The Day - 9/11/06

Murders Increase 4.8% Nationwide
By Walter F. Roche Jr., Los Times

Washington - The rates of homicide and firearm violence jumped upward in 2005, ending a decade-long decline, according to a new U.S. Justice Department report that reinforces recent warnings by law-enforcement officials.

The National Crime Victimization Survey, released Sunday, found that murders increased 4.8 percent nationwide, from 16,140 in 2004 to 16,910 last year. The biggest increases were reported in the Midwest and the South.

In a statement that accompanied the report, Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty noted that overall crime data for 2005 showed a continuing decline, but he acknowledged an increase last year in crimes committed with firearms.

"Whether the increase from 2004 to 2005 marks a change in the trend toward reduced firearms victimization rates cannot be determined from one year's data," he said.

He noted that the 2005 rate was still lower than the rate reported in 2001.

"We recognize that some jurisdictions are experiencing a recent increase in certain types of violent crime," McNulty said.

Among cities in that category is the nation's capital. More than a dozen murders occurred in early July alone, prompting police Chief Charles Ramsey to sign an emergency order extending officers' work shifts and putting hundreds more on patrol.

"We're at the front end of an epidemic," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law-enforcement policy center based in Washington.

Wexler, commenting on the report, said police chiefs from around the country who attended an August forum sponsored by his group reported that the increase in violent crimes first seen in 2005 had continued into this year, with major hikes in three categories - homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults.

Noting that McNulty had attended the forum, Wexler said: "There is genuine concern among police agencies that the increases are continuing and expanding. There's a need to pay closer attention."

The victimization survey follows an FBI report issued in June showing that violent crime increased 2.5 percent in 2005. Wexler said the FBI data, which also showed a substantial rise in the number of homicides, reflected conditions currently experienced by law-enforcement officials. He said that in Sacramento, Calif., for instance, the homicide rate this year had jumped 45 percent.

According to the report released Sunday, the 2005 overall homicide rate was 5.7 per 100,000 individuals. The murder rate in the Midwest jumped 5.8 percent from 2004 and increased 5.3 percent in the South.

Males, blacks and those under 24 were violent-crime victims more frequently than other groups, such as females, whites and those 25 or older.

According to the report, 24 percent of the violent crimes were committed by an armed offender, and the rate of firearm violence jumped from 1.4 individuals per 100,000 in 2004 to 2.0 per 100,000 in 2005.

Overall in 2005, according to the report, U.S. residents age 12 or older were the victims of 18 million property crimes and 5.2 million violent crimes.

At the August forum, law-enforcement officials called on the federal government to refocus its efforts on fighting violent crime and suggested that international anti-terrorism efforts had sapped crime-fighting efforts.

In response, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said cities would have to work harder to fight the increase in violence and said they should not count on increased federal assistance.

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