The struggling economy in Columbus affects more than just people and business’ pocket books – it also has an effect on the homicide rate. There were 112 homicides in Columbus last year – one of the highest murder rates in the last two decades.
There have already been six murders in Columbus to start off 2004, and the best predictor of homicides in any year is the previous year’s rate. Combine these factors and Columbus already seems predestined for deathly disaster.
Paul Bellair, an associate professor of sociology, has done research on crime within urban neighborhoods and equates Columbus’s high homicide rate with the high unemployment rate.
There are more reasons to try to improve the economy than financial well-being. If people have jobs and are content with where they are in life they will be less likely to commit any type of crime.
The economy goes in natural cycles. When the economy is up it will eventually go down again. But there are things that can be done to keep an economy stable. If keeping the economy stable means keeping the homicide rate low, then the leaders of the state and city’s government need to come up with ways to improve the city and state’s economic well being.
The best way to put a stop to the high homicide rate is to provide economic stimulus that will provide more people with jobs. State and city officials need to realize this and use it as extra incentive to boost the city and state economy.
On the law enforcement end of homicide prevention and protection, there is only so much that can be done. Education levels, poverty rates, drug use and employment levels are all factors that contribute to the homicide rate. In order to conquer murder, the small battles must be won, too.
Citizens, law enforcement agents and state officials must all work together to make the city a safer place. Until people are reprieved from the severe economic strains placed on them, the high homicide rate will continue to reflect a tense city.
