We’re No Detroit
Nope – in Detroit, the homicide rate is actually dropping, down 25 percent year-to-date for the first quarter through March; here in the Queen City, homicides have spiked more than 50 percent, year-to-date through April.
Granted, Detroit brings the number of homicides down from the mind-numbing 80 the city recorded during last year’s first quarter, to a still-whopping 60 killings this year. Charlotte, by contrast, has recorded 20 homicides so far this year, up from 13 last year.
So, who’s in better shape: Detroit with its 60 killings representing a 25 percent drop, or Charlotte with its 20 homicides and its 53 percent jump?
That’s the tricky thing about statistics; you can get them to say just about anything you want. Take the trumpet call from CMPD, touting a 14.5 percent drop in overall crime, coupled with a 7 percent drop in violent crime.
Tell that to the folks living in the South Division patrol district, where violent crime has increased nearly 44 percent, with aggravated assault skyrocketing 94 percent, from 17 incidents last year to 33 this year.
It’s nearly the same story in the University City Division, with violent crime jumping 32 percent and aggravated assault up 67 percent, from 43 to 72 incidents.
So what does that say about Rodney Monroe’s hot-spot crime reduction theory, aside from crime stats don’t always tell the whole story.
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