PDinDetroit
Regular Member
2011 on pace toward most homicides per capita in a decade
http://www.detnews.com/article/20110726/METRO01/107260369/Detroit’s-murder-rate-rising
Homicides in the city of Detroit are up 15 percent from the same time last year and are on pace to reach the highest per-capita rates in a decade when the city's declining population is factored into the equation.
According to police, the city has logged 182 homicides as of July 10. If the projections hold, the city could record 350 homicides this year.
That compares with the 366 homicides recorded in 2003.
But at that time, Detroit had at least another 205,000 people than today. The population has dropped 25 percent from 2000 to 2010, according to the U.S. census, with additional declines projected.
Last year, homicides dipped to 310, down from 379 in 2009.
Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee attributed some of the violence to the usual struggles facing urban areas — narcotics and gang activities. But what's troublesome this year, he said, is how people are resorting more to firearms in quarrels, and the number of victims of their own "risky behavior."
http://www.detnews.com/article/20110726/METRO01/107260369/Detroit’s-murder-rate-rising