Abstract
Violence is an issue nationally and locally within the City of Rochester. It is one of the most complex issues that society faces and attempts to resolve. However, despite many efforts to combat violence, it persists. Research shows that since the early 2000’s, there have been fluctuations in the number of homicides and shootings in Rochester, but long-term analyses on the level of violence show that it has remained relatively stable over time (Altheimer et al., 2017). Although stable, there is a concentration of violence and many individuals, communities, and institutions are affected by it. This paper will discuss violence in Rochester, NY, specifically through a fatal and non-fatal shooting victim analysis from 2000-2020. Data were collected from the Rochester Police Department’s Open Data Portal and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. There is also a heat map of shooting victims in Rochester which was created using ArcGIS Online Mapping software. The goal of this paper is to understand where this problem occurs in Rochester, who is most likely to be victim to violence, and what the nature of violence is in this community.
Although this analysis is specific to Rochester, there are urban communities which are similar to Rochester across the United States which may be experiencing a similar violence problem. Rochester is the third largest city in New York with a population of 205,077 people. According to the United States Census Bureau, 40% of the population in Rochester is Black, 37% is White, and 19% is Latino as of 2019. Nearly one third of Rochester is living in poverty. The median household income was $35,590 in 20191. These data provide a context to the type of city that Rochester is and may inform part of the data presented below.
Publication Date
5-12-2021
Document Type
Master's Project
Student Type
Graduate
Degree Name
Criminal Justice (MS)
Department, Program, or Center
Department of Criminal Justice (CLA)
Advisor
Irshad Altheimer
Recommended Citation
Burt, Jessica, "Beneath the Bandage: The Impact of Violence on Individuals and Communities" (2021). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/10850
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
