Papachristos on NPR: A Small Network of Population at High Risk of Homicide

An NPR episode on October 9, “Research May Give Potential Homicide Victims A Heads Up” featured ISPS affiiliate sociologist Andrew Papachristos’ research in high crime Chicago neighborhoods and the concentration of homocide in specific social networks. He likens homicide to infectious disease and treating it as a public health issue.

“Gun violence is much more like a blood-borne pathogen,” Papachristos says. “It tends to be very specific behaviors - risky behaviors - that put you in these networks. And in some ways, it becomes much more like the spread of diseases through needle sharing or unprotected sex, rather than catching a bullet from somebody sneezing.”

More on the story here.

Area of study 
Criminal Justice