Report shows level of gang-related murders in Newark amongst highest in nation

Gang-related murders in Newark are on the rise.

Riddled largely by the drug trade, gang violence in Newark is relatively close to cities like Los Angeles and Oakland, according to a report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stats

Taking data from 2003 to 2008, the report looked at large cities and found the highest level in Los Angeles, Oakland and Long Beach, Calif., Oklahoma City and Newark.

By comparing gang-related killings to non-gang slayings, the report showed retaliation to ongoing violence and internal set disputes, rather than drugs, drove violence in four of those five cities. Newark was the outlier.

Gang-related murders and crime

The largest city in New Jersey recorded a higher proportion of drug involvement in gang-related murders.

In other major cities, the report showed drugs played a minor role in homicides. Narcotics were linked to fewer than 5 percent of all slayings in Los Angeles and Long Beach. In Oakland, 12.5 percent of gang homicides involved drugs, compared with 16.5 percent of non-gang homicides, and 25.4 percent of Oklahoma City’s gang homicides were connected to narcotics, compared with 22.8 percent of non-gang homicides.

On the national stage, the finding that drugs played less of a role than previously thought by the public could be important for policy makers because it may shift the focus in how society attempts to prevent gang deaths.

“Violence — including gang homicides — is a significant public health problem,” Linda C. Degutis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said in a statement. “Investing in early prevention pays off in the long run. It helps youth learn how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence and keeps them connected to their families, schools and communities, and from joining gangs in the first place.”

What do you think has to be done to curb the murders in Newark?