Local Entrepreneurial News
From The Dispatch:
Reported offenses decline in Columbus
By John FuttyThe violent-crime rate in Columbus was the lowest among Ohio’s major cities last year, but its property-crime rate was the highest. Overall, the number of violent and property crimes reported in the city declined from the previous year, according to statistics released this week by the FBI.
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“‘That’s good news for the city,’ Police Chief Walter Distelzweig said yesterday. ‘You have to be very careful in law enforcement when you try to explain the numbers. Sometimes, you can’t ever determine why crime goes up or down’ one year to the next.”
“Distelzweig said it is impossible to predict whether crime trends would change if voters reject a city income-tax increase in August and he moves ahead with a proposal to lay off nearly 300 officers.”
“‘We’ll maintain staffing in patrol because that’s the first line of defense,’ he said. ‘But the follow-up and investigations of crimes will suffer. Our apprehension rate may go down.’”
I love this guy specifically for these comments. They are so, completely true.
Reports have gone down, that doesn’t mean the incidents have decreased. And no one knows what the reason for decrease in reports of crime really is.
I’ve read one study that posits that decrease in crime is actually relative to the age of the adult population. As in, a certain demographic is more prone to commit crimes (adult males 18-24; then they “grow up” and the group as a whole commits less crime). The number in that age group peaked and there are currently less people in the adult male 18-24 age group than the generation before. Therefore, although the overall population has increased, the number of people in that demographic is smaller, so the number of crimes are smaller. It’s an interesting theory, anyway.
It is a positive that violent crime as decreased, but we have to look deeper to understand that property crimes and other “non-violent” crimes are still a major problem.
I attended one of the “Community Meetings” held by the CPD last week and they mentioned home and car break-ins, theft, truancy, drugs, etc. as growing problems in our city.
And we have to be aware that while most violent crimes decreased, murder in the city increased.
While we can be thankful that violent crimes have decreased, we must be aware that other types of crimes are increasing.
Yeah, there are so many factors to take into consideration when it coms to this sort of reporting. I’m just glad to hear that crime is down overall and trying to cherish the moment for a little while. ;)
Whenever I see crime rates drop, I just assume it’s like on The Wire.
Jukin’ the stats.
^ Always the pessimist.