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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:05 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint is most-violent large city in the nation, according to preliminary 2012 FBI data
By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
on January 17, 2013 at 8:08 AM, updated January 17, 2013 at 10:49 AM
FLINT, MI -- Flint is yet again the nation’s most-violent large city, according to preliminary data for the first half of 2012 released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The data, released Monday, Jan. 14, focuses on crimes reported to law enforcement during the first six months of 2012 and shows that Flint had more reported violent crimes per capita than any other city with at least 100,000 people.
There were roughly 1,374 violent crimes reported per 100,000 Flint residents during the first six months of 2012, according to the data. That is nearly 40 percent more than the roughly 984 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in the nation’s second-most violent city -- Detroit.
"The city of Flint struggled with high crime and violence," said Flint Mayor Dayne Walling. "The statistics reflect that."
LOOK FOR YOURSELF: Review data from the FBI
Walling said the city's crime is rooted in social and economic problems and is exacerbated by the prevalence of illegal guns and drugs.
"It's unacceptable," said Walling.
Flint Police Chief Alvern Lock declined to comment on the statistics, saying that he would wait until an entire year’s worth of data is reported by the FBI.
City spokesman Jason Lorenz also declined comment.
The city tied its homicide record in 2012 with 66 killings and its roughly 31 homicides per 100,000 residents in early 2012 was the highest in the country. New Orleans had the second-highest homicide rate, with roughly 28 per 100,000 people.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Flint City Council President Scott Kincaid said of the data. "We need to do better."
Kincaid said the crime-fighting plan put in place by Gov. Rick Snyder through the city’s emergency managers, Mike Brown and Rick Kurtz, and their appointed public safety director, Barnett Jones, has failed city residents.
Flint voters overwhelmingly supported a new public safety millage during the November election, but Kincaid said the additional funding hasn’t necessarily equated to more police on the street.
“They’re willing to reach down and pay more because they’re concerned about police officers and their response to crime,” Kincaid said of voters.
The city announced at the end of November it would hire 10-12 more police officers, though officials would not say how many of those hires would be for new positions and how many would be for vacant positions.
Flint resident Veronica Gardner says the statistics accurately reflect what life is like in the city, adding that she’s often afraid to walk down the city’s streets by herself.
“They do what they can with what they’re provided,” she said of the city’s police officers.
Gardner added that she had fallen victim to the city’s criminals, saying she was robbed near Stewart Avenue on the city’s north side. She said she reported the crime to police but prosecution of the perpetrators eventually fizzled out when she was too afraid to go ahead with the criminal case.
Statistics show that there were nearly 300 robberies per 100,000 Flint residents in early 2012. Only Oakland, Calif., Cleveland and Newark, N.J., had higher robbery rates, the data shows. Detroit ranked fifth, with just over 283 per 100,000 people.
Flint also had by-far the most reported aggravated assaults in 2012, with nearly 992 per 100,000 residents -- Detroit finished second, with roughly 648. The city of Flint also finished just behind Minneapolis, Minn., with roughly 52 forcible rapes per 100,000.
The city finished in the middle of the pack in terms of reported property crimes, but led the nation with roughly 1,348 burglaries per 100,000.
The number of violent crimes reported by law enforcement for the first six months of 2012 increased 1.9 percent nationwide over figures from the same period in 2011.
Data shows that the number of reported violent and property crimes during the first six months of 2012 also increased in Flint over the same time frame.
"The city's future depends on drastically reducing crime and violence," said Walling. |
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Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:10 pm |
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