Connor McLaughlin

Government

Ostrowski

18 December 2018

Violent crime letter

Dear Lyda Krewson,

Good afternoon. One thing about St. Louis that both concerns me and gives me hope is

the rate of violent crime. It gives me hope because it has been on a steady decline since 1994, but

it concerns me because it is still higher than average. Overall, according to the Institute of Public

Health, the rate of violent crime was at least 2x higher than that of a five-city sample (Kansas

city, Memphis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Milwaukee). Since 2014, the city has addressed

many problems that contribute to this increase, including affordable housing, job training and

better police protection. Leaders from both political parties have tackled this important issue.

In my opinion, the city’s efforts are good on paper, but they are not good enough yet. I

have come to this conclusion after reading an article about the crime rate reduction in Buffalo,

NY - a city that is about the same size as St. Louis. According to a FOX News article, Buffalo

saw a 35% decrease in murders compared to an 18% increase in homicides in St. Louis in 2014.

One unique thing that Buffalo funded is the conversion of an abandoned factory to a job training

facility. Going back to the five-city sample from earlier, with the exception of 2002-2003, St.

Louis’ violent crime rates have been over 10% higher than the sample. However, according to an

article by the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the city in 2018 was “recording fewer homicides, fewer

gun-related assaults and fewer robberies” than in 2017.

 Overall, I believe that St. Louis is headed in the right direction, but there is still work to

be done. This work is necessary from both the government and the people in it. I, for one, will

try to be an advocate for this in several ways. First, I will do my best to remove the stigma that

St. Louis is the “murder capital of America”. For one thing, the change begins in the attitudes of

the people; nothing can change if nobody believes that it can. Second, I have been working with

my church and travelling to the inner city every summer to work with people there, and I will

continue to do so. Third, I will tell my parents about these statistics and stories and make sure

that people in the adult population hear my voice. Lastly, even if statistics head in the wrong

direction, I will not give up my fight, and I hope you won’t either.

Sincerely.

Connor
Works cited

https://fox2now.com/2016/05/02/how-buffalo-is-beating-st-louis-at-reducing-violent-crime/

https://publichealth.wustl.edu/city-of-st-louis-youth-violence-prevention-partnership/

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/violent-crime-increases-by-percent-in-st-

louis-between-and/article_eebe99eb-85a9-5d9e-9061-0882ca2015bc.html

https://www.areavibes.com/st.+louis-mo/crime/