of people with particular connections.
No, our new focus isn’t on neighborhoods like Alton Park or East
Chattanooga but instead on “hot” places” and “hot” people. In an article
entitled, “The Story Behind the Nation’s Falling Body Count,” Kennedy
writes, “Research on hot spots shows violence to be concentrated in
‘micro’ places, rather than ‘dangerous neighborhoods,’ as the popular
idea goes. Blocks, corners, and buildings representing just five or six
percent of an entire city will drive half of its serious crime.”
The same is true about people. “We now know that homicide and gun
violence are overwhelmingly concentrated among serious offenders
operating in groups: gangs, drug crews, and the like representing under
half of one percent of a city's population who commit half to
three-quarters of all murders.”
...
Kennedy writes, “We also know some reliable predictors of risk:
individuals who have a history of violence or a close connection with
prior victims are far more likely to be involved in violence themselves.
Hot groups and people are so hot that when their offending is
statistically abstracted, their neighborhoods cease to be dangerous.
Their communities aren't dangerous; (these criminals) are.”
What've we been saying for years? 'Stop worrying about objects and worry about the people who commit the crimes.' Which seems to cover it nicely. Will the hoplophobes and bigots listen? Mostly no.
I have to note that his praise for McCarthy in Chicago is troublesome; Second City Cop has some good illustrations as to why.
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