Murder on the Rise in NYC

New York City Police Department statistics through the first nine months of this year show the number of murders has climbed 13.2% from the same period last year. There were 341 murders at this point last year compared with 386 through September 26, 2010, according to the New York Daily News.

The murder rate is up 25.9% in Queens, 12.2% in Manhattan and 7.4% in Brooklyn - the borough which some of the city's most crime-plagued neighborhoods.

According to the Daily News, eighteen people have been murdered in Brooklyn's 67th Precinct, known as Flatbush. "People are not working, there are no jobs, so people are out on the street," said Karen Brown, a Flatbush resident. "You aren't even secure when you're inside your own home."

The overall crime rate is down 1.5% citywide, primarily due to a 6.2% drop in grand larceny, most felony categories are up. For instance, the number of people shot citywide has gone up 4.5% from a year ago, jumping from 1,315 to 1,374, according to the Daily Mail.

The uptick in murders comes after a year in which the city recorded 466 - the fewest number of slayings since the NYPD began keeping track in 1963. This also comes on the heels of the FBI reporting that violent crime was down 5.3-percent nationwide in 2009. http://mattmangino.blogspot.com/2010/09/experts-baffled-by-falling-crime-rates.html

New York has been a bellweather for the nation with regard to crime rates. Is the latest news out of New York City a harbinger of things to come?

To read article: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/29/2010-09-29_oh_shoot_gun_crime_up_in_city_as_murders_rise_132_youre_not_even_secure_in_your_.html#ixzz110vcaiMu