RaCERS Advisory Board Members pen Op-Eds on Gun Violence, Mass Shootings

In the wake of mass Shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Tulsa, and ongoing events, RaCERS Advisory Board Members have weighed in with practical guidance to inform the policy debates surrounding access to firearms and preventive strategies. Two Advisory Board Members working on the problem and developing solutions, shared on their timely work.

Frank Straub, of the National Policing Institute’s Center for Targeted Violence Prevention co-authored an editorial entitled “Why Do We Keep Missing Potential Teen Shooters?” which appeared in The Crime Report on June 1, 2022. In that piece, Straub, with collaborators Alyse Ley and Sammie Wicks of the Center, advocate for “holistic prevention strategy” to better coordinate not just identification of at-risk school students, but to better coordinate intensive provision of services and coordination between schools, mental health, and law enforcement.

Meanwhile, Cliff Karchmer, reporting on his research as part of a US Department of Justice-sponsored research project undertaken by the Rand Corporation, authored an expansive op-ed, Preventing the Next Mass Shooting, which also appeared in the Crime Report. The piece by Karchmer also called attention to a newly-released toolkit produced as part of a study of Mass Shooting Plots.

“We are very proud of the expertise and relevance of our National Advisory Board members, who inform and support the Christain Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies’ research and advocacy efforts. Frank Straub and Cliff Karchmer have worked for years in this area, and continue to contribute invaluable insights into response to these events,” said Sally Regenhard, Executive Committee member of the Center, and mother of the Center’s namesake, Probationary FDNY Firefighter Christian Michael Otto Regenhard, who perished in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.