The highest rates of youth (10-24) homicides are found in Monterey and Alameda Counties, according to a study by the Violence Policy Center (VPC), reports Tia Ghose of California Watch.
"Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2010 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24", authored by Marty Langley, a policy analyst, and Josh Sugarmann, at left, director of VPC, analyzed 2010 data from 35 counties that have at least 25,000 young people in that age group.
While the overall homicide rate in California has dropped slightly since 2009 (8.48 from 10.48 per 100,000), Monterey County ranked first as the county with the highest homicide rate (24.36 per 100,000), nearly three times the statewide rate, followed by Alameda (18.41 per 100,000), San Joaquin (18.36 per 100,000), Tulare (18.06 per 100,000), and Merced (13.44 per 100,000).
Of the 680 homicide victims in 2010, 603 were male (89 %); 362 were Hispanic (53%) 234 were black (34%); 50 were white (7 %); 24 were Asian (4 %); and nine were “other” (1 %).
From the study:
Overall, black victims were killed at a rate (45.17 per 100,000) more than 22 times higher than white victims (1.98 per 100,000). Hispanic victims were killed at a rate (10.24 per 100,000) more than five times higher than white victims (1.98 per 100,000). Asian victims were killed at roughly one and a half times the rate of white victims (3.00 per 100,000 compared to 1.98 per 100,000).
Hispanic youth are also at higher risk: Hispanic youth and young adults comprise 44 % of California’s population between the ages of 10 and 24, but they account for 53 % of the homicide victims in the same age group.
Monterey County's number one spot is associated with high levels of violence and gang activity in the county seat, Salinas.
"Our neighborhoods – especially on the east side – have experienced so much death and violence over the last 20 to 30 years that a lot of these people have started to display symptoms of PTSD," said Brian Contreras, who co-founded the Second Chance youth program that works to prevent gang violence in Monterey County. "Our kids don't want to go out at night."
Despite the high rate, there are signs that youth violence might be decreasing.
...Salinas had less than half the number of shootings in 2011 that it did in 2010. Contreras credits coordinated efforts by violence prevention organizations, community groups and law enforcement.
Efforts to teach neighborhood residents the warning signs of violence, as well as programs to help the community heal, have had an impact, he said. Police initiated a cease-fire program for high-risk gang members and also stepped up arrests of key gang members, he said. Plans for a new soccer complex and upgrades to the overcrowded, aging library also might help reduce youth violence, Contreras said.
The study was funded by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation.
The VPC is a national non-profit educational organization that conducts research and public education on violence in America. This is the second consecutive year of the homicide study.
Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.
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