Solano ranks 6th in California

By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

Solano County has been ranked sixth among California counties in youth and young adult homicides, said Marty Langley, policy analyst for the the Violence Policy Center, Washington, D.C.

San Joaquin County topped the list that is based on 2011 statistics, and several counties reported no homicides among those 10 to 24, the age range that is the focus of the center’s report.

The center, which produced the report “Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2011,” analyzed California Department of Justice Supplementary Homicide Report data. The analysis was underwritten by the California Wellness Foundation, Langley said.

The ranking was based on the number of deaths per 100,000 in the designated age group.

After San Joaquin, with 35 homicides in the population, came San Francisco County, with 21 homicides, or 18.04 per 100,000 in that age group; Monterey County, 16 homicides, or 16.96 per 100,000; Alameda County, 50 deaths, or 16.82 per 100,000; Contra Costa County, 31 homicides, or 14.74 per 100,000; and Solano County, with 12 homicides, or 13.71 in 100,000.

Rounding out the top 10 counties were Tulare County, 13.43; Stanislaus County, 9.92; Los Angeles County, 9.55; and Santa Cruz County, 9.40 per 100,000 in the age group.

California’s statewide average is 7.87 per 100,000 people 10 to 24.

“This is a startling statistic,” Linda Seifert, Solano County Board of Supervisors chairperson and District 2 Supervisor, representing Benicia, said Wednesday after the report was released.

“We want to work to change this,” she said.

Solano County was ranked 10th in the state in 2009, with 11 youth homicides and a rate of 12.59 per 100,000. It dropped to 12th in 2010, with nine homicides and a rate of 10.24 per 100,000, but rose to sixth in 2011.

Two new programs may help reduce the statistic in the future, Seifert said.

One is the planned April opening of the Family Justice Center, which Seifert described as “one-stop shopping” for victims of violence.

She said the center would address “situations of family violence.”

The county also is increasing its outreach through its Centers for Positive Change, and programs that are intended to reduce recidivism, Seifert said.

“We have a sheriff’s office that is conscientious about the issues,” she said.

Seifert said some of the statistics are for crimes taking place in Solano County’s cities, though the report didn’t provide city-by-city information.

However, law enforcement agencies in municipalities also are “doing everything to address the issues,” she said.

Municipalities and the county are increasing gun buy-back programs, Seifert said, and she expected officials in both cities and the county would be talking about increasing public safety and other methods of reducing violence toward young people.

“Everyone is concerned,” she said. “It’s unfortunate we’re so high on the list.”

Solano County lost 12 of its youth and young adults to homicide in 2011, the study indicated, and all were boys or young men; 11 were killed by guns. The 12th was killed by a knife or other cutting instrument, the report said.

Three of every five were killed by someone they knew, the analysis determined. One was murdered by a stranger, and of those homicides in which a relationship between victim and offender could be identified, 20 percent were associated with gangs.

The report said 60 percent were not related to the commission of any other felony; two homicides involved arguments between the victim and offender; and one was a drive-by shooting.

About a third occurred on a street, sidewalk or parking lot, and 9 percent occurred in the home of the victim or offender. Another 18 percent happened at another home, and 27 percent occurred in a vehicle.

The 2011 numbers were the most recent available, Langley said. It’s the third year in a row the center has looked at those statistics, though this year is the first the center added an examination of programs that may deter violence against young people.

Homicides were the second-highest cause of death for the focus age group, behind unintended injuries, the report said.

Firearms, particularly handguns, were the weapons most used in those homicides.

Statewide, the homicide rate for those 10 to 24 has dropped, from 10.48 per 100,000 in 2009 to 8.48 per 100,000 in 2010 and again to 7.87 per 100,000 in 2011.

California’s young African Americans are more than 18 times more likely to be murdered than young whites, the analysis determined, and young Hispanics are more than four times more likely to be murdered than young whites.

Of the victims throughout the state, 91 percent were male. Fifty-five percent were Hispanic, 32 percent were black, 8 percent were white, 5 percent were Asian, and fewer than 1 percent were described as having other racial designations.

The study indicated community-based programs, rather than incarceration, appeared to be more effective in stemming youth violence and gang activities. It cited Oakland’s Youth Alive!, Salinas’s Second Chance Family and Youth Services, and the Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program in Los Angeles as three programs that are effective in reducing homicides and violence among younger residents.

“Homicide rates for youth and young adults across California have shown a steady decline. Yet homicide, and gun homicide in particular, continues to exact an unacceptable toll on California youth,” said Josh Sugarmann, the center’s executive director and one of the study’s authors.

“Effective violence-prevention strategies in California that stress tailored, localized approaches that engage local leaders and community stakeholders are leading the way in reducing this lethal toll.

“The strategies that are working to reduce youth violence in California can and should serve as a model for other states and the nation,” Sugarmann said.

The report is available online at www.vpc.org/studies/cayouth2013.pdf.