Carbondale leaders have released a study on gun violence in the City.
SIU researchers analyzed the nature of gun violence in Carbondale and offered recommendations for prevention and intervention initiatives.
45 percent of respondents categorized gun violence as a major or moderate problem.
City Manager Gary Williams says he's not surprised by that. He says community perceptions match up with the actual data, which is a good thing.
"It's something important to the public, so as we address it, I think our perception is that there's going to be support from the community."
Williams says the City is doing many things to combat gun violence, such as community policing and an increasing use of technology.
"We've invested in surveillance cameras around the city, mostly in commercial areas. Those have been great investigative tools, unfortunately, they haven't been the deterrent we had hoped they would be."
Williams says concentrated areas north of the University campus account for 94% of the incidents reported.
About one-third of the incidents are tied to disputes between acquaintances and at parties. Williams says that makes it more difficult for police to monitor.
"Most of those events are very spontaneous, so it's really difficult to be able to do anything in those instances."
Williams says this points to the problem of easy access to guns.
"When you pair that with known individuals that have personal rivalries with one another that had a history of not getting along, that's a very difficult dynamic to police."
he study found drug activity is the major contributor to gun violence in Carbondale.
Researchers will present the findings to the City Council at an upcoming meeting.
To view the study findings, click here.
