LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A couple of weeks ago, a large commotion erupted near the Big Four Bridge — teenagers fighting, police responding and a scene that felt like complete mayhem. Is this normal or just a blip on the radar?
City leaders responsible for reducing violence say the incident is not a trend — and point to new data to back that up.Ashley Webb, deputy director in the Office of Violence Prevention says youth victimization is significantly down so far this year.
"It is down year to date, 36.6%. It is ages 11 to 17. And that is victimization. So that is a big deal," Webb said.
To put that into perspective, seven children between 11 and 17 years old have been victims of crime this year. During the same time period in 2021, that number was 35 — roughly the size of a crowded high school classroom.
"I think it is in a place where we have a shift and where everyone is seeing a shift one direction," Webb added.
The city office tasked with reducing violence tracks victims by age group, neighborhood, race, and gender. While victimization among 11-to-17-year-olds is dropping, other age groups show increases.
Victims of crime among 18-to-24-year-olds are up 28%, and 25-to-34-year-olds are up 5%. Numbers then decline again among those ages 35 to 44.
To combat the trend, the city partners with a variety of community organizations. Beverly Drake, working in the Russell neighborhood, says the approach is focused on relationships and intervention.
"Then we build a rapport with them to let them know that there is a way out," Drake said.
She says those efforts are producing results.
"We have got a lot of them back in school. You know, we have got a lot of them to where they have put the guns down," she said.
Each group uses its own strategies to steer both kids and adults away from violence. But even as numbers improve, recent incidents remain fresh in people’s minds.
"I know that the mayor has opened up the community centers, want them to stay open longer, but you gotta have staff to staff those community centers, right?" said Louisville resident Hermina Waddell-Roberts.
In the past month alone, a 13-year-old was arrested in connection with a shooting that killed three people — two of them teenagers.
"I just know that for me, knowing people who have lost children to violence makes it seem a lot more real to me," Waddell-Roberts said.
As the city prepares for Thunder Over Louisville and large crowds downtown, memories of the Big Four Bridge incident still linger — a reminder that while numbers may be improving, concerns about youth violence remain.
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