Voices from inside focused deterrence: Implications for implementation

Rigorous evidence supports that focused deterrence strategies implemented with fidelity reduce homicide and gang-involved gun violence. This study seeks to apply implementation science to improve focused deterrence implementation. Interviews with eighteen focused deterrence participants are used to unpack how a sample of gang-involved youth/young adults view and experience gangs and guns, interpret and react to the call-in meeting and message, their motives for change, and stated needs to create and sustain change. The study scrutinizes participants' experiences with specific and general deterrence. Most participants understood the focused deterrence message and felt motivated to avoid elevated penalties, albeit 23 % reoffended with a gun post-call-in and half experienced the lever-pull of incarceration. Nearly half of interviewees conveyed the focused deterrence message to gang or gun-involved peers. An important theme was the role of family in both facilitating and eschewing gang involvement. Notable recommendations for implementation include building social networks into focused deterrence to combat isolation, connecting mentors and participants at the call-in, and incorporating multi-systemic therapy and a holistic family approach. A documented history of escalating delinquency and gun violence victimization reveals the potential for hospital-based violence prevention. Lessons learned provide support for conducting participant interviews to inform focused deterrence implementation.