Officials: Drugs, mental health, poverty issues need to be addressed to reduce violent crime

Jun. 19—Daviess County Commonwealth's Attorney Bruce Kuegel has a list of 10 homicide cases being readied for trial that involve 12 defendants.

Of those 10 homicide cases, eight involved either drug abuse, drug trafficking or alcohol intoxication, Kuegel said Friday.

He believes substance abuse the driving factor behind most of the violent crime cases his office is handling, and substance abuse treatment would help reduce violent crime cases if people suffering from addiction are ready to get treated, he said.

Leigh Jackson, supervising attorney for Owensboro's public defender law office, said substance abuse is just one of the factors that leads to violent crimes in the city and county. Others include poverty, mental health issues and unaddressed trauma.

"I think there has definitely been an uptick in violent crime, particularly gun crime, in Daviess County," Jackson said Friday. "...Especially young men in our community seem to be involved with guns and violent crime."

The public defender law office represents defendants in criminal cases who don't have the funds to hire an attorney.

"Our office has the bulk of violent offenders," Jackson said. "... We deal with much the same caseload Mr. Kuegel has."

In terms of gun crimes, according to Owensboro Police Department statistics, there have been seven incidents where a person was shot and injured in the city this year. Meanwhile, there have been 13 reports of shots fired that resulted in property damage.

In terms of victims injured, this year's numbers roughly match those of 2020, when eight people were injured in shootings between January and June, and 2019, when 10 people were injured in shootings during that period.

Incidents of shootings involving property damage are higher this year than in 2019, when there were two incidents between January and June, and in 2020, when there were six incidents in those months.

There have been no substantiated reports of firearm discharges in the county, although deputies have responded to 38 firearm discharge calls, according to Daviess County Sheriff's Department statistics.

Jackson said many of the gun-related cases the public defender office handles involve young men as defendants.

"The young men we are seeing are getting younger and younger," Jackson said.

The root causes of violence, such as poverty, mental health issues, substance abuse and trauma are difficult to address, but it needs to be a community effort, Jackson said.

There are some programs available, through the office of Probation and Parole, and through the Alternative Sentencing Workers program in public defender offices. The Department of Juvenile Justice also has programs and alternatives to sending juveniles to incarceration, Jackson said.

But most programs are for adults. More resources are needed, such as additional programs for juveniles and alternatives to incarceration, and sending a person for mental health treatment rather than jail, Jackson said.

"It's a community problem, and we have to have a community solution," she said.

Kuegel said crystal methamphetamine trafficking plays a large role in violent crimes in the county.

"Fifteen years ago ... we had three drugs we were dealing with — meth, cocaine and marijuana," Kuegel said. "We are still dealing with marijuana, but meth has taken over.

Meth "is so highly addictive," Kuegel said. "That, to me, is our problem."

The county recently received federal designation as a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area county, which means there will be federal resources available for drug investigations, and a drug task force.

Kuegel said he hopes HIDTA resources will lead to a reduction in meth trafficking, but reducing drug-related crime will involve getting people into drug treatment.

But getting a person treatment is difficult if they are not ready, he said.

"There are programs, but the bottom line is until a person wants (help), you can have all the programs in the world," Kuegel said.

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse

James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse