign. Despite the efforts that may be made by the campaign there are pitfalls of the media that may affect the proposed initiative. One of the major issues that have already been talked about is that of the violent imagery that are not restricted from the youth (Nakaya, 2008). Community Relations The proposed Arkansas Youth Gun Violence Initiative will focus on building trust among the community. The proposed initiative will require the participation of the community especially with regards to the proposed campaign theme. In order for public information to spread faster, there is need to involve the community at large. Strategies pinned on the proposed initiative will be easily executed by various individuals in the community. For instance, involvement of community based organizations is quite critical in reducing gun violence in Arkansas. Efforts and services that are made by the community in implementing reduction strategies are important as it assists the youth from becoming offenders. A youth initiative that is supported by the community and is effectively associated with the juvenile judicial system will definitely aid in the reduction of gun violence. The involvement of the community in the proposed initiative will stir up strong relationship bonds between the various community based organizations. There social and economic aspects will be boosted up. Social unity is an aspect that is quite significant when it comes to implementing an initiative. The proposed campaign will bring up a solidified social unity. On the other hand economic aspect will emerge from the social aspect whereby various community organizations may embark on creating economic ties with each other. Thus community participation in the proposed initiative will be a vital action that must be undertaken (Miller, 2008). Expected results The main objectives and goals of this policy proposal are first to establish the prevalence of gun violence in the Arkansas’ youth and facilitate the curbing of cases of gun violence within the target population and secondly to facilitate the enactment of proper gun licensing laws so as to protect young victims and culprits of gun violence in the state. The first objective deals with the establishment of the prevalence of gun violence in Arkansas. This will involve conducting research cases regarding the extent to which gun violence is affecting the youth and juveniles in the state. There have been numerous of homicides and drug trafficking cases which have often seen young offenders being subjected to crime at an early age. Establishing such cases will enable the community at large together with the relevant authorities to be able to plan the steps on how to curb or reduce cases involving gun violence among the youths. The proposed initiative will focus on implementing a campaign that will spread information to the public regarding the effects of gun violence and how best such cases can be avoided. The positive aspect of the implementation of the proposed initiative will be the creation of public awareness regarding youth gun violence which is on the verge of becoming an epidemic. The proposed initiative aims at educating the youth about the effect of gun violence and how to refrain from engaging in such cases. Thus the proposed initiative will focus on reducing cases of gun violence among the youth. The expected results from the youth will be their involvement in the proposed campaign to curb gun violence. As a result, more youths will be able to follow in achieving the set main goal of the proposed initiative. The negative aspects expected from the implementation of the proposed initiative will be the issue regarding violent media effect brought by the violent imageries and video games. The second objective to facilitate the enactment of proper gun licensing laws so as to protect young victims and culprits of gun violence in the state is a goal that would be able to yield more successful results from the proposed initiative. Proper gun licensing laws are a major concern when it comes to the issue of youth gun violence. A lot of cases where youths are involved in gun violence are as a result of illegal ownership of guns and also lack of strict rules regarding gun ownership. The government should ensure that strict rules are imposed on gun licensing and strict punishment imposed on the individuals that are found in possession of firearms illegally. The proposed Arkansas Youth Gun Violence Initiative will aim at pushing for the establishment of strict gun licensing laws in the constitution. The youth will need to be protected from accessing any form of firearms and ammunition. Through the plans of the proposed initiative education regarding laws imposed on gun licensing and illegal gun ownership will be further explained to the community at large. The positive aspect of the initiative will be to strengthen the existing constitutional laws with regards to gun licensing and ownership. The inclusion of the Arkansas Police Department in the initiative will assist in catching culprits that will not abide to the constitutional laws regarding ownership and licensing of guns. The proposed initiative will be backed by the government as it is the duty of the government to impose the constitutional laws. Government support will thus stir up the accomplishment of the main goal of the proposed initiative. The proposed initiative will however be affected by a few challenges such constitutional changes and government distrust. Some constitutional changes made regarding the gun licensing laws may tamper with the implementation of proper licensing laws as a result more individuals may end up being in possession of illegal firearms and ammunitions. It is the duty of the government to impose proper gun licensing laws but at times debate made in the political view may end up disregarding such laws. As a result the implementation of the proposed initiative may fail to hold as the youth may be exposed to possession of guns based on ineffective laws addressing the reduction of gun violence. Another challenge is that of government distrust. There have been a lot of cases speculating the involvement of the government with organizations that promote illegal sale of guns and ownership. Based on such speculations the proposed initiative may fail to meet its set target due illegality in the government protocol. It is the duty of the government to ensure that proper laws are made and that as the leader the gun licensing procedure is imposed. The proposed initiative expects to achieve the set goal through association with the relevant authorities in Arkansas such as the police, public health and the community in general. With the right protocols in place the proposed initiative will thus educate, inform and help Arkansas State in reducing youth gun violence. The proposed initiative will also task the government in ensuring that proper training is given to adults who want to own guns. As a precaution such individuals will be warned of the dangers of possessing a gun. The government in collaboration with community through the proposed campaign will manage to educate the public especially the parents concerning the problem of youth gun violence. The proposed initiative will go a long way in achieving the main goal of curbing the problem of youth gun violence. References Cefrey, H. (2009). Gun Violence. New York: Rosen Pub Fedldmann, L. (2013). Unveiling gun control initiative. USA. Grimes, T. (2013). Define Violence in the media: Column. USA. Miller, L. (2008). Community policing: partnership for problem solving. Thomson/Wadsworth Nakaya, A. (2008).Media Violence. San Diego, CA: Reference Point Press. Newmark. (2012). Sandy Hook an initiative to end gun violence. USA. Office of justice Program. (2013). Boston’s Innovation Program to reduce Gun violence in Bowdoin Geneva.USA. Stein, J. (2013). US faces political problem in tackling violent gun crime.USA. Sweig, J. (2013). US policies for reducing gun violence in America. Print Read More