Turning the tide on violence in Boston

OVERVIEW

According to the article, "There have been no juvenile homicides in Boston so far this year. Why are the rates declining?"

From the highest rate in 1950, there has been a dramatic decrease of Boston homicides. This has attracted the attention of the U.S. Attorney General and many others across the country. Consider these total homicide figures:

Upon publishing this article, in 1996 there were 58 homicides; none of these were juvenile homicides.

The writers of this article cite the following factors for the significant decline:

• The Boston Strike Force of the police has been given well-deserved credit. But just as there is no single cause for an epidemic of violence, there is no single factor in its reduction.
• Prothrow-Stith’s and Spivak’s Boston Program for High Risk Youth (an antiviolence program) started in 1982 and was initially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This program trained youth-serving professionals in antiviolence techniques, focusing on prevention. In 1990, this program spread to the Boston City Hospital Violence Prevention Program. This program followed up on all victims of gun and knife attacks.
• Citizens for Safety, founded in 1990, works in conjunction with police out of several neighborhood initiatives.
• The parents of a youth killed in 1993 started the Louis D. Brown Peace Curriculum (however, it is not used throughout the Boston public schools).
• Many organizations have developed violence prevention programs in schools and health centers.
• WBZ-TV’s "Stop the Violence" campaign represents the efforts of media to warn and teach alternatives to violence. "Squash It" is a national media campaign.
• Many organizations have launched their own versions of anti-violence training: The Children’s Defense Fund, Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control, and the Justice Department.

Dean Borgman cCYS