Youth violence higher in communities with few Black men

University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers who studied police and US Census Bureau data for Flint, MI, found that in census tracts "where there were low ratios of adult men to adult women, young people were 36 percent more likely to commit assaults." The addition of data about dropping out of high school "accounted for 69 percent of the variation in the rates of violent behavior among 10-to 24-year-olds."

The professor pointed to several factors that may account for the male shortage in Flint and similar communities: Across the United States, men have been more likely to lose their jobs and were more likely to seek unemployment away from their communities. They also experienced higher mortality rates than women due to violence and disease; and higher incarceration rates have also siphoned men away from their neighborhoods.

In light of these findings, [Daniel] Kruger suggested that intervention programs that strengthen relationships between fathers and children could mitigate youth violence. He also said that officials need to rethink policies that over-criminalize and over-incarcerate men for low-level infractions.