Lack of funding threatens Baltimore's 'Safe Streets'

Thursday Mar 17th, 2016

A majority of our community's collective attention, especially during this election season, is focused on preventing violence and promoting public safety in Baltimore. Our current conversations often fail to recognize that there are many drivers of violence, and preventing it from happening in the first place requires a fully-realized, multi-pronged strategy. While criminal justice and police action are essential tools, they often occur after a violent event has already taken place.

Treating violence as a public health issue and not solely a law enforcement matter is essential if we are to reduce and prevent violence. Just like an infectious disease, violence clusters and spreads geographically. And just as we would work to prevent and contain an infectious disease, we can and should use public health methodologies to stop violence in its tracks.

Read more at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-safe-streets-2016031...

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