According to gun violence data provided by Metro Louisville, homicides are very close to the numbers from 2023 and are trending upwards (as of November 1st).
Non-fatal shootings (NFS) are down according to police data for 2024.
Data from metro Louisville and the police department include reported incidents, and statistics provided by the police show us: "Preliminary Data Stats Include Criminal Pending Investigations Only". This hints that only incidents being reported and investigated are in this data. This could mean that the data on homicides isn't complete, but what we do know doesn't look good.
Well Rounded Intervention Methods Have proven to Be Effective
Cities that have Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs tend to decrease their numbers of homicides and shootings. When these programs are inconsistently or completely cut from budgets, violence tends to rise.
Why is that? Because community based organizations can fill the gaps that police departments cannot provide; addressing the daily needs that people have in order to lower the risks of violence. The risks of violence (and we'll be saying more on this in another blog post) have been heavily researched and are generally conclusive, they include food insecurity; poorly supported or lack of quality education; low to no access for mental health assistance; little to no diversion activities for youth; lack of employment opportunities, and certainly a lack of skill based education/job opportunities.
Community based programs/organizations can help provide these needs to individuals. How? We can only speak from our own experience, and it's very simple. We come from, and employ individuals that are based in the communities that face these issues the most. Meaning we are directly connected to the struggles that people face and are very passionate about helping as many youth and parents as we can. This doesn't mean that folks that come from a no-risk background are completely devoid of compassion for issues that harm the wellbeing of others, in fact in most cases it's the opposite.
Work To Be Done
As a community based organization we have a unique task of educating people on the opposite side of the spectrum (no-risk individuals) and uniting the two so that work can be done and lives can be saved. The task of healing our communities is a grand undertaking, it requires multiple organizations and efforts, and it's something the police department alone cannot do, especially considering the nature of how it's structured. It requires resources to be accessible, relationships to be cultivated and maintained, and for prevention methods to be emphasized.
There will all ways be a 'risk of violence' if we choose to ignore the lives of people standing next to us (causing the need for intervention), while blaming and punishing others who do 'bad'— stirring the pot of hurt and resentment.
We can all do better. Let's work together to improve lives.
Peace and stay safe!
Doree
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