Public debate has focused on boosting the number of police officers. More attention and funds must go toward community prevention efforts.

Montreal Police photographer makes photos of a shell casing on the scene of a shooting on Crescent St. in Montreal June 2, 2023.
A Montreal police photographer takes pictures of shell casings at the site of a recent shooting on Crescent St. "Sadly, much of what community groups and scholars understand about violence prevention has been ignored," writes Concordia University professor Ted Rutland. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
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Signs of the changing seasons are all around us. The festivals are back, students are celebrating the end of the school year, and predictions about gun violence — a “hot summer” — are circulating in the media.

This is the third straight year in which we’ve been told to worry about a summer of gun violence. While the problem has often been exaggerated by the police and the media, there has been an increase in certain kinds of violence and too many lives lost.