First study on gang homicides from CDC’s unique violent death reporting system
Gang homicides often occur in public and involve firearms, but are less likely to involve drugs or other crimes than generally believed by the public, according to a report released on January 26 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gang homicides frequently involve youth as victims and are often retaliatory reactions to gang conflict.
This report is the first to compare gang homicides with other types of homicides using city-level data from CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). This report analyzed 2003-2008 data from large cities in 17 states, and found five cities had the highest levels of gang homicides ? Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Long Beach, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and Newark, N.J.
“Violence – including gang homicides – is a significant public health problem,” said Linda C. Degutis, Dr.P.H., M.S.N., director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “Investing in early prevention pays off in the long run. It helps youth learn how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence and keeps them connected to their families, schools, and communities and from joining gangs in the first place.”
Key findings include:
- In Los Angeles and Long Beach, less than 5
percent of all homicides were associated with known drug trade or use.
In Oakland, 12.5 percent of gang homicides compared to 16.5 percent of
nongang homicides involved drug trade / use; in Oklahoma City, 25.4
percent of gang homicides compared to 22.8 percent of nongang homicides
involved drug trade / use. Newark was the only city with a
significantly higher proportion of gang homicides (20 percent) vs.
nongang homicides (6 percent) that involved drug trade / use. - There was a significantly higher proportion of
gang homicide victims who were 15-19 years old in all cities; in
general, gang homicide victims were younger than nongang homicide
victims. - Approximately 80 percent of all homicide victims
were male in each city; however, Los Angeles, Newark, and Oklahoma City
still reported significantly higher proportions of male victims in
gang homicide incidents compared with nongang homicide incidents. - In all cities, 92–96 percent of gang homicide
incidents involved firearms, compared with firearm involvement in 57–86
percent of nongang related homicides. - Drive-by shootings were more likely to contribute
to gang homicides than other types of homicide in Los Angeles and
Oklahoma City (24 percent of gang homicides in each city were from
drive-by shootings). - In Los Angeles and Oakland, a significantly
higher proportion of gang victims were Hispanic. In Oklahoma City, a
significantly higher proportion of gang victims were non-Hispanic black
compared with nongang victims. - Less than 6 percent victims of gang and nongang homicides were bystanders.
- In Los Angeles and Long Beach, gang homicides
accounted for the majority of homicides among 15-24-year-olds (61 and
69 percent, respectively). - A significantly smaller proportion of gang than
nongang homicides were associated with other crimes in progress in Los
Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland (ranging from 0-3 percent for gang
homicides versus 9-15 percent for nongang).
Very few surveillance systems collect data with the
level of detail necessary to direct gang homicide prevention
strategies. NVDRS is a state-based surveillance system that collects
violent death data from multiple sources, such as death certificates,
coroner and medical examiner records, and various law enforcement
reports.
“This report highlights the importance of a system
like NVDRS,” said Howard Spivak, M.D., director of CDC’s Division of
Violence Prevention. “The system’s unique ability to provide a
comprehensive picture of the circumstances surrounding violent death can
help identify prevention opportunities and approaches for populations
and communities most at risk.”
Homicide is the second leading cause of death among
persons aged 15–24 years in the United States. CDC supports a number
of initiatives designed to prevent youth from joining gangs and from
becoming involved in violence. Several examples include:
- CDC and National Institute of Justice are working
together and with experts on gang membership and delinquency prevention
to summarize what families, schools, and communities can do to reduce
the risk for youth gang membership. http://nij.ncjrs.gov/multimedia/video-nijconf2011-simon.htm
- Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere, or
STRYVE, helps promote the use of evidence-based youth violence
prevention approaches www.safeyouth.org - Urban Networks Increasing Thriving Youth, or
UNITY, works with large urban centers to enhance their readiness for
violence prevention, help organize their planning, and increase their
capacity to address youth violence using a public health approach. www.preventioninstitute.org/unity. - Academic Centers of Excellence: Sites work with communities to reduce youth violence. www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/ace/index.html.
CDC works to prevent injuries and violence and their
adverse health consequences. For more information on youth violence
prevention activities and research, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/youthviolence.
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