Report - Perspectives on Weapons-Carrying Among Ottawa Youth Ages 14-21

 

Executive Summary

"This report is the result of research undertaken in 2019 by the Research and Education Department of Muslim Family Services of Ottawa (MFSO), in partnership with Regroupement ethnoculturel des parents francophones d’Ontario (REPFO), to explore perceptions of, and motivations for, weapons carrying behaviour among youth in Ottawa ages 14-21. 

"This research was solicited by Crime Prevention Ottawa (CPO) as part of the Ottawa Street Violence and Gang Strategy. MFSO used a qualitative research methodology and gather data from six focus groups totalling 51 youth, as well as 16 individual interviews with professionals and community members who work with youth. MFSO’s findings were the result of analysis of the transcripts of these focus groups and interviews, totalling approximately 18 hours of audio recordings. 

"Our research team identified findings in four areas: factors in weapons carrying, individual and interpersonal motivations, systemic motivations, and interventions proposed by focus group and interview participants. These four areas were identified by grouping themes that emerged from our analysis of the transcript data.We identified essential factors in weapons carrying including an overarching emphasis by all participants on knives, with a secondary emphasis on the presence of guns, as well as brass knuckle, tasers, and improvised weapons (screwdrivers, metal water bottles, etc.). 

 "A variety of geographic settings were identified by participants, but mainly included public spaces where conflicts between youth might emerge, including malls, parks, and the walk home from school. No clear data on perceptions of risks and safety emerged in transcript data. An absolute consensus amongst youth participants underscored a universal and deeply held refusal amongst youth to report, or snitch, on their peers.

"Individual and interpersonal motivations identified in the transcript data were complex and varied. Important elements of these findings include an emphasis by participants on self expression, self-promotion, and the cultivation of a social media persona as key motivations for weapons carrying, over the need for self-defence. 

"Revenge and retribution were also identified as key motivators for weapons-carrying behaviours. The role of Snapchat and other social media platforms was central to all the conversations with youth. Many youth also emphasized the role of domestic violence and childhood trauma in the family home. 

Significantly, migration trauma amongst newcomer youth was identified in many conversations, in addition to the persistent presence of racism, especially anti-black racism in the school, policing, and criminal justice systems. 

"Several systemic factors clearly emerged across focus group and interview participants. Significantly, migration trauma amongst newcomer youth was identified in many conversations, in addition to the persistent presence of racism, especially anti-black racism in the school, policing, and criminal justice systems. 

"Both these factors were identified as contributing to the alienation and isolation that often lead youth to weapons-carrying and other illegal activities. Poverty was also an overarching contributing factor identified by participants. A rich array of suggested interventions was brought forward by research participants, including suggestions for peer mentorship, community policing, social services, educators, and ethnic and religious communities. 

The recommendations and conclusions of the researchers were entirely drawn from the contributions of research participants and include recommendations for existing services, followed by recommendations for new resources, and concluding with recommendations for future research: 

1. New partnerships, new resources: To significantly scale up public investment in the resources available for social and community servicesand strategic partnerships that support youth and families;
2. Engaging parents and families: To ensure that all existing youth services also seek to engage parents and families;
3. Augmenting peer to peer mentorship: To expand programs that provide training and support for youth to mentor one another;
4. Increasing investments in youth entrepreneurship opportunities: To offer increased entrepreneurship opportunities for youth to counteract pull of the illegal drug trade;
5. Community police engagement: To continue to take a communitypolicing approach that repairs mistrust between youth and police;
6. Increased culturally-responsive and trauma-informed supports for youth:To significantly increase counselling and mentorship services available in multiple languages, that take into account migration trauma and racialtrauma as factors;
7. Engage youth and youth mentors in conversations about values: To engage youth in critical and reciprocal conversations on issues that matter to them;
8. New initiatives to address anti-Black racism at all levels: To urgently address anti-Black racism, including instituting mandatory anti-racism trainings and new increases in hiring Black professionals;
9. Engaging places of worship and ethnocultural associations: To increase capacity and offer training to cultural and faith community leaders and to build closer partnerships;
10. Further study on how knives are acquired and used by youth;
11. Ottawa-specific studies on the cumulative effects of racial trauma on the lives of Black and other racialized youth in Ottawa;
12. Further Study on the role of Snapchat and other social media in weapons-carrying behaviour;
13. Youth-guided research: To encourage youth to propose areas of research and to engage youth ages 16 to 21 to guide and lead research projects."

The full report is available online at Perspectives on Weapons-Carrying Among Ottawa Youth Ages 14-21.