Orlando Set To Shatter Decades-Old Homicide Record

[UpInArms]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/florida/news-article.aspx?storyid=61602

ORLANDO, FL (AP) -- Mickey Mouse made this medium-sized city loom much larger in the public eye than its population would suggest, but this year it has been running up a big-city statistic
its residents would be better off without.

In less than seven months this city of about 215,000 reported 33 homicides, more than it's seen in any full year except one. It's only three shy of its 1982 record, and on pace to have one of the
15 worst per-capita murder rates in the country.

Victims include a 6-year-old apparent child abuse victim who died of severe head injuries and a 22-year-old shot in the back of the head for unknown reasons. Shortly after New Year's, a transient stabbed near a homeless camp bled to death on the same day an 18-year-old's bullet-riddled body lay on the street; two gunmen had apparently mistaken the youth for someone they were feuding with.

"People can attribute crime to failing schools, failing families. There's a bunch of sociological things you can put your finger on," said police Sgt. Rich Ring, head of Orlando's homicide investigation unit. "All we can do as police is say the biggest things are drugs and robbery, and we're going to take action to attack those issues."

FBI figures from 2005 released last month showed a 2.5 percent increase in violent crime nationwide -- the largest since 1991 -- and a 4.8 percent rise in murders.

...more...

[CornField]

1. Desperate people

We knew this was coming. It's one of the aftershocks of Republican policy.

[Roland99]

4. Violent crime will increase when temps rise or when poverty increases.

[salin]

5. put the two together

and there we are. :-(

[SlavesandBulldozers]

2. i knew one of the victims of this trend

a newlywed young man shot on the way up the stairs bringing food home to his wife. They haven't found the murderer, nor do they have any leads.

It devastated my group of friends.

[salin]

3. very sorry to hear this, tragic.

:cry:

The homicide rate has increased where I live (Indy), and the rate of incidents with guns, and robberies has increased significantly in my hometown as well (a much smaller city.)

[SlavesandBulldozers]

12. it was tragic. senseless & stupid.

it ruined a 24year-old wife's life. an absolutely angelic young woman. and took away the father of a young child. for nothing.


i have read about Indy's problems as well. surreal.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. Why can't I shake the feeling...

That this is an intended effect of their policies? After all, we know that they are, at their core, authoritarians. A spike in the incidence of violent crime only serves their purposes.

[jobycom]

7. Maybe, but I think it's more that they just don't give a sh*t. We people

are just cattle to them, to use, to eat, to make profit from. Ranchers don't care if their cattle are suffering until it start affecting their profits. Or until the cattle threaten to stampede.

[Vogon_Glory]

17. I Concur

I concur. I don't think that the Radical Right Republican mindset gives a rat's rump about the rising crime rate unless it affects them directly. If it's the poor, the working poor, or even most of the middle class, they could care less.

Some of us fifty-somethings remember how the crime and murder rates rose during the 1960's, 1970's, and then peaked during the first crack epidemic. We remember how the Repugs howled and how they used to point the finger at the Dems and shouted "Promiscuity!" and "Permissiveness!".

Remember, we have a rising crime rate DESPITE very good criminal forensics and procedures that takes real bad guys off the streets despite the authoritarian right's caterwauling about the Miranda ruling about the old Miranda ruling, too.

We have an ultraconservative administration, rising crime rates for the first time in years (The Clinton years were almost as safe as the 1950's and maybe even safer!), cops OFF the street thanks to budget cuts and a deafening silence from the corporate media's presstitutes.

And of course too many Democrats will also remain silent.

[watercolors]

8. Make it 34 today!

Iy is very worriesome, not at all safe in some areas. It reminds me of the Miami .

[MadMaddie]

9. If I remember correctly during Reagan and * Seniors reign

the crime rate skyrocketed....every time it's the result of their fucked up policies and lack of care for communities...

[rustedart]

10. Rochester has the same problem

Here in Rochester NY, population of 200,000, we have the highest murder rate in NY State. Along with the highest child poverty rate (40%), And things are only getting worst.

[SoCalDem]

11. The gift shops will have to start ordering these

[PSPS]

13. I wonder about the statistics

FBI figures from 2005 released last month showed a 2.5 percent increase in violent crime nationwide -- the largest since 1991 -- and a 4.8 percent rise in murders.

I have no doubt that things are getting worse. My hometown has had a spike in bizarre "inexplicable" murders, often at the hands of vets returned from Iraq.

But the above quote got me wondering. So I looked at the FBI site and got the actual statistics. Here they are, for "murder and negligent homicide:"


Homicides per 100K Population - US


Year Rate Change
1984 7.9
1985 8.0 + 1.3%
1986 8.6 + 7.5%
1987 8.3 - 3.5%
1988 8.5 + 2.4%
1989 8.7 + 2.4%
1990 9.4 + 8.0%
1991 9.8 + 4.3%
1992 9.3 - 5.1%
1993 9.5 + 2.2%
1994 9.0 - 5.3%
1995 8.2 - 8.9%
1996 7.4 - 9.8%
1997 6.8 - 8.1%
1998 6.3 - 7.4%
1999 5.7 - 9.5%
2000 5.5 - 3.5%
2001 5.6 + 1.8% (excludes "9/11")
2002 5.6 ------
2003 5.7 + 1.8%
2004 5.5 - 3.5%


Out of curiousity, I looked up the same statistic from Canada. I couldn't find data going back as far as 1984, but it is interesting:


Homicides per 100K Population

Year US Canada

2001 5.6 1.8
2002 5.6 1.9
2003 5.7 1.7
2004 5.5 2.0

[mvd]

14. Yep, the decline that started under Clinton is now finally..

being reversed due to Bush's policies. Philly right now has the highest murder rate among the 10 biggest cities - and much of that can be attributed to growing poverty and hopelessness. Center City Philadelphia is as safe as it's ever been, with only 2 murders this year. But the poor neighborhoods have gotten much worse when it comes to violence. Orlando and Philly lack someone like Miami police chief Timoney, but it's not just the police chiefs' fault.

[xchrom]

15. another {jeb}bush failure.

[benEzra]

16. As a former Florida resident,

I can attest that Florida has a dysfunctional safety net. Their medicaid programs are always underfunded (we know firsthand--our son is a special-needs kid), and a lot of their social service programs are badly run. I'm sure that can put the squeeze on people, especially people with mental health problems or substance-abuse issues.

[Toots]

18. "People can attribute crime to failing schools, failing families.

But one thing we know for a fact it is not because of guns. They just passed a law saying people could carry guns and shoot to kill if even afraid they may be confronted, so guns can not in any way have anything to do with this....

[benEzra]

19. Not true, actually...

They just passed a law saying people could carry guns and shoot to kill if even afraid they may be confronted, so guns can not in any way have anything to do with this....

No, the Florida law, and other laws based thereon, did not change the criteria by which a shooting may be ruled justifiable self-defense. Rather, it (1) eliminated the statuatory duty to try to run away from someone who was actually trying to kill or maim you (Florida law previously required retreat even in the face of a lethal threat; now it doesn't, just like Calilfornia); (2) specified that a violent attacker cannot sue his victim if the victim injures him in self-defense, and said act is ruled justifiable; and (3) extends the Castle Doctrine to one's vehicle, so that if a carjacker breaks into your vehicle while you and your family are inside it, you can defend yourself on the same legal grounds as if you were in your home. None of that is radical, and most of it mirrors laws that have existed in other states for generations (including many blue states), though you'd never know it from reading Bradyite press releases.

The Brady Campaign ran a fundraising and PR campaign recently, alleging that you can shoot someone in Florida if you merely "feel threatened," but that's lobbyist fundraising PR, not the law.

As a former Florida resident who gets back there fairly often (I was back just last month), I'd hazard a guess that the increased crime rate has to do with the economic downturn combined with Florida's abysmal social services system. Not to mention that state has STILL not fully recovered from last year's hurricanes, which is putting the squeeze on a lot of people.