A Pathway to Empowerment: How Trades Can Reduce Crime and Homicide
This week, we learned a hard truth: The majority of Harrisburg’s 22 homicide victims last year were 16 to 20-year-old males. According to the Harrisburg Bureau of Police’s 2024 report, gun violence victims were primarily young men. While the reality of gun violence is ever present, solutions have come and gone with little impact.
In the ongoing battle against crime and violence, particularly homicide, many communities are exploring innovative solutions. We have Harrisburg's CSA Program, a group of individuals tasked with creating a 'bridge' between law enforcement and the police department. Additionally, we have a (slow) roll out and implementation of a GVI program, both aimed at being valuable tools for crime and violence reduction. One powerful approach we ignore is in the promotion of vocational training and trades as a clear solution for prevention. By equipping individuals within the ages of 16-20 with job experience with practical skills, trades can not only provide economic benefits but also foster a sense of purpose and belonging, ultimately leading to a reduction in crime rates.
The Economic Connection
At the core of the crime problem is often economic instability. In neighborhoods where poverty is prevalent, individuals may feel compelled to turn to illegal activities to make ends meet. We've heard time and time again that young people 'need something to do', and how jobs would help individuals to advance in our city. By investing in vocational training programs that teach skills in high-demand trades—such as plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, and welding—communities can create pathways to stable employment, empowering younger populations with the tools they need to compete in the bidding process, increase economic promise within their entrepreneurial endeavors, and reduce the criminal behavior that can oftentimes occur when people feel there is no way to economically advance in a city of limited resources and opportunities.
When people have access to well-paying jobs, their chances of engaging in criminal activities decrease significantly. This economic empowerment not only uplifts individuals but can also revitalize entire communities, reducing the conditions that often lead to crime.
Rehabilitation and Reintegration
Vocational training is also particularly impactful for at-risk youth and former offenders. As a reentrant specialist, I've seen the positive impact that trades have had on the many individuals who have been incarcerated, ones that oftentimes struggle to find employment upon their release, which leads to a return to crime if not addressed. Our city has the opportunity to not only seek out financial resources to pour into existing trades programming, but collaborate in a very real way with the surrounding nonprofits and Hbg School District to focus on trades as a way to offer them the skills needed to secure stable jobs and remain residents that invest back into their own society. When people receive opportunities to find work within their own communities, they are less likely to cause harm within that community.
Leadership can seek to offer training in various trades, such as construction and carpentry, while also providing support services like therapy and mentorship. With college expenses sending more of our younger generation into a toolbelt generation, where a desire for trades can be just as high as a desire for traditional colleges and universities, our city must have the programs that help younger generations rise to the occasion.
Building Community and Social Bonds
Engaging in trades fosters a sense of community. Work brings people together, creating opportunities for collaboration and mentorship. This solution not only gives hope for collaboration, but bridging the gap across generations, with older mentors helping to increase skillset, provide opportunities, and even investing in a whole new group of workers, ready and eager to provide long term work for longstanding companies in our area. This fresh new group of workers can learn and grow within their trades and develop strong social networks that provide support and accountability. This interconnectedness can lead to collective action against crime and collective feelings of pride for local workers. This pride can motivate individuals to protect their community from crime, as they feel more invested in its well-being.
So, how do we explore various career paths while providing practical skills that meet labor market demands? Working to bring dollars to our city for vocational education. Collaborating with the School District. Writing out line items specific to funding availability for local nonprofits and organizations to utilize. Creating internship programs and summer programs through our existing local offices, like Public Works, Housing and Coding Departments, etc.
This exposure can deter young people from engaging in crime by presenting them with constructive alternatives and reduce crime by increasing more ways for revenue to be acquired-the right way. These opportunities are ready and available to our younger generation. Instilling values such as teamwork, leadership, and responsibility—qualities that can steer youth away from destructive behaviors- creates safer communities by addressing the root causes of crime but also fostering rehabilitation and community engagement.
