Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper Calls for Gun Restrictions & Educational Projects to Reduce Black-on-Black Crime Rates in His City

Pittsburgh police chief Nate Harper says black-on-black crime averaged 80 percent of all homicides over the past 10 years and is calling for gun restriction and education projects to reduce the high black-on-black crime rates in his city.

Pittsburgh, PA, police chief Nate Harper said that without black-on-black crime, his city could expect to see its homicide rate drop significantly to around 10 deaths per year, the Post Gazette reports. He said the city averages more than 55 homicides per year, with black-on-black crime accounting for nearly 80 percent of that number.

In the past 10 years, black-on-black killings have accounted for nearly 80 percent of the city's homicides -- 307 of 385 -- where an offender has been identified. The average for that period is 56.2 homicides each year. Chief Harper spoke Thursday at a news conference on black male gun violence at the Center on Race and Social Problems in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Social Work.

A 2010 report from the Violence Policy Center found that Pennsylvania has more black-on-black homicides than any other state, with a black homicide rate of 36.36 per 100,000.

Though Pittsburgh's homicide rate doesn't come close to matching that in Philadelphia, which averages more than 300 homicides a year, Chief Harper said it would be "ridiculous for us to be content" with nearly 60 homicides yearly.

The violence seems to be directly related to illegal gun ownership. A gun, shotgun or rifle was used in almost 79 percent of black homicides. And almost 70 percent of illegal gun arrests involved black males under the age of 30 -- the same age range that sees the most black-on-black violence. The average age of offenders in black-on-black gun crimes is around 24. Most are under 30, and a rising number are as young as 15. Source: Post Gazette

For all those people who want to sweep black-on-black crime under a rug, The Hinterland Gazette is the place to do that. We call out our own as much as we call out people of other ethnic backgrounds when they are just plain wrong. So, while Rev. Jesse Jackson is going after Cadbury Plc over its perceived slight of supermodel Naomi Campbell being compared to "chocolate" in its Cadbury Bliss advert, this is a far bigger problem that is a commonality in many other cities across the U.S.A. that needs to be addressed and fast.