Smaller cities see biggest rise in crime
The number of violent crimes rose 2.5 percent between 2004 and 2005, according to the FBI’s preliminary Uniform Crime Report, and mid-size cities saw the biggest increase in murders. At the same time, three big cities that are traditionally considered high crime areas — New York, Los Angeles and Miami — saw fewer murders. James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminal justice professor, says the increase probably does not indicate a trend but is more likely part of a normal fluctuation in crime statistics. However, Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, says law enforcement’s focus on fighting terrorism, a reduction in social services and fewer jobs for poor, young people may have contributed to the rise in crime.
1. | Milwaukee | +40% |
2. | Houston | +23% |
3. | St. Louis | +16% |
4. | Philadelphia | +14% |
5. | Phoenix | +9% |
1. | Miami | -22% |
2. | Dallas | -19% |
3. | San Diego | -18% |
4. | San Antonio | -9% |
5. | Detroit | -7% |
*Percentage change in murders per 100,000 people
SOURCE: The New York Times, June 13, 2006