Violent crime on the rise in the US: FBI
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tuesday June 5, 8:26 AM
*Violent crime on the rise in the US: FBI*
Violent crime rose for the second year running in 2006 across the United
States, the FBI reported Monday, in a worrying trend overturning more
than a decade of successful crime-fighting efforts.
The annual report released Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) showed that violent crime -- murder, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault -- rose by 1.3 percent between January and December
of 2006, after a 2.3 percent increase in 2005. Robberies were up a steep
six percent.
However, preliminary figures compiled from law enforcement agencies
across the country found that property crimes -- including burglary,
larceny-theft, and motor vehicle thefts -- were down last year by 2.9
percent.
The crime data are compiled by law enforcement agencies across the
United States, and then submitted to federal authorities for analysis.
The FBI is due to release more comprehensive crime statistics in September.
James Fox, a professor at Northeastern University, told ABC News that
gangs account for at least part of the increase.
"Gangs have made a comeback, and they are particularly well organized,"
he told the television network.
The 2006 rise came in part from middle-sized cities, including the US
capital Washington, criminologists said.
Murder increased overall by 0.3 percent across the country in 2006, with
the biggest increase, 6.7 percent, in cities with a population of one
million or more. Cities with the highest murder rate were New York
(539), Los Angeles (489), Chicago (448), Philadelphia (377), Detroit
(373) and Houston (334).
The crime statistics represent a political setback for President George
W. Bush, who has portrayed himself as tough on crime.
Democratic Senator Joe Biden, a candidate for the US presidency, wasted
no time in criticizing Bush over the issue.
"After years of driving crime rates down, we're now in reverse gear," he
said late last week, speaking to the Washington Post in advance of the
data release.
"It's time to get back to crime-fighting basics -- that means more cops
on the streets, equipped with the tools and resources they need to keep
our neighborhoods safe," he said.
News of rising crime rates comes after last week's announcement by US
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales of an administration plan to expand
law enforcement task forces to a handful of cities especially hard-hit
by violent crime.
Gonzales, the top US law enforcement official, also announced that
police will receive more funding and can look forward to tougher laws to
combat violent crime in US cities.
His proposals extend the work of task forces of prosecutors and law
enforcement officers at federal, state and local levels to 29 US cities,
up from 25.
"The legislation we have proposed today will make it easier for federal
investigators and prosecutors to take dangerous criminals off the
streets and put them behind bars for longer," Gonzales said.
The new law would double the maximum penalty for selling a weapon that
will be used in a violent or drug crime; increase penalties for
conspiracy; crack down harder on prior felons; extend the statute of
limitations on prosecuting violent crime; and create a special category
for violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.