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Gun ViolenceChicago gun violence costs $2.5 billion a year: Report By Robert Mitchum The social costs of gun violence in Chicago total about $2.5 billion each year, according to a report released Tuesday by an academic group formed to research effective ways to reduce violent crime. “Gun Violence among School-Age Youth in Chicago,” the first report from the University of Chicago Crime Lab, used interviews, focus groups, police data and social research to characterize factors underlying Chicago’s escalating murder rate. Expanding upon previous research that every crime-related gunshot wound causes around $1 million in social costs, the report’s four authors calculated the annual cost of gun violence at $2.5 billion, or $2,500 per Chicago household. The cost reflects in part the repellent effect of violence upon city populations, pushing more people into outlying communities, said Crime Lab director Jens Ludwig, a professor of social service administration, law, and public policy at the university. “Every city is trying very hard to encourage families to live in the city to support the tax base so that we can improve city services for everyone in the community,” Ludwig said. “But gun violence winds up making that much more difficult.” Other findings from the report include: Most of residents at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center suffer from at least one psychiatric disorder. –The average juvenile in custody scored lower on a vocabulary test than 95 percent of the general youth population. –More than a third of homicide victims had alcohol in their system, while only 3 percent showed traces of “hard drugs” like heroin or cocaine in their blood. –Four-fifths of Chicago homicide victims in 2008 died from gunshot wounds. While some of these risk factors for youth gun violence were previously shown by other studies, characterizing the magnitude of these factors could suggest different strategies for violence reduction, Ludwig said. “There are a bunch of things around the mental health piece and the schooling piece that I think people might not have realized and provide real targets of opportunity, above and beyond the sort of things that we’ve already been doing,” he said. The report recommends that intervention programs should seek to help children before the age of 13, the age at which Chicago and nationwide arrest rates begin to rapidly rise. It also endorses programs that offer immediate rewards for good behavior such as the cash-for-grades program implemented last year by Chicago Public Schools and swift but less severe punishment for crimes. No specific programs are outlined in the report, though the group is openly accepting proposals to reduce crime and violence. The group will then help secure funding for approved programs and evaluate their outcomes with the rigor of a medical trial. “What we want to try to do is take advantage of the fact that there are lots of people out there who really understand the problem in a deep and full way and already have developed promising ideas about what to do given their experience,” Ludwig said. Read the report at http://crimelab.uchicago.edu/ rmitchum@tribune.com Brady Campaign Urges Congress to Close the Gun Show Loophole At the 10th year anniversary this month of the Columbine massacre in Colorado, the Brady Campaign urges Congress to require Brady criminal background checks on all gun sales, including at gun shows. Congress should introduce legislation to close the gun show loophole immediately. Allowing dangerous people such as convicted felons and domestic abusers to buy guns at gun shows from unlicensed sellers without a Brady criminal background check threatens the safety of our families and communities. Our national policy should be: no background check, no gun, no excuses. The Ensign amendment would undermine federal anti-trafficking laws, repeal D.C.’s ban on dangerous military-style weapons, allow teenagers to possess semiautomatic assault rifles, and prohibit D.C. from passing laws that could “discourage” gun possession or use, even by felons, children or other dangerous persons. This amendment is reckless and irresponsible. It’s important to let our Senators know that we’re paying attention to how they vote on issues involving gun violence prevention. Please make the calls today. Thanks for all you do to keep our country safe from gun violence. Sincerely, Paul Helmke, President You must be logged in to post a comment. |
Jim Clyburn Fish Fry 2009
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