The term violence connotes a subset of behaviors and outcomes. Health consequences of violence are tremendous, yet the criminal justice system is used instead of the public health system to respond to violence. The criminal justice system relies on arrest and incarceration to deter, incapacitate, and rehabilitate convicted offenders. The public health sector needs to become more involved in violence prevention because the problem of violence is beyond the reach of the criminal justice system alone. The public health approach consists of health event surveillance, epidemiological analysis, and intervention design and evaluation. Challenges faced by the public health approach are noted, and the importance of empowering families to prevent youth violence is discussed.