This is Scientific American 60 Second Science.

I'm Cynthia Graber.

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Violence is more than a criminal problem.

It's also a public health issue.

More than 6,000 people are injured annually due to violence,

mostly young people in low-income neighborhoods.

Job programs for youth done with school

if proven costly and seem to do little to reduce violence.

But summer employment for kids still in school

may be effective, according to a study by criminologist

Sarah Heller at the University of Pennsylvania.

She followed more than 1,600 young people,

many of whom took part in a Chicago program called

One Summer Plus.

It offers eight-week stints at jobs such as camp counselors, community gardeners, or government

office workers at minimum wage.

One group of kids worked 25 hours a week with an adult mentor.

Another group worked 15 hours and got 10 hours of social emotional education.

A control group got nothing.

Based on school and police records,

Heller found a 43% decrease in violent crime in the two groups that had jobs.

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