CNN: Violent crime rising in US cities, study finds

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29. Here's cause in Newark - from end of last year...

"In Newark, drug trafficking, particularly of marijuana and prescription pills, is the main cause of the uptick in gun violence, said Eugene Venable, director of the Newark Police Department. He also said the recent removal of state police, who had been stationed in the city to assist the local police, was to blame in part for the shooting increase."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/shootings-in-newark-surge-1439945824


And one thing they can do about it (similar to stories we've been posting...)...

"In parts of Newark, the code of the streets demands a violent payback for every threatening or even disrespectful gesture. This game of tit for tat helps explain why Newark, like countless other cities across the United States, has seen rising rates of gun violence.

The idea behind the Newark Violence Reduction Initiative, launched last year by Rutgers–Newark’s School of Criminal Justice with support from several private foundations, is to reconfigure the street norms behind the statistics. Using an innovative approach that has cut urban crime rates across the country, the initiative aims to reduce Newark’s gang-related shootings by 25 to 30 percent, laying the groundwork for further positive change. “Nothing happens in a city where people feel unsafe,” says Todd Clear, the school’s dean.
...
The initiative requires police and prosecutors to focus on the small number of lawbreakers responsible for most violent crimes. In Newark, that’s 1,470 people, less than 1 percent of the city’s 277,000 residents, Braga says. Data collected for the project show that, in 2009–10, this tiny fraction of Newark’s population was behind the violence in 73 crime hot spots that cover less than 9 percent of the city’s square mileage—but account for half its shootings.

To reach this group, police and prosecutors summon gang members to a neighborhood meeting and deliver a firm message: the violence must stop, or the whole group—not just the individuals involved in the latest encounter—will face intense scrutiny. “They say, ‘We’re going to crack down on everything that this group is involved in,’” Braga says.

Then community members speak, condemning violence and encouraging gang members to choose education, job training, and drug treatment. Ensuring that such social services are readily available to anyone who wants them is a key element of the initiative. "

http://www.support.rutgers.edu/s/896/Foundation/GiveStories.aspx?sid=896&gid=1&pgid=3400