CSUEB professor interviewed about San Jose’s record homicide rate
Associate Professor Dawna Komorosky, shown here with her beagle, Carly, is committed to educating the community about relationship violence and its connection with animal abuse. (By: Stephanie Secrest)
- January 15, 2013 5:00am
San Jose reached an unenviable milestone in 2012. Its 46 homicides are the largest tally the city has recorded in 20 years.
Analysis conducted by the newspaper showed that even after gang-related and domestic violence slayings are removed, the majority of the rest were between people who knew each other. Despite worsening crime trends, within the context of homicides, residents are generally safe but they may not feel that way.
San Jose Mercury News reporter Peter Delevett spoke with Cal State East Bay Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Dawna Komorosky — an expert on relationship violence — about how these statistics impact local residents.
"Stories that are the most tragic are the ones that are going to make the news," said Komorosky. "If you watch the news on a daily basis, you would think violent crime was the most frequent. It's not the most commonly occurring; property crime is more likely. The victim and killer usually have a relationship and know each other. But it makes us all feel fearful for our safety."
Read the article "Despite record homicide numbers, San Jose still relatively safe."
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