Op-ed | To address gun violence, invest in our youth

Gun violence and homicides are down year to date, according to the NYPD. File photo of crime scene after a woman was shot inside a Brooklyn parking lot on Feb 18, 2023.

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

At the peak of summer, rising temperatures are often accompanied by a tragic increase in deadly gun violence. Thankfully in New York City, and Manhattan, shootings and homicides continue to decrease.

As of July 30, homicides in Manhattan have decreased 8% year to date, while shootings are down even further at 18%. This is on top of a 15% reduction in homicides and 20% reduction in shootings across the borough in 2022.

This represents important and steady progress, but we have more work to do. That is why my Office announced this week a $200,000 investment in critical youth gun violence prevention programs. Through this initiative, ten community-based organizations will receive $20,000 each to identify youth aged 14-26 who are at high risk of committing or falling victim to gun violence. Organizations will pay these young people to engage in meaningful programming that makes them and their communities safer.

Traditionally, district attorneys combat gun violence through prosecution, and my office does that every day. In fact, since I took Office in 2022, we have increased our gun prosecutions by 20% and are targeting the small number of people responsible for most of the gun violence. We’ve cracked down on ghost gun manufacturers and secured numerous indictments and convictions for serious acts of gun violence, including robberies, shootings, and murders.  

Prosecution is one important tool in our toolkit, but prosecution alone won’t keep our communities safe from gun violence. We must also address the underlying issues that push our youth toward guns. That starts with meeting them where they are. 

Youth who are at risk of gun violence are often exposed to violence at a very young age. The trauma of those experiences, and the reality of living in…