Crime, a Public Health Issue?

In a strategy that has been adopted for other social problems that also stem from individual choice—such as addiction—folks in Chicago would like to redefine youth crime as a medical issue, but as we know, crime is a personal act, as the Catechism teaches us:

“1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:
- by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
- by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
- by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
- by protecting evil-doers.

“1869 Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a "social sin."

An excerpt from the Chicago Tribune:

“Every year, scores of Chicago children are shot, knifed and beaten on the city streets. Almost as frequently, new policing strategies are rolled out, anti-violence programs are launched and private and public money is thrown at the problem.

“But youth violence acts like a disease, an epidemic really. And researchers and experts say the cure lies not in this haphazard treatment of the symptoms but in addressing the causes with targeted, scientific methods.

“Researchers and experts are coalescing around the idea that violence should not be seen solely as episodic criminal behavior. Instead, they argue, it should be seen as a public health issue and treated like other diseases, a method that was used to combat other seemingly intractable problems like tuberculosis outbreaks and smoking.

“That approach sounds promising, but its success, researchers say, is dependent on something that Chicago and the nation lack: rigorous evaluation of which programs work and which ones waste time and money.

"Despite all the money and all the pilot programs that have been started, we are floundering around," said Jens Ludwig, a criminologist and head of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, which is evaluating anti-violence programs. "We should do more of what they do in medicine."

“Chicago's continuing struggle to combat youth violence over the years has sparked everything from gang interventions to an ambitious plan in Chicago schools to pair troubled youths with intensive mentoring and even jobs. The latest spasm of violence, a fatal melee among Fenger High School students, is bringing federal education and law enforcement officials to Chicago this week.”