A recent report in Virginia details the outsized impact that gun violence has on communities and provides recommendations of how to improve related programs and policies in the state. The findings can be of use to other states, at a time when the US has over 400 million firearms in circulation “with 11.6 to 23.4 million new firearms added each year over the last decade,” according to the paper.

“Effects of Community Gun Violence in Virginia”, released by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission (JLARC) in mid-December, was requested by the Virginia General Assembly in 2024. In a state ranking of violent firearm offenses, Virginia’s is the 23^rd highest – so not dramatically high compared to elsewhere in the U.S. Yet within its borders, a handful of communities stand out as having greater firearm problems, with nine localities accounting for “over half of all gun-related homicides in the state.”

Legislative interest was also likely sparked by the increase in criminal offense that involve firearms in the state, which jumped from 11 percent in 2009 to 15 percent in 2023, although rates have now begun to fall. 

A major theme of JLARC’s research is that “Community violence not only affects victims and their families but the overall social health of a community.” It delves into the higher medical expense of treating gun injuries, the long-recovery time, and both physical and mental affects on surviving victims. 

According to the report, young people who live in a high-incidence community have an added risk of a “spectrum of developmental challenges and clinical mental health disorders.” School success is also affected, according to the report, which cites research that “links exposure to community violence to lower test scores, increased grade level repetition and decreased high school graduation rates.” 

There is also an impact on economic development. In high incident communities, business activity drops and new businesses struggle with added security needs and higher insurance rates. At the same time, studies have charted the effect of high levels of gun violence on declining residential and commercial real estate values.

While evidence-based programs are in place in the nine communities that are cited in the report, several barriers impede their effectiveness. While the communities all have “intensive mentorship-based prevention programs, and some have “violence interruption programs,” funding and technical assistance from the state “is not distributed in accordance with need.”

For example, while Safer Communities funding is available in the state, JLARC has found that local governments describe restrictive disbursement and spending rules that make it difficult to plan and implement programs.

The report’s recommendations include the following: 

• Amending the Appropriations Act to create a biennially reverting special fund administered by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) in place of direct appropriations to localities, with the purpose of providing more time for local governments to use the funding for more effective planning and program implementation. 

• Amending the Appropriations Act so DCJS can “periodically evaluate if changes are needed to the distribution of Safer Communities funding among Virginia localities.” 

• Amending the Act to have DCJS evaluate changes needed either in funding or program qualifications for the Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund or the Operation Ceasefire Grant Fund.

• Facilitating greater communication among the nine communities with higher incidence of gun violence by having DCJS “expand its community of practice meetings to include regular meetings of representatives from Virginia’s nine higher gun violence localities.”

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