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Topic: Murder rates down

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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Four Things That Put Cities' Record-Low Murder ... - Think Progress http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/01/03/3110561/homicide-cities-decline/ - - Cached - Similar pages 5 hours ago ... Murder rates dropped for another year in many of the largest cities, according to
Post Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:51 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Four Things That Put Cities’ Record-Low Murder Rates Into Context


By Rebecca Leber on January 3, 2014 at 11:49 am


Murder rates dropped for another year in many of the largest cities, according to year-end police data on homicide investigations. For example, New York City saw a 20 percent drop from the year before, the lowest since police began keeping records. Chicago also had 18 percent fewer homicides, though the city still has the highest number nationally. Other cities experienced similar declines.

Put into context, these numbers are part of a more complicated picture:

1. It’s part of a longer trend: Overall, homicides have been on the decline for over a decade, even as population has grown. The rate has dropped by nearly half from 1992 to 2011, which is illustrated by a Bureau of Justice Statistics chart:



It’s unknown what exact combination of factors play a part in the homicide rate, but environmental causes like lead poisoning and pollution, economic issues, and access to guns each have a role.

2. The decline is uneven. Over the same period that murders dropped in large cities, they have risen in suburbs. Areas outside Houston, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta saw the biggest spike even as the cities saw less fatal crime. Suburban murders, from domestic violence to school shootings, now make up a quarter of all homicides, up from 20.7 percent in 2001. The homicide rate dropped similarly for both blacks and whites over a 10-year-period, though the rate remains highest for young male African-Americans.

According to the Wall Street Journal, criminologists have pinned the blame on “weaker and more resource-strapped law enforcement in some suburbs,” where budgets haven’t kept pace with population growth. “That, in turn, attracts criminals who focus on suburbs, because they are looking for easier places than relatively well-policed cities to commit crimes.”

3. It’s not an argument against gun violence prevention. Like the overall trend, the firearm homicide rate was down by nearly half in 2010 since 1993. However, federal data makes clear the vast majority of homicides still involve a firearm. They are also more common in homicides with multiple victims, responsible for 79 percent of these murders. The chart show how firearms eclipse other weapons:



Contrary to National Rifle Association arguments, the drop in homicides does not mean gun violence laws are ineffective or that guns prevent murders. Firearms were involved in nearly 32,000 deaths in one year of federal data. The vast majority were suicide, while 35 percent were homicides. Other examples of gun violence come from unintentional shootings, which killed 606 people in one year alone.

Explaining the factors behind homicide rates is more complicated than just guns. Still, empirical evidence shows that stronger gun regulations and fewer gun deaths go hand-in-hand. In Missouri, steps to weaken background checks correlated with a 25 percent spike in homicides.

4. Homicide totals are down, but mass shootings are more common.
Since 2000, mass shootings have spiked from five a year to 16 a year, according to a new report published in a law enforcement bulletin. A median two people were killed in each shooting. A mass shooting was largely responsible for Washington, D.C. having more murders in 2013 than in 2012. The Navy Yard mass shooting accounted for 12 of the 104 homicides. And gun violence still gripped Chicago, including days that saw dozens of people sho. These things could explain why a Pew poll found a majority of Americans actually think the rate has climbed.
Post Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:55 pm 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Flint on track to end 2013 with 52 homicides, lowest in years

Posted: Dec 31, 2013 4:21 PM EST


Updated: Dec 31, 2013 6:28 PM EST

by Lori Dougovito - bio | email


FLINT (WJRT) -
(12/31/13) - Flint, dubbed one of the most violent cities in America, is on track to close out 2013 with fewer homicides than the city has seen in years.

Police Chief James Tolbert said the total this year is the lowest the city has seen since 2009 - 52.

It was a brutal year - a summer that saw two children, from the same school, murdered within days of each other.

A man was gunned down inside a church during a funeral for someone shot and killed a few weeks before.

2013's first homicide victim was just 15 years old. Fifty-one others would follow - too many, but fewer than Flint has seen in years.

2012 was the record setter at 67 homicides. ABC12 records show there were 55 homicides in 2011, 66 in 2010 and 37 in 2009.


"The men and women of the Flint Police Department everyday doing great work," Tolbert said.

Flint's new police chief, on the job for just the last two and a half months, isn't celebrating, but does view the decline, near 20 percent he said, as an accomplishment.

"Compartmentalized investigations combined with the state police combined with the lockup. There are a lot of different working parts. The key to all of this is sustainability," Tolbert said. "We still have a 2 percent rise in larcenies and a 21 percent rise in burglaries. Those are the next things we have to look at."

Tolbert said they'll start the new year with some new initiatives to try and sustain the decline.

There's always been a push to get citizens more involved. That will continue into the new year.


"We're going to do a lot of things to make sure the community knows what we're trying to do and make sure the community is well informed about the crime in their neighborhood and the community is an active participant in the decline in crime in their neighborhoods," he said.

Online crime mapping will be one of the tools Flint Police will provide soon, said Tolbert. He hopes to have it up and running in the next 30-40 days.


Crime Stoppers will be retooled and volunteer programs pitched again to try and add to what's being done by Flint and Michigan State Police. The state police have around 40 troopers dedicated just to the city.

Resident and business owner Norm Bryant is a familiar face in Flint.

He said he's seen it all here.

"The crime is down, but you're dealing with numbers. You can do anything with numbers. Numbers make the people look good and people look bad. We have to deal with people," Bryant said. "Until I see some job growth in this town, it's hard for me to say it's been better."
Post Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:05 pm 
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