Dozens of cities see jump in murders, robberies
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dozens of cities see jump in murders, robberies*
Updated 10/14/2006 11:30 PM ET
Crime reports from 55 cities for the first six months of 2006 indicate
that overall, homicides were up 4.2% compared with the same period in 2005.
By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Less than a month after the FBI reported that violent crime
rates rose across the nation in 2005, there is fresh evidence that
homicides and robberies are continuing to increase in dozens of cities.
A review of 55 cities' crime data from the first six months of this year
indicates the overall number of homicides rose by 4.2% compared with the
same period in 2005, according to the Police Executive Research Forum, a
police advocacy group. In a report Thursday, the group also said
robberies rose nearly 10% and that aggravated assaults were up slightly.
The report is the latest turn in a debate over whether the U.S.
government has neglected local law enforcement needs by directing tens
of millions of dollars to anti-terrorism initiatives. The police
executives' group has been among those pressing for more police funding
to counter rising numbers of violent incidents involving gangs and
drugs. Among other things, the group has cited the FBI's report last
month that detailed a 1.8% increase in the nation's murder rate in 2005,
after a two-decade low in 2004.
Chuck Wexler of the police group said Thursday's report is an "early
warning" that many cities could be at "the front end of a tipping point
of violent crime."
While emphasizing the need to prevent terrorism, the Justice Department
has acknowledged that crime is continuing to rise in some cities this
year. However, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty and other officials
say it is too soon to tell whether the increases are a significant
departure from the historically low crime rates of the past decade.
Of the 55 cities surveyed by the police group, 19 had double-digit
percentage increases in homicides. More than 40 cities reported jumps in
robberies. Among them:
• Orlando had 30 homicides in the first six months of the year, up from
seven during the same period in 2005. Orlando police Sgt. Barbara Jones
says about 60% of this year's slayings have been linked to drugs.
• In Memphis, homicides rose 43.6%, robberies were up 35% and aggravated
assaults rose 7.4% in the first six months of 2006, compared with the
same period last year. Tom Kirby of the Memphis and Shelby County Crime
Commission cites gangs that have had turf battles and preyed on
immigrant communities.
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., chairman of the House Appropriations panel
that oversees the Justice Department, called Thursday's report
"staggering." He urged Robert Portman, head of the Office of Management
and Budget, to meet with police officials "to better understand their
needs."
Homicides have declined in some cities in 2006, the report said. Among
them: Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Norfolk and Washington, D.C.