Pittsburgh City Council asking for violent crime data amid recent spike in incidents

Pittsburgh City Council wants the city police and public safety department to start gathering information regarding violent crime within city limits.

City councilperson Barbara Warwick believes that if you are going to solve a problem of violent crime, especially among young people, details matter.

"We should have those numbers," Warwick said.

It's getting those numbers that Warwick says presents the challenge.

"We're talking a lot about violent crime, we're talking about kids, but as council members, and the data we have on hand feels anecdotal," Warwick said.

To at least get the ball rolling, city council on Tuesday unanimously approved Bill 2026-0462, asking the public safety department and chief of police for "perpetrators, victims, ages, gender, location, and time of day, that kind of thing, so we can really see the full picture, rather than working based on the feelings of the media and what's being said on social media."

The issue comes to the forefront after several incidents of juvenile violence in places like Market Square and other city neighborhoods, leading many to wonder what the long-term goal is.

"I sort of envision allowing council members to hold post-agendas about violent crime and looking at those statistics, seeing what's happening and what the trends are," Warwick said.

Warwick cautions that this is to avoid broad-brush judgments regarding who, what, when, where, why, and how.

"We're talking a lot about our kids, and we're saying some harsh things about teens in general," Warwick added. "People can say what they want online, but if we're going to have those conversations in the city, we're going to put in policy that regulates our public spaces. We need hard numbers, not just vibes."

The new policy will include any information dating back over the last few years and will also mandate a quarterly report.