1. How much have teen shootings increased? And how much is being spent on this new office and other Metro safety initiatives?
A: Let’s start with the bad news: last year, there were 57 gunshot victims under the age of 18, that’s both deaths and injuries. We’re already at 64 for this year, according to police statistics updated for the first week of December. (p.147)
In 2019, there were 420 gunshot victims in Nashville — 29 of them were minors, or 6.9%. That’s a lot but the numbers have jumped to 489 victims last year —57 of which were minors, or 11.6% of victims.
Gunshot victims under the age of 18
2019 – 29 (6.9 % of total 420)
2020 – 42 (7.5 % of total 559)
2021 – 51 (9 % of total 563)
2022 – 61 (11.8 % of total 477)
2023 – 57 (11.6 % of total 489)
So far in 2024 – 64 (14.5 % of total 442)
The good news, as you’ve reported, there’s $750,000 going to establish the new Office of Youth Safety and another $250,000 for a restorative justice program at Napier Community Center.
But Metro Nashville has also been spending money on other programs for youth and families to prevent violence:
These are all programs designed to help kids and families down the right path, including keeping teens busy in jobs.
2. How does this compare to other cities?
These cities have youth violence prevention programs, teen job programs like Nashville