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The Economics of LA's Crime Increase LA Times
When Los Angeles crime statistics showed that homicides were up early this year, Police Chief William J. Bratton said the buck stopped with him. "I take responsibility when it goes down, I take responsibility when it goes up," he said at a news conference this month. Bratton has, in fact, built a career on the idea that the police are responsible for the crime rate. When there are fewer crimes, cops get the credit, and when there are more, they are held accountable. It is a winning attitude -- but one based on a myth. . . . Crime Rankings are Dangerous Contexts
In the early 1990s, when crime rates were at an historic peak in the United States, the small Kansas publishing company Morgan Quitno began ranking U.S. cities and metropolitan areas by their crime rates, based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). Morgan Quitno promoted the results in press releases and an annual volume listing cities and metro areas from the “safest” to most “dangerous” . . . . Crime Rankings are Flawed USA Today
In a dubious tradition of the season, Americans are being told which of their cities is the "safest" and "most dangerous," according to the latest FBI crime statistics. And once again, cities such as Detroit, St. Louis, Camden, N.J., and others are facing an avalanche of bad publicity. This annual rite would be laughable were it not for the uncritical media attention it garners and the real harm it inflicts on the tarnished cities. This year, the harm stands to grow. Despite pleas from the FBI, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and criminologists, CQ Press published the annual rankings again on Nov. 18. That's unfortunate, because ranking cities by their crime rates is meaningless, damaging and irresponsible. Here's why. . . . Putting St. Louis Crime Increase in Context Saint Louis Beacon
The following headline appeared over an April 25 St. Louis Post-Dispatch story: “Crime down, except for the killings.” So much for the city’s efforts to play down its ranking as the nation’s crime capital. Homicides are way up in St. Louis, and the drop in non-lethal violence appears to have ended. The city had better prepare for a long, hot summer. . . . |
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