Contra Costa 6th in State in Youth Homicides

Contra Costa County's homicide rate for youth aged 10-24 ranked sixth in 2010 among the 31 California counties with populations of at least 25,000 in that age group, according to a study released earlier this month.

The county's rate of youth killings in drive-by shootings, 67 percent of the total homicides for ages 10-24, far out-stripped the state average of 9 percent, according the report from the non-profit Violence Policy Center.

The county's 27 youth homicides that year represented a rate of 12.94 per 100,000 people, the study found. Contra Costa ranked fourth in 2009, the first year for which the rankings were done. (The report is attached to this article.)

The deadliest county for youth homicides was Monterey, for the second year in row, with a rate of 24.36 in 2010. Alameda County was second, as it was in 2009, with a rate of 18.41 for 2010.

Homicide patterns in Contra Costa in 2010 both matched and contrasted with those of the state as a whole. Ninety-three percent of the victms were male in the county, compared with 89 percent statewide.

For Contra Costa homicides in which the race of the victim was identified, 70  percent were black (compared to 34 percent statewide) and 22 percent were Hispanic (compared to 53 percent statewide). One Contra Costa victim was white. Statewide, 7 percent were white, 4 percent Asian and less than 1 percent American Indian/Alaska Native.

The vast majority of victims were killed by guns: 96 percent in Contra Costa and 87 percent statewide. In the killings where the circumstances were known, 67 percent of the homicides in the county were drive-by shootings, compared to 9 percent in the state as a whole.

In California, homicides rank as the second leading cause of death in that age group, behind only unintentional injuries, mainly those caused in motor vehicle accidents. For young blacks, homicide is the leading cause of death.

Beyond the loss of life and financial cost, the killings exact a heavy toll in emotional trauma among survivors and young witnesses, the study said.

"Often left unstated is the fact that the effects of violence extend far beyond the flesh and blood toll measured in homicides and non-fatal injuries," according to the report. "An additional heavy price is exacted on family members and entire communities: the psychological stress of living with such violence that can often last a lifetime."

"Decades of research confirm that children and adolescents who witness shootings are susceptible to prolonged trauma," it said.

The Violence Policy Center is a gun-control advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. The study, "Lost Youth: A County-by-County Analysis of 2010 California Homicide Victims Ages 10 to 24," was funded by The California Wellness Foundation, a 20-year-old foundation that provides grants for California health and wellness promotion and education, as well as disease prevention.

The 31 California counties ranked in the study account for 99 percent of homicide victims aged 10-24 in the state, the study said.

The report also cited federal Centers for Disease Control data from 2008 showing California ranking 9th in the nation in youth homicides, with a rate of 10.54 per 100,000, compared to number one Louisiana with a rate of 19.89, number two Maryland with 17.46 and number three Mississippi with 13.83.

Also cited was a 2011 study published in The Journal of Trauma — Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, which found U.S. youth in the 15-24 age group suffered from a firearm homicide rate in 2003 that was 42 times higher than for youth in 22 other high-income nations.

The study concluded that “homicide, and particularly gun homicide, continues to be one of the most pressing public health concerns in California among youth and young adults ages 10 to 24. ... Effective violence prevention strategies must include measures that prioritize preventing youth and young adults from accessing firearms, especially handguns.”

The study also recommended more research into “the identification of the make, model, and caliber of weapons most preferred by this age group as well as analyses identifying the sources of the weapons” in addition to the “expansion of comprehensive violence intervention and prevention strategies that include a focus on the psychological well-being of witnesses and survivors of gun violence.”