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CROWN HEIGHTS, NY — Fear is the overwhelming driver for young gun carrying in Brooklyn, a new study conducted in Crown Heights found.
The study, conducted in the garden of a Crown Heights store, found that 75 percent of gun carriers age 15-25 were primarily motivated by fear of personal violence.
The full 72-page study conducted by the Center for Justice Innovation reveals a complicated story about local violence, trust in police and failed social services.
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Exposure to violence contributed to participants’ general sense that violence was always around the corner — 89 percent of the 103 gun-carrying people interviewed had a family member or friend who had been shot.
Some 76 percent of respondents had been shot at with a gun, the study found.
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The study, first reported by Gothamist, also captured a moment in New York City of increased gun violence between 2020 and 2021, researchers said.
“Participants cited these experiences of witnessing, experiencing, and hearing about physical violence as contributing to a general atmosphere of fear,” researchers wrote in their report.
“If I’m going to get killed, I might as well have something on me to defend myself,” one participant said.
But fear alone did not drive all gun possession.
The majority of youth interviewed did not have jobs in the mainstream economy but rather “hustles” or drug dealing — a main driver of gun possession both as a means of protection or a tool.
“I really feel like it all boils down to poverty,” one participant said. “I feel like if there was more opportunities to make money than the streets, other than selling drugs and stuff like that, then … people wouldn’t resort to beefing with each other, having bad attitudes, having crimes going on and resorting to gun violence.”
And while over half of respondents had been incarcerated, researchers found aggressive policing was not a significant deterrent — in part because of a very negative perception of law enforcement.
“Police were widely seen as threatening figures, and as putting young people’s lives at risk by reacting slowly or not at all to threats to their safety. In fact, 35 [percent] of participants cited fear of police as a reason they carried guns,” researchers wrote.
“I’d rather go back to jail than somebody taking my life,” one participant said. Researchers said they heard similar sentiments from many.
Crown Heights was one of four cities included in the study, along with Wilmington, Delaware, Philadelphia and Detroit.
Two authors of the study, Basaime Spate and Javonte Alexander, are Crown Heights natives who themselves have experienced gun violence, Gothamist reported. In Crown Heights, they were able to create an environment for the participants to share despite some early hesitation.
“With a shoestring budget, our team renovated the backyard, turning it into an oasis of protection for participants, where they could come to escape the pressures of the block and eat, listen to music, and relax,” researchers wrote.
And reducing gun violence amongst Brooklyn youth will be most effective through community partnerships, researchers proposed.
“Programs must identify and build trust with key community members around gun-carrying and -use, which frequently means respected, trusted decision-makers within local gangs, crews, and street networks,” researchers wrote.
Other successful intervention methods would include social services, job programs for young people with criminal records and more research that focuses direct engagement.
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