Data and Research
As part of its efforts to implement recommendations from the Governor's Special Council on Gun Violence, PCCD has identified the following data and research objectives:
Develop a research agenda for gun violence in the Commonwealth that can be used by state agencies and institutions of higher education to answer key questions and address current gaps.
Coordinate with sister agencies and other partners to access and analyze relevant datasets that can increase understanding of gun violence and inform action at the state level.
Create reports and fact sheets focused on data and research priorities for publication on PCCD's website and dissemination among key stakeholders.
Make data and findings transparent and accessible by posting datasets for download on PCCD's publicly available website (where possible).
More information about PCCD's gun violence data and research priorities is available in the agency's Gun Violence Research Agenda. You can learn more about PCCD's Office of Research, Evaluation & Strategic Policy Development by clicking here.
(New!) Gun
Violence Investigation and Prosecution Program Dashboard
Act 54 of 2022 established the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution Program (GVIP) within PCCD.
Per Act 54, funding awarded to District Attorneys, local law enforcement agencies, campus or university police, railroad or street railway police, airport authority police, and county park police could be used for the following purposes:
- To improve and enhance coordination of Federal, State and local law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of violations of 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 and crimes of violence involving firearms.
- To support personnel costs, including salaries and overtime, relating to investigations and prosecutions of violations of 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 and crimes of violence involving firearms, with priority given to applications focusing on straw purchasers and firearms trafficking.
- To purchase technology systems, including related hardware and software, to improve investigations and prosecutions or increase clearance rates, including the purchase of gunshot detection technology and other technologies that support firearm violence reduction initiatives.
- Initiatives that support the tracing of firearms used to commit crimes or delinquent acts and the identification of illegal firearms traffickers.
- Any other efforts that aid in the investigation, arrest and prosecution of a crime involving firearms.
On December 14, 2022 PCCD approved funding for 29 applicants to support law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting gun violence as described above. The dashboard includes criminal cases filed annually that had one or more Violation of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA) offenses charged, the percentage of all criminal cases filed that included one or more VUFA offense and criminal cases that had a violent offense charged along with a VUFA offense. Click the following links to find a listing of VUFA offenses and/or find a listing of violent offenses.
You may view the data by court system (magisterial district courts, courts of common pleas or Philadelphia Municipal Court) and segment by county or year. In addition, by using the “Recipient Agencies” drop down, you may segment the data by the specific agencies that were awarded GVIP funding. The “Recipient Agency” data is limited to law enforcement agencies that received funding under the GVIP grant program either directly, or as part of a larger regional grant application.
(New!) VIP Grants Evaluation Initiative
On January 17, 2023, PCCD announced the availability of up to $3 million in VIP funding to support a new VIP Grants Evaluation Initiative. The goal of this program is to support a comprehensive evaluation and research initiative to determine early outcomes and short-term impacts of PCCD's investments in community violence prevention and intervention programs through the VIP Grant Program.
On May 31, 2023, the School Safety and Security Committee approved an award to the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center (NORC), in partnership with Temple University, to examine the effectiveness of programs funded through PCCD to prevent and reduce gun violence including the VIP Grant Program and Coordinated Community Violence Intervention (CCVI) Strategies Pilot Sites.
To stay up-to-date on the latest evaluation under this project, visit the NORC website: "Evaluating Pennsylvania’s community efforts to intervene and prevent violence across the state."
Reports & Publications