The New Year’s holiday was framed by violence in the City of Newburgh. Police were called to 411 Broadway on December 31 for a reported stabbing. City Police reportedly stopped a Short Line bus and took two individuals off for questioning. Investigation is continuing.

Two days later, the city’s Shot Spotter program reported seven shots fired in the area of South Lander Street near the Renwick Street intersection.

It’s an ongoing problem in a city that has worked hard to overcome a reputation as being one of America’s most dangerous cities. It doesn’t help when shooting and stabbing victims refuse to cooperate with investigators. It just means the cycle continues into yet another decade, sifting the conversation away from the new business growth downtown and the success of groups like Habitat for Humanity and We Are Newburgh.

Violence is now clearly recognized as a public health problem, according to the Center for Disease Control. Since 1965, CDC reports that homicide and suicide have consistently been among the top 15 leading causes of death in the United States. The risk of homicide and suicide reached epidemic proportions during the 1980s among specific segments of the population including youth and members of minority groups. A CDC report adds that suicide rates among adolescents and young adults 15 to 24 years of age almost tripled between 1950 and 1990. Similarly, from 1985 to 1991 homicide rates among 15- to 19-year-old males increased 154 percent, a dramatic departure from rates of the previous 20 years for this age group.

Identifying a problem is always the first step in the direction of a solution. In this case, recognizing that violence is an ongoing threat to public health and safety will raise awareness will hopefully move us to find ways to prevent it. In Newburgh, it means coming to face the reality that now is not the time to be cutting police positions,. The numbers tell us that we must find a way to fill and increase the number of police positions (and expand the community police presence) and to fund the city’s shot spotter program which has proved itself to be invaluable many times in recent months, including this past week.

The world of restoring the city’s image must continue, but success will only come when there is tangible proof that our streets are safer.