“There’s a difference between being a snitch and a citizen,” said Marlon Shackelford, president of Black Brothers & Sisters Involvement. “I am a citizen, I have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I have the right to protect my community.”
The Dayton Unit of the NAACP held a town hall this week focused on gun violence as a public health crisis.
During a moderated discussion, five panelists talked about what they see as the big causes and challenges related to gun crime and violence.
Dayton has seen a 19% increase in gun crime this year, with the number of incidents increasing to 221, according to Dayton police data.
Dayton police Chief Kamran Afzal, one of the panelists, said it’s very sad that right now there is a newborn baby in the hospital with serious injuries but no one has been willing to share information with detectives about what transpired.
He said it’s hard to believe that some community members will not help police identify suspects in brutal crimes and they won’t help solve violent crimes that devastate victims and their families.
Hiring hundreds of new police officers won’t solve violent crime and make a difference in Dayton if the city’s 136,000 residents are not willing to come forward and share what they know with law enforcement when crimes occur, he said.
Afzal said the “community itself” is the real answer to gun violence.
“When we decide as a collective that it’s not going to happen on my street, it’s not going to happen in my family, then it’s going to be over just like that,” the chief said. “But we are not there yet.”
Some people won’t talk to police after a crime. Others won’t even notify law enforcement when crimes occur.
Between 2017 and 2019, only about 51% of violent crimes in Ohio were reported to police, according to survey data released this year from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Commonly, victims fail to report violent crimes because they are afraid of retaliation or getting the offender in trouble, the bureau’s survey data indicate.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Crimes perpetrated by someone the victim knows well like neighbors, coworkers or casual acquaintances are more likely to go unreported than crimes committed by strangers.
Most violent crime is between parties who know each other, Afzal said, adding, “It doesn’t mean they’re friends — but they have some connection.”
Research from the Bureau of Justice Statistics suggests that strangers are only responsible for about 38% of nonfatal violent incidents.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Gun violence often stems from people not knowing how to deal with anger in appropriate ways, panelists said.
Too many people, especially the youth, turn to guns when they feel disrespected, said Julius Beckham, a psychologist and an assistant director of special services with a local school district who was on the panel.
Panelists also said other factors that contribute to gun violence include poverty, lax gun laws and easy access to firearms.
Alberta Taylor, a member of the audience, said it is far too easy for kids to get guns.
David Fox, chair of criminal justice for the Dayton Unit NAACP, said the good news is that Dayton is a “manageable” size and the community can reduce violence by taking back the streets.
He said the community would benefit from taking a spiritual approach to combating violent crime, possibly through events like prayer vigils.
Derrick Foward, president of the Dayton NAACP, said gun violence and Black-on-Black crime is senseless and unacceptable.
“I get fired up when I talk about, especially, us killing us,” he said.
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