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Home of the (gun) Free - Homicide rate rises 32% i
Josey1
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Resurgence in Slayings Stirs Fear, Confusion
By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 8, 2002; Page DZ03
The 33 homicides that occurred in July made the month the deadliest in the District in more than four years, police statistics show. Through Tuesday morning, the number of homicides this year was 143, a 32 percent increase since the same time last year, a police spokesman said.
As killings have increased, mostly since last fall, city politicians and police have expressed concern and advanced theories about the trend. These include the economy, the lingering effects of Sept. 11, a flood of returning felons or the inability of police to catch those who commit murder.
However, said D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), "I think the real answer to this is that we're not sure."
Whatever the cause, this year's homicide totals don't necessarily portend a return to the violence of the early 1990s, when the city had more than 450 in one year. If the killing continues at the same pace for the rest of this year, the number of homicides would be near the total for 2000, when 242 occurred, or last year's 233, according to police.
The turnabout has been sharp since August of last year when the city seemed headed for a modern low in homicides, on pace for fewer than 200 for the year. That changed in September and continued into the new year. In the first eight months of 2001, the city averaged about 16 homicides a month. Since then, the monthly average has been about 22.
Last month was worst of all. Police said the 33 killings were more than in any month since January 1998, the earliest period for which police could provide month-by-month statistics.
Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said crime in the city is down overall by about 2 percent this year. But homicides are the most-watched barometer of police performance, and the recent increase has brought criticism from council members, who said police haven't done enough to solve homicides and take criminals off the street.
So far this year, Ramsey said, police have achieved about a 49 percent homicide clearance rate. Police consider that a case has been cleared, or closed, when an arrest is made. In some circumstances, they close a case if they believe that the killer has been pinpointed, even if for various reasons, he or she can not be prosecuted. Those reasons include the suspect's death or incarceration for another crime.
In about 50 of this year's slayings, Ramsey said, detectives know so little about the killing that they cannot determine a motive.
Ramsey said detectives have encountered the same problems this year that they always have: Witnesses are unwilling to talk to detectives, or none can be found. Since police began offering a $10,000 reward two years ago to anyone who can give information that solves a homicide, only one person has collected, he said.
Ramsey agreed with council members that, if killers are not caught, they are likely to commit more violence.
"These are evil people that we're talking about," Ramsey said. "These aren't folks that are going to change their ways."
Responding to concerns about police visibility, police have launched a program to redeploy 90 to 100 additional officers from administrative duties or specialized units to city streets this summer. But Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) said residents are "a little skeptical" about this initiative.
"I think they've heard 'redeployment' before," Fenty said. Indeed, police have done similar redeployments in previous summers under Ramsey.
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said cities across the country have experienced increases in violent crime this year.
One potential reason for the uptick, Fox said, is that many young people don't remember the epidemic of gang violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s and might be more likely to join a gang. In addition, felons jailed in those decades are returning to their old neighborhoods in large numbers. On the East Coast, many cities -- including Washington -- have had to use scarce police resources to defend against terrorism, he said.
But, Fox said, big cities may also be victims of their success. In the District, he said, current homicide rates appear scarier when compared with lower rates in previous years.
"Part of the reason [the homicide rate] is going up this year is that it was going down last year," he said.
"If you compare it to 10 years ago, we're still better off."
c 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54551-2002Aug7.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 8, 2002; Page DZ03
The 33 homicides that occurred in July made the month the deadliest in the District in more than four years, police statistics show. Through Tuesday morning, the number of homicides this year was 143, a 32 percent increase since the same time last year, a police spokesman said.
As killings have increased, mostly since last fall, city politicians and police have expressed concern and advanced theories about the trend. These include the economy, the lingering effects of Sept. 11, a flood of returning felons or the inability of police to catch those who commit murder.
However, said D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), "I think the real answer to this is that we're not sure."
Whatever the cause, this year's homicide totals don't necessarily portend a return to the violence of the early 1990s, when the city had more than 450 in one year. If the killing continues at the same pace for the rest of this year, the number of homicides would be near the total for 2000, when 242 occurred, or last year's 233, according to police.
The turnabout has been sharp since August of last year when the city seemed headed for a modern low in homicides, on pace for fewer than 200 for the year. That changed in September and continued into the new year. In the first eight months of 2001, the city averaged about 16 homicides a month. Since then, the monthly average has been about 22.
Last month was worst of all. Police said the 33 killings were more than in any month since January 1998, the earliest period for which police could provide month-by-month statistics.
Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said crime in the city is down overall by about 2 percent this year. But homicides are the most-watched barometer of police performance, and the recent increase has brought criticism from council members, who said police haven't done enough to solve homicides and take criminals off the street.
So far this year, Ramsey said, police have achieved about a 49 percent homicide clearance rate. Police consider that a case has been cleared, or closed, when an arrest is made. In some circumstances, they close a case if they believe that the killer has been pinpointed, even if for various reasons, he or she can not be prosecuted. Those reasons include the suspect's death or incarceration for another crime.
In about 50 of this year's slayings, Ramsey said, detectives know so little about the killing that they cannot determine a motive.
Ramsey said detectives have encountered the same problems this year that they always have: Witnesses are unwilling to talk to detectives, or none can be found. Since police began offering a $10,000 reward two years ago to anyone who can give information that solves a homicide, only one person has collected, he said.
Ramsey agreed with council members that, if killers are not caught, they are likely to commit more violence.
"These are evil people that we're talking about," Ramsey said. "These aren't folks that are going to change their ways."
Responding to concerns about police visibility, police have launched a program to redeploy 90 to 100 additional officers from administrative duties or specialized units to city streets this summer. But Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) said residents are "a little skeptical" about this initiative.
"I think they've heard 'redeployment' before," Fenty said. Indeed, police have done similar redeployments in previous summers under Ramsey.
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said cities across the country have experienced increases in violent crime this year.
One potential reason for the uptick, Fox said, is that many young people don't remember the epidemic of gang violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s and might be more likely to join a gang. In addition, felons jailed in those decades are returning to their old neighborhoods in large numbers. On the East Coast, many cities -- including Washington -- have had to use scarce police resources to defend against terrorism, he said.
But, Fox said, big cities may also be victims of their success. In the District, he said, current homicide rates appear scarier when compared with lower rates in previous years.
"Part of the reason [the homicide rate] is going up this year is that it was going down last year," he said.
"If you compare it to 10 years ago, we're still better off."
c 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54551-2002Aug7.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878