News Track: Linn County Public Health to lead gun violence study

Background: In May, Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman told members of the Safe, Equitable and Thriving Communities Task Force - a committee charged with exploring gun violence in the community - that he was exploring partnerships with other organizations to conduct a study on violence in Cedar Rapids. He indicated to the task force that he had exchanged emails with members of the University of Iowa College of Public Health.

Jerman's efforts were in response to a request from a community organization, 1 Strong, asking the City Council to consider asking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate gun violence in the city as an epidemic. The CDC had done such a study in Wilmington, Delaware.

What's happened since: Linn County Public Health will lead a study on gun violence in the city, Jerman said.

But first it needs data, a task that will take some time, Jerman said.

'It is very staff intensive,” he said. 'To compile that amount of information just takes a little bit of time.”

Jerman said following his comments to the SET Task Force in May, he met with Dr. Corinne Peek-Asa, the associate dean for research in the UI College of Public Health; and also spoke with CDC staff during a meeting in Ankeny.

But, a conversation with Dr. Pramod Dwivedi, director of Linn County Public Health, proved to be the most fruitful.

'He was very agreeable to look into the gun violence situation for the city of Cedar Rapids since it's within Linn County,” Jerman said. 'Since it's a public health issue and the city of Cedar Rapids does not have a public health department, I think we concluded that was the most logical and best place for this effort to reside.”

Jerman said Linn County Public Health - which has an epidemiologist on staff - has requested data from the police department related to violence and gun violence. Much of the information officials are seeking is fairly extensive and not easily pulled up through an automated search, Jerman said. The public health officials are seeking data on demographics, what census block a shooting took place in, whether it was intentional or accidental, if inanimate objects were hit and other contributing factors, such as the weather at the time.

Jerman said getting that information will take time and his crime analyst still is pulling data. Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow compared it with trying to pull data on all fires that originated in a dishwasher.

'You have to really mine the incidents,” Buelow said.

The police department has not set a firm date for when it will be able to get all of the data to Linn County Public Health.

Jerman said he has reached out to members of 1 Strong to tell them about the study.

'It is very important that we did take this request very seriously and look very hard at it,” he said.

The city has seen 76 shots-fired incidents through the end of October and is on pace to have a 10 percent decrease in those type of calls compared with 2015. Jerman credits cooperation from the community, partnerships with state and federal agencies and police department efforts, including the Police Community Action Team, for the decrease in gun violence.

'That is very, very encouraging,” Jerman said. 'Our efforts are going to continue. We're not going to let up on our resolve and our commitment and dedication with this. It's still our No. 1 priority.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com