Homicides up after four-year decline

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2002 | 9:39 a.m.

Metro Police's four-year decline in homicides came to a crashing end in 2001, with a 44 percent rise over the year before, leaving cops and experts baffled.

The pace to eclipse the 95 homicides in 2000 -- the lowest in Metro's jurisdiction since 1990 -- was set in January last year, when there were 20 slayings. The year ended with 138 homicides.

"This year may be more consistent with past years with last year (2000) being the anomaly," Lt. Tom Monahan, head of Metro's homicide unit, said. "We are not happy with the increase. But we don't have any reasons that explain the increase."

There were more domestic-related slayings last year, 33, than in 2000, when there were 16. The number of gang-related homicides also increased.

While homicides are often the gauge some communities use for how safe their city is, the director of the National Consortium on Violence Research says most citizens will never be touched by a homicide.

"People who are not in gangs or involved in the drug trade and don't have a violent domestic situation really saw no growth in their homicide risk," said Alfred Blumstein, director of the consortium and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

However, last year did include slayings of bystanders just going about their lives. Like 9-year-old Hector Perez, shot and killed while standing with his teenage siblings in Maslow Park. And 61-year-old church deacon Floyd E. Wilson, who was killed by gang cross fire in North Las Vegas as he drove his truck down West Carey Avenue.

Gang-related killings were the reason North Las Vegas saw an increase of homicides from 10 in 2000 to 20 in 2001. Twelve of those were gang related. However, North Las Vegas didn't have a homicide after Sept. 19.

"What has helped is putting a patrol station and officers (in the area of the gang-related slayings), and a lot of the players were taken in custody," said Sgt. Frank DeMartino, of North Las Vegas Police's homicide/robbery unit.

Henderson saw a modest increase in the number of slaying, from eight in 2000 to nine in 2001.

Metro had a decrease each year since 1996, when there were a record 168 slayings, while the population increased in its jurisdiction, which includes Las Vegas and the unincorporated areas of Clark County.

Blumstein said one year's homicide total, whether up or down, cannot predict an end to a decreasing trend or the start of a rising trend. One of the trends analysts watch is the economy. Typically a poor economy results in a higher homicide rate.

Las Vegas bucked that trend last year. A majority of the slayings occurred earlier in the year, when the area's economy was still humming along. When mass layoffs occurred in October and November there were relatively fewer homicides than in the beginning of the year.

"There is not an easy explanation (in Las Vegas), as the unemployment has not really had an effect," Blumstein said.

Before the numbers were tallied, Ron Cornell knew 2001 was a deadlier year than 2000.

The president of the support group Families of Murder Victims noted his group has had more contacts.

"We've gotten quite a few calls this year (2001)," he said. "The public is desensitized to murder now. Unless you are the family of a victim, you really don't know how hard it is."

Families and friends of recent slaying victims call the support group seeking advice on how others make it through the holidays and birthdays of their slain loved ones, Cornell said.

"I wish we didn't have to exist," said Cornell, whose 16-year-old son was killed in 1998.

The percentage of solved homicides for Metro is about the same as last year -- 61 percent. That fact bothers Monahan.

"We want to solve them all," he said. "Part of the problem, especially with gang-related homicides, is finding someone who will admit they saw something."

Monahan added just because detectives haven't made an arrest doesn't mean they don't know who did the homicide.

"Sometimes we just don't have enough evidence," he said.

Homicide has historically been seen as a crime police cannot foresee, but Undersheriff Richard Winget said Metro officials look at trends and try to suppress slayings where possible.

"I personally think we can affect homicides by increasing programs with domestic violence and monitoring gang activity," he said. "But why crime happens is a subject of debate among police, politicians and academics."

Blumstein said there was no way Las Vegas could continue its decrease in homicides indefinitely. At some point there would be an increase.

"The question is what is going to happen (this) year?" Blumstein said.