Inner City Violence initially was attributed to the social and political struggles from the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s – part of the Social-Revolution. However, following the end of the Civil Rights Movement and the war in Vietnam, violence in the Inner Cities were relegated to social inequalities largely rooted in economic disparity. In the1980’s, Urban Violence soon took a direct turn towards what would soon be known as “Black on Black Crime.” And like many other social dilemmas in American Society, it would soon become one of the top causes of death among young Black males living in the Inner City and Urban Areas.
It is now 24 years later and not much has changed since1985 when sociologist forecasted the life expectancy of Black males who reside in the Urban Sectors was at 25 years of age. In 2006, with the sharp increase in gun violence among the teenage population, death by firearm has become the leading cause of death for Black males ages 15-19 years of age and the second leading cause of death for American Youth (American Pediatrics). The incidents of Urban Violence in America are so frequent that the rates of incidents far exceed International Crime Statistics. Of the many social dilemmas in our current day American Society, violence in our Urban Sectors particularly as it relates to the population of American Children, Teens and Young Adults has earned the position as the number one issue facing the Social, Political, Educational, Spiritual, and Economical development of the Future of America.
CTRIBAT (Children and Teens Retreat) was formed in June of 2003 in the Dixwell Avenue
area of New Haven. The significance of this area is highlighted by the presence of the
Dixwell Q-House, a historical landmark in one of the most African American culture rich urban sectors in New England.
CTRIBAT was born out of five years of research and planning that was conducted throughout
various areas of the city as it relates to culture, ethnicity, age, race, economics, religion,
education, sexual orientation, crime, population, and other urban features.
CTRIBAT was formed on the premise of being a solution to Urban Plight, Urban Blight, and
the Urban Fight. Moreover, CTRIBAT established part and principal to approach this condition
by addressing the root causes and proving a cure that would serve as a measuring tool for Urban
Success as it pertains to young people ages 6 years of age to 17 years of age.
In the Fall of 2003, Officer Shafiq Abdussabur and Officer Carl Myers were assigned to the
Dixwell Avenue area of New Haven, Connecticut adjacent to Yale University. This area is termed in the New Haven Police Department as District #6. Following the closing of the Dixwell QHouse, Officer Myers and Abdussabur noticed a sharp increase in the number of youth who were
frequenting the Stetson Public Library, hanging about the Dixwell Shopping Plaza and
congregating on the streets corners in front of the area corner stores. As a result, numerous
complaints from residents, visitors, business owners, employees, and community leaders began to generate about the increased criminal activities of the youth in this area.
The population of the youth who were identified in the incidents were all African American
males ages 6 years old to 13 years old. On several occasions, Officer Myers and OfficerAbdussabur were faced with the dilemma of directing the young boys to more constructive activities. Most often the immediate remedy was to issue the group of boys $1-$2 each so that they could go in the store (Mini Market located in the Dixwell Plaza) and purchase a snack. That would be followed by a discussion about what they were doing for the day and other general conversation. The officers noted that the days in which the incidents of vandalism and other crimes occurred that involved these youth were mainly Saturdays and Sundays when school was out. The other days were during the week days after school hours between the times of 5:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. In addition, the same group of young boys who totaled approximately 10-15 in number were being exposed to violent conditions in their neighborhood that included being witnesses to firearm assaults. Many of the students were also undergoing strained family relationship that resulted in Domestic Violence incidents which often ended in arrests, juvenile referrals and school suspensions.
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Welcome to what the most important Gun Youth and Gang Youth Violence website. Find out about the causes of youth violence, gangs youth violence, gang violence guns. How poverty causes violence. Learn the prevention of youth violence. The blame youth violence. Gun violence causes aggression, violence peer pressure, violence substance abuse and violence causes juvenile violence. Also learn about gun violence deaths, victims gun violence, gun homicide rates, gun violence statistics.
