Worcester Safety Group Demands Answers for Spike in Violent Crimes
Saturday, September 06, 2014
Because this is an issue that is primarily affecting the youth of Worcester, Bill Breault, Chair of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, says that the city needs to get to the bottom of the issue before lives are taken.
“This is an issue that keeps coming up,” said Breault. “We are very concerned about our youth in the community; a lot of these violent crimes have involved local adolescents. I feel like there is a shooting or stabbing every other week in this neighborhood; we need to get to the bottom of this.”
The city of Worcester has seen a total of 59 violent crimes – shootings, stabbings, and fights with deadly weapons – in a four month period from May to August, with 21 crimes occurring in June alone. In the vast majority of these crimes, either the perpetrator or the victim was an adolescent.
Helping Worcester’s Youth
Laurie Ross, an Action Research Partner for Worcester Youth Violence Prevention, is one of the many individuals working to get to the bottom of youth violence in the city by researching and analyzing local data to create a strategic plan for Worcester.
While still working on data analysis for the strategic plan, Ross says that some of the best methods for curbing youth violence is to target children at young ages, to ensure that violent behavior is caught and stopped before it becomes problematic.
Policing Efforts
While the police have been commended for their efforts in trying to stop a lot of these crimes, Breault would like to see more action taken, both by residents in Worcester and by the police.
Because crime is an issue that affects everyone, Breault says that that a continued discussion and effort on community members needs to be made in order to help curb these violent occurrences.
“I would certainly like to hear that more police will be in the area again,” said Breault. “It seems like every time a shooting or a stabbing happens, the kids that are getting hurt are younger and younger. This is an issue that continually has to be talked about and enforced, not just in spurts when the crime happens.”
Related Slideshow: Worcester Crime Trends and Lack of Police Transparency
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