Juvenile homicides have reached another sad milestone in Baltimore City, with 20 people under age 18 falling victim to the city?s tide of violence in the first nine months of 2006.
The shooting death of a 16-year-old boy on Oct. 3 on the 1700 Block of North Castle Street after an argument was the latest casualty added to what city leaders are calling a tragic toll.
“We have to break this cycle. It?s a continuing citywide tragedy, the loss of young life,” City Council Member Kenneth Harris said, responding to the news.
In 2005, 13 juveniles were victims of homicides. With three months remaining in 2006, the city juvenile homicide rate is up nearly 54 percent over last year.
State Del. Jill Carter said more work needs to be done with city youths to prevent homicides.
“We are not getting to the root cause of the problem,” she said. “There needs to be more work in the community to reach young people.”
Of the 20 victims this year, 15 were male, five female; three were under age 4. All but one of the victims were black.
Nonfatal shootings also are up, with 62 so far this year versus 55 for all of 2005.
Baltimore City Police Spokesman Matt Jablow said the department is addressing the problem.
“The increase in juvenile crime is always a concern. We have a lot of programs aimed at decreasing juvenile violence,” he said, citing the city?s truancy enforcement program, which enforces curfews, as wellas a police partnership with Big Brothers and Big Sisters mentoring programs.
Harris, D-District 4, said the city needs to spend more money on recreation centers, which kept him safe growing up in Park Heights.
“That?s what kept me off the streets,” he said. “We need to focus on giving our young people an alternative.”
