Editorial: Homicide numbers show progress but room for improvement
Share this post:
It is important to acknowledge progress when it occurs.
Just because it isn’t the Tour de France doesn’t mean you don’t give a kid a high five for staying on his bike all the way down the block without training wheels. Passing a test isn’t getting into Harvard, but it’s better than failing it.
And that is why the homicide numbers for 2024 deserve attention.
In Allegheny County, there were 98 homicides last year. That’s down from 102 in 2023 and 122 in 2022. In the city of Pittsburgh, the drop is even more dramatic — an almost 20% decline from 2023 and 41% from 2022.
In Westmoreland County, only four deaths have been declared homicides. The cause and manner of another five remain under investigation. Four would be equal to the two lowest years — 2015 and 2023. Even if all nine are deemed homicides, that would be under the county’s high of 10 in 2014.
These reflect state and national statistics. According to the Real-Time Crime Index, murders fell by almost 16% in the United States last year. They were down more than 39% in Pennsylvania.
This is a positive trend whether we are looking at the few deaths in Westmoreland County or the larger numbers in Allegheny County or the whole scope of the country.
At the same time, we have to realize this isn’t a battle that anyone wins. When focusing on progress, government can get in its own way.
One problem with the No Child Left Behind effort was that it didn’t recognize a fundamental issue of standardized testing. Today’s fifth graders aren’t last year’s fifth graders. What might look like a 10% decline in passing scores might be a 20% improvement in what this particular class could achieve.
There was also a problem of achieving success. A school that scored a remarkable 100% proficient one year could not guarantee next year’s class wouldn’t have students with health concerns, learning disabilities or just one kid that hated math. Even something like a rough winter or a bad breakfast on test day could impact numbers.
Progress is to be applauded, but it also has to be acknowledged as an ongoing process. It also has to be collaborative.
Leon Katz was just 6 weeks old when he died in June at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He was the youngest homicide victim of the year. Henry J. Craig, 88, of Pittsburgh, was the oldest. Both are outliers in more than their age. Neither died because of gunshots.
Yes, there were nine stabbings in 2024. There were a few deaths attributed to beatings or blunt force. Leon tragically was not the only baby killed. The first homicide of the year was Dai’Von Dailon Means, 3 months old, whose mother was charged with his death.
But the list of the lost is overwhelmingly a litany of gunshot wounds.
Yes, 2024 was a year of progress. If that was the measure of the test, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties passed.
However, there is still a lot of progress to be made. There are babies to be protected. There are seniors to be safeguarded. More than anything, there are gun crimes to be stopped.
This was a good start. Let’s keep going.