Data are really useful in making decisions about where to focus your efforts. Use data to confirm that the youth violence problem you think you have is actually the problem. Collect data from the wider community to see if people agree about the problem. Use the data to confirm where the problems are.
Data also are useful for tracking your efforts after you’ve begun implementing a prevention strategy. For each strategy you select in Our Strategies, you will be able to see what kinds of data you will want to track to understand whether your efforts are leading to the intended outcomes.