The meaning of violent crime numbers

Ted Decker of the Columbus Dispatch writes about the historical context of the recent spike in violent crime in Columbus.  The story includes quotes from two criminologists –Dr. Al Blumstein and Dr. Deanna Wilkinson.  The story points out that reports about crime trends are necessarily that meaningful or helpful.  It doesn’t point out that gun violence has consistently been the leading cause of death for African Americans aged 15-34 years old for 32 years consecutively.  We should not wait for a major spike to pay attention to this problem. There are solutions. There are evidence-based practices that can prevent much of these violent events.

The story can be found:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/08/15/spike-in-crimes-not-indicative-of-trends.html?sid=101

Preventing Youth Violence on NPR

NPR All Sides with Ann Fisher, July 20, 2010,  11:00 AM – Preventing Youth Violence
Trauma and violence in the lives of young black men, and preventing youth violence through street intervention and community involvement, with Drexel University School of Public Health Department of Health Policy Chair Dr. John Rich, M.D., Ohio State University Human Development Professor Deanna Wilkinson, and CeaseFire Illinois Director Tio Hardiman. http://www.wosu.org/allsides/?archive=1&date=07/20/2010