Downward trend in homicide reversed

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The number of murders in Nevada jumped by 43.1 percent last year, ending a four-year trend of a decline in killings.

That increase mirrored the 44 percent increase in homicides last year in the Metro Police Department's jurisdiction.

Law enforcement agencies across the state reported they cleared 67.7 percent of the 186 murders recorded, an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous year.

Metro Police recorded 138 homicides last year, compared with 95 -- the lowest number in a decade -- in 2000. Metro cleared 84 of its 138 homicides in 2001, a rate of 61 percent.

Metro's numbers include justified slayings, such as those found to be in self-defense. The state's figures do not.

The state statistics were included in the 2001 Uniform Crime Report issued this month by the state Department of Public Safety for 2001. The figures are reported to the FBI, which compiles national figures usually released in the fall.

The state department said information gathered from local police and sheriff's agencies showed 90,359 total offenses last year, up 5 percent from 2000. Based on a population estimate of 2.1 million, the crime rate in Nevada was 42.38 per 1,000 citizens, up slightly from 41.55 the previous year.

About 73 percent of the crimes statewide occurred in Clark County. Total offenses reached 65,734, and agencies reported clearing 25.5 percent of them.

Richard Kirkland, director of the state Department of Law Enforcement, said Tuesday the eight-tenths of a percentage point increase in the crime rate shows that "local law enforcement is doing a pretty doggone good job."

Kirkland said Nevada has been above the average nationally in the percentage of crimes cleared.

The department estimated that one murder occurred every 43 hours in the state last year. The 186 killings were the highest since 1997, when there were 193. In 2000 the murder rate dropped 21.2 percent.

Kirkland said he's not sure why the reversal in the murder count took place. "It's virtually impossible to prevent homicides," the former Reno police chief and Washoe County Sheriff said.

Law enforcement agencies didn't know the motive for 38 percent of the killings. But the report said that 17 percent occurred after an argument, 10 percent were gang related and another 10 percent were the result of a domestic conflict.

Violent crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, increased by 15.1 percent in 2001. Property crimes, consisting of burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson, rose by 3.4 percent from 2000.

Kirkland said much of the increase in the number of crimes could be traced to juveniles getting out of detention centers and committing crimes as adults.

For the second straight year the percentage of juveniles arrested in Nevada declined. Last year 16.8 percent of those arrested were under 18, compared with 17.3 percent the previous year.

Hate crimes decreased in Nevada in 2001, with 72 reported compared to 85 in the previous year. Most of them were against blacks or homosexuals, but after Sept. 11, four hate offenses against Middle Easterners were recorded.

All but 19 of the 72 hate crimes occurred in the Las Vegas area.

Rapes, defined strictly as forcing a woman to have intercourse, rose to 883, an increase of 23 from 2000. But rate per 1,000 persons fell from 0.42 to 0.41. Kirkland said that's due in part to the increased attention to sexual crimes.

"Give science and DNA a tremendous amount of credit," Kirkland said. "They are doing a great job."

Assaults on law enforcement officers dropped from 526 in 2000 to 458 last year, and 87.4 percent of the officers escaped injury. Most assaults -- 35 percent -- came when an officer responded to domestic or other disturbance calls. And 84.8 percent of the assailants used their hands and feet in attacking the officer.

More than $181.7 million worth of property was stolen last year, most of which was not recovered. Kirkland said thieves are getting more sophisticated in moving stolen material.

"They find a hole in the system," he said. Law enforcement has stepped up its efforts by tying in computer systems to local pawnshops, where some of the items are fenced.

The report shows law enforcement personnel got back $39.7 million worth of stolen goods, for a rate of 21.3 percent. The highest recovery percentage was for motor vehicles at 48.6 percent. The average rate for recovery of other stolen property was 2.8 percent.

Kirkland said that eventually he hopes to merge the crime figures from the criminal justice system, such as prosecutions, court dispositions and prison data, to form an integrated system.