UAB criminal justice professor weighs in on how to curb violent crime

RELEASED. AS WE APPROACH THE END OF 2024, THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM ON PACE TO SEE A RECORD NUMBER OF HOMICIDES. SO WHY HAS THIS YEAR BEEN SO DEADLY? AND HOW CAN WE CHANGE THE SITUATION? WVTM 13 LISA CRANE IS JOINING US LIVE AND LOCAL IN BIRMINGHAM WITH SOME POSSIBLE ANSWERS. LISA. YEAH, I SPOKE WITH A CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR AT UAB TODAY ABOUT THE STATUS OF CRIME IN THE MAGIC CITY, AND HE TOLD ME THAT BIRMINGHAM IS EXPERIENCING MUCH OF THE SAME INCREASE IN VIOLENCE AS MANY OTHER CITIES OF OUR SAME SIZE, ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BUT HE DOES BELIEVE REAL CHANGE CAN HAPPEN HERE. FOUR PEOPLE KILLED AND 17 INJURED IN A SHOOTING IN FRONT OF HUSKE LOUNGE. FOUR PEOPLE KILLED, TEN INJURED AT AN EVENT CENTER DURING A PARTY. FOUR KILLED IN A DRIVE BY SHOOTING NEAR A CAR WASH. WITH MORE THAN 130 HOMICIDES IN BIRMINGHAM, SO FAR THIS YEAR, MANY WANT TO KNOW WHY. IT’S NOT ONE THING THERE’S 40 OR 50 FACTORS AND IF YOU’RE NOT ATTACKING IT FROM BASICALLY ALL OF THOSE ANGLES, THEN IT DOESN’T WORK THAT GREAT. DOCTOR JEFF WALKER IS A CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR AT UAB. HE SAYS TO TURN THINGS AROUND IN BIRMINGHAM, YOU FIRST MUST TRULY UNDERSTAND THE FACTORS DRIVING VIOLENT CRIME, LACK OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, SCHOOLS, NOT SCHOOLS NECESSARILY IN WHAT THEY’RE TEACHING, BUT JUST KIDS WHO ARE READY FOR SCHOOL. A LITTLE BIT OF THE SCHOOL ITSELF AND THEN HOW THAT PREPARES THEM TO MOVE ON. WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE WHY. DOCTOR WALKER SAYS THAT’S WHEN NONPROFITS AND PROGRAMS CAN START TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. BUT HE SAYS IT WILL TAKE DOZENS WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTACK ALL THE ISSUES DRIVING CRIME AGENCIES LIKE BUILD UP AND SOME OF THE OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES GETTING COUNSELING SERVICES LIKE OFFENDER ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, GROWING KINGS, THINGS LIKE THAT, PULLING ALL OF THAT TOGETHER AND AND GETTING A COORDINATED EFFORT. WALKER SAYS IT TOOK YEARS TO GET TO THE POINT WE’RE AT TODAY, AND IMPROVEMENTS WILL TAKE JUST AS LONG. THERE IS NO QUICK FIX, DOCTOR WALKER SAYS WE ALSO NEED TO REACH CHILDREN AT A VERY YOUNG AGE, POSSIBLY KINDERGARTEN OR EVEN YOUNGER THAN THAT, TO TRY TO KEEP THEM FROM BECOMING STATISTICS, HE SAYS. YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE KIDS ARE READY TO BEGIN SCHOOL. THEY HAVE TO KNOW THE BASICS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SCHOOL, WHICH IS LIKE KNOWING THEIR ALPHABET EVEN BEFORE KINDERGARTEN. THEY ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ENVISION A PRODUCTIVE FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES IF THEY CAN SEE IT, THEY C