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Keep up with the latest evidenced-based research from the federal government and government-funded entities. Academic studies and government reports are the backbone for prevention efforts nationwide. Evidence-based research is available for the general public, educators, law enforcement, health care practitioners, behavioral and mental health professionals, and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
Each set of resources below is searchable by keyword. You can also filter the results to see the resources most relevant to different stakeholder groups (key audience) and which department/agency/office provided the resource, as well as filter by subcategory.
All the information in the Prevention Resource Finder is government-owned or sponsored.
The FBI has designated 48 shootings in 2023 as active shooter incidents. The FBI defines an active shooter as one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.
The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence declares firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis. This advisory is the first publication from the Office of the Surgeon General dedicated to this issue, and it outlines the devastating and far-reaching consequences that firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of the country.
A Prevention Resource for Action is a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to prevent or reduce public health problems like violence. They can help improve the health and well-being of communities.
This practice consists of programs designed to prevent or reduce aggressive or violent behavior in K–12 students who are considered at risk of or who have demonstrated such antisocial behaviors. The practice is rated Effective for reducing aggression in students who participated in school-based violence prevention programs, compared with students who did not participate.
This practice involves the use of counter-narratives, which attempt to challenge and deconstruct narratives suggesting extremist ideologies, to prevent the violent radicalization of participants. Types of counter-narratives include counter-stereotypical exemplar, persuasion, and inoculation. The practice is rated Effective for reducing risk factors for violent radicalization in participants, compared with participants in control groups.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Model Programs Guide Literature Reviews provide practitioners and policymakers with relevant research and evaluations for several youth-related topics and programs, including on hate crimes and youth, juvenile reentry, and the wraparound process.
Terrorism prevention programs are structured and “systematic preventive steps to address the underlying conditions that drive individuals to radicalize and join violent extremist groups.” How can these programs be designed and implemented at the community level, and what are the most promising practices for addressing radicalized individuals before their ideologies manifest into violence? Here’s what research, including studies funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), tells us about community-based terrorism prevention programs.
The terms violent extremism, mass shootings, and hate crimes can sometimes accurately describe a single incident, but each of these crimes has unique characteristics. Though there can be similar outcomes, means, and motivations for these crimes, each has its own definition and distinctions. Here’s what NIJ-sponsored research tells us about identifying people at risk of committing these offenses, as well as strategies to help mitigate the risk of someone carrying out such acts.
Research on radicalization risks and processes consistently points to the importance of social networks and interpersonal relationships in motivating toward or protecting against individual radicalization. It is critical to interrupt the radicalization process before people’s ideologies manifest into violence. Research, including studies funded by the National Institute of Justice, provides important insights into how social networks may either facilitate or prevent radicalization processes and disengagement efforts.
Research on the role of social media and other online spaces in facilitating or motivating terrorism and radicalization has grown exponentially over the past decades. Online technologies and internet platforms are integrated in day-to-day life, and the roles these play in terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalization are cause for concern. The five findings below, derived from research sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), provide insight into how the internet and social media may both promote and prevent radicalization outcomes.
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