Pennsylvania Lives Up To Its Label As "The Most Deadly Place For Blacks": Pittsburgh Police Chief: "Need To Address Black On Black Homicides"

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Pittsburgh Police Chief Seeks Way To Cut Black On Black Crimes

Though I visited Philadelphia on the other side of the state of Pennsylvania recently and not Pittsburgh, the conditions that I am familiar with in both cities make it understandable as to how it is that the state has recently held the title as the state with the highest percentage of "Street Pirate On Black Homicides".   With its two largest cities - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh registering homicide rates where Blacks are 80% of the victims, this shameful title is duly earned.

The article

Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper believes the key to bringing down the city's homicide total is tackling black-on-black crime. The reason? For the past decade, 80 percent of city homicides were black-on-black killings.

Within that category of homicide, there are also common factors, that if concertedly addressed, might reduce the number of killings. For instance, almost 79 percent of Pittsburgh's black homicides involved a gun, shotgun or rifle. Plus, almost 70 percent of illegal gun arrests were of black males under 30, the same demographic most involved in black-on-black homicides.

Last Thursday, Mr. Harper held a news conference on black-male gun violence at the Center on Race and Social Problems at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. Despite nearly 60 homicides per year in the city compared to more than 300 in Philadelphia, the chief said he was not willing to accept Pittsburgh's total.

He cited a 2010 report by the Violence Policy Center which identified Pennsylvania as ground zero for black-on-black violence in the nation, with a black homicide rate of 36.36 per 100,000. Although Philadelphia accounts for much of the problem, Mr. Harper believes that Pittsburgh could cut its homicide total if an effective way of dealing with gun violence among black males can be found.

Any solution will have to address the illegal gun flow that puts powerful weapons in the hands of dangerous people. Unfortunately, state and federal lawmakers don't have the backbone these days to tighten state or federal laws and curb even illicit firearms. Education programs, job training and the hope of opportunity for black youths also must be part of the mix, but those elements are beyond the power or control of a city police chief.

Nate Harper's biggest contribution toward putting a brake on the tragic monotony of black-on-black homicide could be his willingness to shine a light on the problem and his openness to try things that could work in Pittsburgh


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11158/1151790-192.stm#ixzz1OfqFmgJa

As I walked the streets of my old community in Philadelphia and drove around a larger part of West and Southwest Philly I was struck by the contradiction between what the "Obama Fist Bump Black Press" is inclined to focus upon as threats to Black America versus what is the clear and present danger to our people: The Benign Neglect in Community and Human Resource Management that is evidenced by the violence that Chief Harper is speaking off.   (The Root.com today syndicating Huffington Post:  "KKK Makes Return As Political Operatives").    Street Pirates have murdered more Blacks in the last 20 years than the Klan has murdered in the last 100 years.  Despite this fact there is a stark unwillingness to treat both forces as equal threats.  The Klan is superior to those who don't have the wherewithal to depart from their ideological bondage and focus upon the greater documented source of assaults upon our people.