Okay, I *stole* this from the Anti-HCI webpage but I loved it!!!! Not the death or the raise in crime, but because stupid politicians are going to make even stupidier laws to combat the forces that they and they alone created with making stupid laws in the first place. Oh, and please notice that the three areas that have almost total bans on guns; yet have the most crime. I'm sure D.C. was fourth, either that or they only listed the top "states" and not any districts:
LOS ANGELES, California -- While the United States overall saw a slight drop in
violent crime during the first six months of 2000, the city of Los Angeles
experienced a nearly 26 percent increase in murders during the same period,
crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI showed
Tuesday.
Police, Los Angeles city officials, academics and crime watchers found it hard to
pinpoint why the city's homicide rate has risen or whether it signals a long-term
trend. While it is worrisome, most said, they attribute it to a list of factors
including a bottoming out after a decade of lower crime rates.
"When any sort of trend, including a trend in
homicide, bottoms out, you do see the
numbers bounce around for awhile," UCLA
Public Health Professor Susan Sorenson said.
"But this is a substantial leap. I would be
worried," she said.
That same theory was advanced to explain
why the national violent crime rate had
dropped a scant 0.3 percent over the first half
of 2000, compared to a 9.5 percent decline
over the same period in 1999.
"We've had eight wonderful years of declining
crime rates, and at a certain point you just
can't push those numbers further down, and
we've hit that point," said Professor James
Alan Fox of Northeastern University in
Boston.
L.A. behind Chicago, New York
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno issued a
written statement Monday, noting that across the country "homicide is at its
lowest point in 33 years."
But according to the FBI data, released Monday, the city of Los Angeles had the
third highest homicide rate in the United States during the first six months of
2000, with Chicago taking second place and New York City topping the list.
More worrisome was the fact that Los Angeles had a sharp rise in murders while
other major cities saw their rates remain stable or vary only slightly, officials
said.
For example, while Los Angeles reported a 26 percent rise in murders during the
first six months of 2000 -- to 247 from 196 in 1999 -- Chicago showed a drop
from 318 to 264, and New York's total rose slightly from 335 to 344.
Los Angeles Police Department data for the full year of 2000 seem to
corroborate the FBI results. From January 1 until December 16 of 2000, there
were 516 homicides in Los Angeles, compared with 414 during the same period
in 1999, a 24.6 percent increase, a police spokesman said.
"We just know a large chunk of it is gang related, 42 percent or so," LAPD Sgt.
John Pasquariello said. "Predominantly, it's youthful victims and suspects
between the ages of 16 to 25. We know the homicides are on weekends from
Thursday through Sunday between 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., but we don't know exactly
why."
"It's not in one place. It's not specific. It's not a gang war, it's not a racial war ...
It's spread out," Pasquariello said.
While the murder rate has increased dramatically, the overall crime rate in Los
Angeles has only increased 9.5 percent, Pasquariello said.
Searching for new officers
At his latest monthly press briefing, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks
offered no hard and fast explanations for the uptick in homicides, although he
said that after a decade of declining crime rates homicides had probably reached
their lowest level and could only go up.
Meanwhile, the LAPD continues its search for 1,000 new recruits.
"The number of officers that either retire or leave the department to go elsewhere
is now approximately double the rate of the new recruits that successfully
complete the academy," said Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs.
USP45usp
This was taken from CNN.com They hold all rights to content but did not express that this item could not be cut and copied onto another forum. No apparent visible terms or conditions relating to the cut and copy of said material was displayed upon the page of which this information was received. (Just CYA talk).
LOS ANGELES, California -- While the United States overall saw a slight drop in
violent crime during the first six months of 2000, the city of Los Angeles
experienced a nearly 26 percent increase in murders during the same period,
crime data from the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI showed
Tuesday.
Police, Los Angeles city officials, academics and crime watchers found it hard to
pinpoint why the city's homicide rate has risen or whether it signals a long-term
trend. While it is worrisome, most said, they attribute it to a list of factors
including a bottoming out after a decade of lower crime rates.
"When any sort of trend, including a trend in
homicide, bottoms out, you do see the
numbers bounce around for awhile," UCLA
Public Health Professor Susan Sorenson said.
"But this is a substantial leap. I would be
worried," she said.
That same theory was advanced to explain
why the national violent crime rate had
dropped a scant 0.3 percent over the first half
of 2000, compared to a 9.5 percent decline
over the same period in 1999.
"We've had eight wonderful years of declining
crime rates, and at a certain point you just
can't push those numbers further down, and
we've hit that point," said Professor James
Alan Fox of Northeastern University in
Boston.
L.A. behind Chicago, New York
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno issued a
written statement Monday, noting that across the country "homicide is at its
lowest point in 33 years."
But according to the FBI data, released Monday, the city of Los Angeles had the
third highest homicide rate in the United States during the first six months of
2000, with Chicago taking second place and New York City topping the list.
More worrisome was the fact that Los Angeles had a sharp rise in murders while
other major cities saw their rates remain stable or vary only slightly, officials
said.
For example, while Los Angeles reported a 26 percent rise in murders during the
first six months of 2000 -- to 247 from 196 in 1999 -- Chicago showed a drop
from 318 to 264, and New York's total rose slightly from 335 to 344.
Los Angeles Police Department data for the full year of 2000 seem to
corroborate the FBI results. From January 1 until December 16 of 2000, there
were 516 homicides in Los Angeles, compared with 414 during the same period
in 1999, a 24.6 percent increase, a police spokesman said.
"We just know a large chunk of it is gang related, 42 percent or so," LAPD Sgt.
John Pasquariello said. "Predominantly, it's youthful victims and suspects
between the ages of 16 to 25. We know the homicides are on weekends from
Thursday through Sunday between 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., but we don't know exactly
why."
"It's not in one place. It's not specific. It's not a gang war, it's not a racial war ...
It's spread out," Pasquariello said.
While the murder rate has increased dramatically, the overall crime rate in Los
Angeles has only increased 9.5 percent, Pasquariello said.
Searching for new officers
At his latest monthly press briefing, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks
offered no hard and fast explanations for the uptick in homicides, although he
said that after a decade of declining crime rates homicides had probably reached
their lowest level and could only go up.
Meanwhile, the LAPD continues its search for 1,000 new recruits.
"The number of officers that either retire or leave the department to go elsewhere
is now approximately double the rate of the new recruits that successfully
complete the academy," said Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs.
USP45usp
This was taken from CNN.com They hold all rights to content but did not express that this item could not be cut and copied onto another forum. No apparent visible terms or conditions relating to the cut and copy of said material was displayed upon the page of which this information was received. (Just CYA talk).