The Violence Policy Center has released a new report on the homicides of youth in California with data from 2000-2010. Sadly Alameda County ranked #2 in their 2010 data for ths rates of youth homicide.
In 2010 there were 55 youth aged between 10 and 24 killed in Alameda County, 96% were male and 67% were black.
The report suggests that:
Finally, this year’s county-by-county rankings also point to the continuing urgent need for tailored, localized approaches to reducing youth homicide that integrate prevention and intervention while
engaging local leaders and community stakeholders. At the same time, state and regional policies
should incorporate elements necessary to help ensure effective community practices.
Full report here as a PDF.
It's almost the end of 2011 and perhaps a strange time to release a report on an issue so immediate and dire as homicides in our city for the past year, but due to data flow and multiple priorities for our team we're only just getting to our update of this valuable report. This report presents the available data on homicides occurring in Oakland in 2010 and is made possible through the detailed data maintained by OPD's Homicide Branch. Urban Strategies Council has been producing these reports for several years and we'll be updating this new site with our historical reports very soon too. A few key highlights are included in this article, download the PDF for the entire report.
City Wide: Homicides Declined on a Yearly Basis from 2006 to 2010, Yet Remained High
In Oakland in 2010, 90 people lost their lives to violence, while in the 5 year period between 2006 and 2010, our community lost 594 people. Despite these staggering statistics, the numbers killed have been declining on a yearly basis during this period.
Count of Homicides Per Year
The Urban Strategies Council partnered with community members at Youth Uprising this summer to assess the quality of parks in the Building Healthy Communities boundary in East Oakland. Council staff trained the youth to conduct surveys in the field and enter the information into an electronic database used for mapping and analysis. They captured metrics for playground equipment, sports and recreation facilities, restrooms, irrigation, litter, and more. The survey results were translated into a composite score for the overall quality of each park.
The park survey, along with food store and parcel surveys conducted by the youth, highlights the need for better living conditions in East Oakland, particularly surrounding access to healthy, affordable food, green and recreational space, and safe, vibrant streets.
Full report available here.
This summer Urban Strategies Council worked with a team of students at Youth UpRising to carry out a detialed neighborhood conditions survey. This survey covered 1033 parcels in census tract 4097 in East Oakland and involved and assessment of the condition and type of each building in the neighborhood. Form this survey, a simple summary report was produced along with detailed maps of each variable surveyed. The students used handheld GPS/GIS devices to collect this information which was then collected and loaded into a geodatabase managed by the Council.
Funded by:
