Posted on 01/02/2011 11:43:37 AM PST by CharlesWayneCT
The District finished 2010 with 131 homicides — a 9 percent reduction from 2009 and the lowest number of killings in the nation's capital since 1963.
...
Montgomery County saw an increase from 13 homicides in 2009 to 17 last year.
...
Fairfax County also recorded a modest increase, from 14 killings in 2009 to 16 last year, while Arlington County recorded one killing last year compared with two in 2009.
For the District, the continued declines in homicides during this decade to nearly half-century lows are impressive. The city less than 20 years ago recorded 482 killings, when turf wars among gangs dealing drugs, particularly crack cocaine, fueled homicide rates more than three times their current levels.
Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier pointed to three reasons for the recent reductions.
First, she said the department has built trust with the community that is leading to more tips...
...
Second, she said the department has invested heavily in technology...
...
Third, she said gang intelligence has improved so police are able to intervene to stem incidents that in recent years had resulted in violent tit-for-tat shooting sprees.
...
...a study of homicides from Sept. 1, 2009, through Aug. 31 revealed that one in five involved a juvenile in the custody of the city's troubled Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services as either a suspect or a victim. Among the highest profile crimes in the District this year were killings committed by wards of the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The District had a no-gun policy for years, claiming that if you let ordinary people have guns, the murder rate would skyrocket. They said so in the court case.
Instead, the rate dropped to the lowest since 1963. And instead of acknowleding the disconnect between the prediction and reality, the Washington Post, and the District police, completely ignore the ruling.
But we won't forget. Guns can help stop crime. Guns in the hands of good citizens can protect those citizens.
When you need help in seconds, the police are just minutes away -- except in cases like that tragedy in Texas, where the police were already IN the apartment when the killer showed up, and the killer killed both the abused woman AND the police officer.
That's up almost 15%.
If the number of Americans who got jobs in a given year increased by 15%, would that be characterized as "a modest increase?"
I think Barry hiring everyone in D.C. as federal employees also might have something to do with it. Yes, they still have just as much free time on their hands but they can now afford fancy cell phones to spend that time “texting” their friends about how nice it is to have a paycheck coming in.
That settles it. We are in another Depression.
Didn’t street crime go down precipitously (except for a few high-profile outlaws; Bonnie & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger, Ma Barker, etc.) during the Great Depression years?
Can’t afford bullets.
Happy days are here again...only 131 are dead again...so lets sing a song of cheer again...happy days are here again! /s
I doubt that Heller had anything to do with it. In order to have a legal gun in DC, people have to register, which includeds taking an approved gun training course, and submitting proof before actually registering. Also, there are no gun shops in DC yet so far as I know.
More important I think has been reduction of PCP and Cocaine. Also I would like to see the statistics for Prince Georges Co. where I suspect a lot of crime has moved to from the Impoverished Anacostia area of DC. Also, there seems to have been a real improvement in police gang work.
“Happy days are here again...only 131 are dead again...so lets sing a song of cheer again...happy days are here again! /s”
As I recall, Mayor Marion Barry didn’t like the murder rate in DC as it made him look bad. When he inquired, he found out that the numbers were self-reported by the local cops to the FBI, which was keeping the statistics. He simply ordered the DC cops to re-define what murder was. Lots of bullet riddled corpses became suicides. Even if they’d been shot twice in the head.
The point is, you can’t trust what the government tells you unless you have some independent verification.
Correct. The District won't allow zoning for a gunshop to be built. And you can't transfer a gun purchased from another state either. There are only about 6 FFL licensees in DC, and none will transfer a firearm for the average citizen.
“The District had a no-gun policy for years, claiming that if you let ordinary people have guns”
I didn’t know that changed...
I agree with you. Intelligence has increased ten-fold in 10 yrs. Anacostia/SE used to be rough.
So far this whole “if we let ordinary people have guns murder will skyrocket” has NEVER been proven. There is not one city anywhere, ANYWHERE in the country where this ever even came close to coming true. They ought to be disbarred anytime they bring up this lie as testimony in cases debating the 2nd Amendment.
I doubt that the gun restrictions being loosened has much to do with it. In the parts of town where there are killings, there are plenty of guns. And I don’t recall of an arrest where an “illegal” gun was used in self defense. It’s usually an add-on charge to something like drugs in a car (”illegal possession”).
What isn’t mentioned here is a several effort at upgrading the quality of the police force and its command structure. That has been truly impressive.
Wife and I had occation a coupple months ago to walk D.C. from just before dusk to about midnight.
Came out of the sub at the Washington Monument and walked the mall around the capital past the Supremes and back past the White House to see Lincoln.
Mall is a disgrace, place has become an armed craphole.
Hell, they line the streets with outhouses then lock em up so they won’t get vandalized.
Hey - you all don’t seem to understand. The numbers have everything to do with the fact that ALL DC gun laws are essentially on-hold after the Heller (and following) cases. A close friend in DC (NOT a white guy, NOT in NW) tells me that certain laws may be on the books but the MPD are certainly not breaking down doors to enforce them... They’re only used when bad guys are caught with plenty of other “stuff.” Gun ownership - shotgun ownership especially - by private citizens has skyrocketed by hook or by crook and the bad guys know it. Not only that, but the cops seem to like it this way. Dr John Lott has written extensively on the subject. Interesting stuff.
Cool!
I flat out don't believe that. DC probably has a lot of good beat cops and inspectors, but command is pure politicians that get to play with guns, or the district wouldn't be in the trouble it is.
Notice which DC Metro county is NOT mentioned ??? How about PG county, where so many of DC’s thugs have moved in the past decade?
Has DC even implemented the regs for guns yet? Last I heard they were stalling, making it all but impossible for anyone to get a permit. But that was a year ago, not long (in government terms) after the Heller decision.
Homicides down in L.A. too, under 300… best since '67. And San Diego, just 29, best in over 40 yrs.
They're up in Atlanta, however, around 90, I think. I haven't seen end of year numbers.
They were up in Tijuana, Mexico, too… over 800 again.
The District had a no-gun policy for years, claiming that if you let ordinary people have guns, the murder rate would skyrocket. They said so in the court case.
Instead, the rate dropped to the lowest since 1963.
That’s the joy of Leftist propaganda – never admit you were wrong and never let the facts stand in the way of a false narrative.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.