City Of Louisville: National Institute For Criminal Justice Reform Outlines Financial Costs Of Homicides In Louisville

Press release from the City of Louisville:

October 21, 2021

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Today, the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN) released a new study conducted by the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) estimating that each homicide in Louisville costs taxpayers more than $900,000 and each injury shooting costs $508,835 per suspect.

“The data from this report is eye-opening in terms of understanding the full impact of violence on our city,” said Mayor Greg Fischer. “In addition to the horrific physical and emotional costs of violence, this report outlines the tremendous financial costs to taxpayers. But most importantly, we are losing sons and daughters, friends, and neighbors to violence, and we must work our whole-of-government, whole-of-city approach to public safety to create a safer and more equitable Louisville.”.

The report breaks down the cost of violence into six areas – crime scene response, hospital & rehabilitation, criminal justice, incarceration, victim support and lost tax revenue – and notes that when someone is shot in Louisville, as in jurisdictions throughout the county, there is an immediate and multifaceted response from an array of government agencies, including the Louisville Metro Police Department, Louisville Fire Department, Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney and the Coroner’s Office.

Despite an increase in gun violence, the report outlines how Louisville is benefiting from OSHN’s violence intervention and prevention programs. Louisville is one of the first cities to implement a dedicated agency aimed at tackling the increase in occurrences of violence, and OSHN continues to focus on the perpetrator and/or victim, as well as the social and structural determinates that create the conditions to make violence more likely to happen.

“Reducing violence is not an overnight fix; it’s a national problem that costs taxpayers millions every year in our city. With the recent reinvestment by Louisville Metro in the Office, and based on the data of this report, we can now put even more focus on infrastructure needs and initiatives that we know work,” said Dr. Monique Williams, Director of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods. “This includes looking at violence from a public health perspective and deploying strategies for prevention and intervention that allow us to address violence from its root to its fruit. We can, and we absolutely must, change the narrative for our city.”

In 2020 alone, Louisville saw an unprecedented and record-breaking number of homicides –  173 deaths. Beyond the loss of life, based on the NICJR’s new costs of violence figure, the growing homicide rate cost Louisville taxpayers at least $155.7 million last year. Already in 2021, a 63% increase in costs has been reported based on homicide data from last year.

“We are proud to partner with the City of Louisville to conduct this analysis of the costs of gun violence to local taxpayers. The enormous costs of each shooting not only has a direct human toll, but everyone in the city pays a price. Investing in effective violence reduction strategies can both save lives and reduce government spending,” said David Muhammad, NCIJR’s Executive Director.

Per the NICJR report, if Louisville saw a 20% reduction in gun violence, that would save the government and taxpayers $62.8 million alone every year.

Louisville Metro Government has a six-pillar approach to tackling violence – community mobilization, prevention, intervention, enforcement, organizational change and development and re-entry – and there are many ways for the community to get involved:

About the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR)

The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) works to reduce incarceration and violence, improve the outcomes of system-involved youth and adults, and increase the capacity and expertise of the organizations that serve these individuals. NICJR provides technical assistance, consulting, research, organizational development, and advocacy in the fields of juvenile and criminal justice, youth development, and violence prevention. NICJR works with an array of organizations, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropic foundations.

The NICJR has also completed cost of violence studies for other cities such as: Sacramento, Orlando, Fresno, and San Bernardino just to name a few.

Read the full Louisville report here.

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This press release was produced by the City of Louisville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.