Even though the city of Columbus had a record-breaking number of homicides last year, crime data show that the overall number of reported violent crimes was down when compared with 2016.
"I think sometimes it portrays that it's a more-violent city than it is," Deputy Police Chief Tim Becker, of the 143 lives cut short last year.
"Those other (violent crime) numbers showed some decline," said Becker.
In 2017, 816 people per 100,000 in Columbus were victims of violent crime, including homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies and rapes. Property crimes, including burglary, motor-vehicle theft, larceny and arson, affected 2,629 people per 100,000, according to a Dispatch analysis.
When compared with an average over the five years from 2012 to 2016, violent crime went up by 3.4 percent in 2017. But when last year is compared only with 2016, violent crime dipped by 4.4 percent.
A little more than a month into 2018, 12 homicides had been recorded as of Saturday evening. By comparison, at this point last year, eight people had been slain.
In 2017, homicide detectives experienced higher case loads and lower clearance rates as they were overwhelmed by the record 143 homicides.
Administrators are making adjustments to cope with the overload. After several suspected gang-related homicides in recent months, gang investigators now work cases with homicide detectives.
"We are now dispatching a gang unit to every homicide to meet up with the lead detective and determine if they think there is anything gang-related there. If there is, we have someone at the scene right from the start," Becker said.
Cold-case detectives began taking assault cases on first shift in December to free up first-shift homicide detectives who normally handle assaults. Injured officers assigned to desk duty are now pitching in to help check lab results or review recorded interviews.
Normally, if gun-related homicides spike, then typically nonfatal shootings increase as well. But data provided by Columbus police show nonfatal shootings actually declined from 2016 to 2017.
Over time, fatal and nonfatal shootings should pretty closely track each other, said Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
"That leads to speculation about why it is assaults and robberies are more fatal these days than they have been in the past," he said.
Rosenfeld said that can speak to the gunman's intent. More rounds might be fired in more shootings, showing the intent is to kill, not to just threaten or scare someone, he said.
In 2017, there were 11 double homicides, and there were many cases where multiple people were wounded in a shooting, but only one person died.
"So that has to mean the incidents that give rise to homicide are more lethal, more likely to end in a homicide than in the past," Rosenfeld said.
The surge in killings matches what has happened in many other major cities across the country within the past couple of years, he said.
"I think it's fair to say what's happening in Columbus is not unique to Columbus," Rosenfeld said.
Becker, who began overseeing investigations a few months ago, said that if more homicide detectives are added in the near future, it would mean another unit will lose investigators.
“What crimes do we quit investigating? Those thefts from autos? Certainly a lot of them are misdemeanors. That's the least-serious crime, but it also touches the most people,” he said.
Within the next six months, he said, there are plans to evaluate how the homicide unit works and “see where we can be more efficient and compare against best practices.”
The Dispatch used raw incident-based reporting data from the Columbus Division of Police’s database to examine crime rates. On social media last month, the division posted numbers showing fewer reported crimes. Those figures were gleaned from data filtered through a statewide database that continues to be updated with 2017 data, according to officials.
In at least one case, the number of crimes reported was half the amount shown in the city's records. For example, a statewide database compiled by the Ohio Department of Public Safety showed that there were 1,516 aggravated assaults in 2017 for the city. The city's raw numbers showed there were 3,162 aggravated assaults.
Officials weren't able to provide explanations about why there were such sharp differences.
bburger@dispatch.com
@ByBethBurger
Read Full Original Content Despite homicide record, violent crime overall is down in Columbus - The Columbus Dispatch : http://ift.tt/2E2gfph
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Despite homicide record, violent crime overall is down in Columbus - The Columbus Dispatch"
Post a Comment