Violent crimes rise in valley

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:31 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Violent crime rose slightly in Southern Nevada's three largest cities in just about every category during the first six months of the year, according to numbers compiled by the FBI and released Monday.

Metro Police, which covers Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, reported the largest rise in the numbers of murders -- from 50 in the first six months of last year to 73 for the same period this year. Metro also reported increases in rape, aggravated assault and robbery.

North Las Vegas Police reported that murders increased by 10 over last year -- from four to 14. The department also reported that the other categories increased slightly.

Henderson Police reported the same in murders -- five -- but increases in the other categories.

Nationwide, despite a slight increase in homicides, overall violent crime in the United States declined by 1.3 percent during the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year, according the FBI report.

The 0.3 percent increase in homicides and a nearly 1 percent jump in robberies were countered by larger declines in aggravated assaults (2.4 percent) and rapes (1.7 percent).

In most years, the FBI's six-month status report is considered a good predictor for the bureau's year-end crime analysis. For nearly a decade, the interim report has forecast dramatic declines in crime for the overall year.

But the new numbers, measuring from January to June, do not account for an erratic period for local law enforcement in the weeks immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

During that time, some cities reported sudden increases in homicides and other violent crimes.

Police officials in Philadelphia, for example, say they believe that a surge in murders there in September and October was partly the result of the abrupt reassignment of officers from troubled neighborhoods to anti-terrorism duties in other parts of the city.

Analysts also say that the fragile national economy is just beginning to influence local crime trends as unemployment rates increase in many cities across the country.

"When crime goes down, the mayors and police chiefs usually take the credit," says Joseph McNamara, a former police chief in Kansas City, Mo., and San Jose, Calif., who is now a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "When crime goes up, it's usually about the economy in some form."

Police in Gary, Ind., which has been hit with a string of recent layoffs, say the relationship between crime and the economy is at least partly the cause for a jump in homicides this year.

There have been 81 homicides in Gary through this past weekend, up from 71 at the same time last year.

And there was no sign the upward trend was about to slow. Monday afternoon, police were responding to another homicide.

"We really have a battle on our hands," said Sgt. Thomas Branson, commander of the Gary Police homicide unit. "It seems like we're running all the time."

Branson said the city of about 100,000 people has been hit with a rash of drug-related killings and domestic homicides.

"You gotta think the layoffs have put a lot of pressure on people," Branson said.