Gun Violence is an issue in most cities across America. There are compounding factors that come into play that lead to the interaction between the shooter and the victim. Factors like disenfranchisement and poverty are some of the motivations that lead to this crime. Dr. Joseph Richardson is a professor of African American Studies in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. He has explored this topic on different investigations and is a part of crime intervention programs in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Richardson is an expert who shares why gun violence rises in the summer, the root cause of it, and why we need the data to create working strategies to save more lives.
“Science is critical in translating information into prevention and intervention strategies. We need data in order to create strategies that save more lives. Suppose we consider gun violence to be a disease. We need to take the same approach the science who created the vaccines for polio took to reduce the level of homicides and non-fatal shootings,” said Dr. Richardson.
Gun violence in most cities in America has been trending downward, according to the latest research from Dr. Richardson. Washington D.C., Dallas, TX, and Memphis, TN, are among the cities that have seen fewer homicides in 2024. Atlanta, GA, currently is at 78 homicides this year, according to the cobra report by The Atlanta Police Department. The most significant variable in this equation is the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Richardson explains that gun violence was at a 30-year high during the pandemic. The numbers recorded during this period rivaled what the early 1990s produced. Now, homicide numbers are dwindling back to the levels they were before the pandemic…