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Home Front: Politix
Crime Climbs; Bush Blamed
2007-05-31
A surge in violent crime that began last year accelerated in the first half of 2006, the FBI reported yesterday, providing the clearest signal yet that the historic drop in the U.S. crime rate has ended and is being reversed.

Reports of homicides, assaults and other violent offenses surged by nearly 4 percent in the first six months of the year compared with the same time period in 2005, according to the FBI's latest Uniform Crime Report. The numbers included an increase of nearly 10 percent for robberies, which many criminologists consider a leading indicator of coming trends.

The results follow a 2.5 percent jump in violent crime for 2005, which at the time represented the largest increase in 15 years. The latest numbers suggest that those results were not an anomaly but rather part of the first significant uptick in violent crime since the early 1990s, according to criminal justice experts.

Many communities, particularly those in urbanized areas, may be headed into a period of sustained crime increases, they said. While no one is certain of the causes, experts cited an increase in the number of young men in their crime-prone years, diminished crime-fighting assistance from the federal government, fewer jobs for people with marginal skills and even the ongoing growth in methamphetamine use in some places.
Illegal immigration, of course, is completely unrelated. But there must be some political spin we can give this, Elrod. Aha!

The numbers come amid heightened criticism of the federal government from many police chiefs and state law enforcement officials, who complain that the Bush administration has retreated from fighting traditional crime in favor of combating terrorism and protecting homeland security. Justice officials dispute those contentions and pointed yesterday to an ongoing study designed to identify solutions to the rise in violent crime.
Can we work Katrina in here, too, Elrod? Sure, Boss!

The increase was especially dramatic in many cities of 500,000 residents or more, the FBI report showed, including a 28 percent increase in Houston that appears attributable in part to an influx of residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Homicides in New Orleans, whose population was greatly reduced after the storm, plunged by more than 60 percent in the same time period.

The numbers are certain to increase pressure on the Bush administration, whose detractors say local police concerns have been slighted by the focus on homeland security and counterterrorism.
Say Elrod, how about Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo? Not this time, Boss.
Posted by:Bobby

#9  true, the bill for arrests, incarceration and judicial action on illegals, along with health care, and education should be a Fed responsibility, with each American told what their share of that bill is. When that number gets published, you'll see a tide turn
Posted by: Frank G   2007-05-31 18:12  

#8  'T'ain't the Fed's job to fight "traditional crime". That's the job of states and localities.

It has been the Feds' failure to control the border that has depleted states' funding for law enforcement. Also, many of our Guard are also in law enforcement & security jobs that removes them from service when deployed overseas. Most of the increased violent crime is tied to drug use and trafficking, and the increased interdictions a factor. Rather than blame Bush, they should probably be congratulated for tackling the problem everyone else has avoided previously.
Posted by: Danielle   2007-05-31 16:41  

#7  Procopius2K nails it. Right on. Bush is to blame.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305   2007-05-31 15:25  

#6  Who will the liberals blame once Bush is gone?

Oh ya, this type of story will vanish from the papers....

Remember, if it ain't reported by the MSM, it ain't real news!
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-05-31 12:25  

#5  The numbers come amid heightened criticism of the federal government from many police chiefs and state law enforcement officials, who complain that the Bush administration has retreated from fighting traditional crime in favor of combating terrorism and protecting homeland security.

'T'ain't the Fed's job to fight "traditional crime". That's the job of states and localities.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2007-05-31 12:20  

#4  On this one Bush can't hide, nor the governors of the states and administrators of the cities who turn a blind eye to the illegal issue. They are the problem. You can hide their illegal status but you can't hide their crimes -

# Ninety-five percent of warrants for murder in Los Angeles, Calif. are for illegal aliens.

# Eighty-three percent of warrants for murder in Phoenix, Ariz. are for illegal aliens.

# Eighty-six percent of warrants for murder in Albuquerque, N.M., are for illegal aliens.

# Seventy-five percent of people on the "Most Wanted" list in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Albuquerque are illegal aliens.

# Twenty-five percent of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals who are here illegally.

# Forty percent of all inmates in Arizona detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.

# Forty-eight percent of all inmates in New Mexico detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.

# Twenty-nine percent (630,000) convicted illegal alien felons occupy our state and federal prisons at a cost of $1.6 billion annually.

# More than 53 percent of burglaries in California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas are perpetrated by illegal aliens.

# More than half of all gang members in Los Angeles are illegal aliens from south of the border.

# More than 70 percent of all cars stolen in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California are stolen by illegals.

# Forty-seven percent of drivers stopped by police in California have no license, insurance, or registration; and of that 47 percent, 92 percent are illegal aliens.

# Sixty-three percent of stopped drivers in Arizona have no license, insurance, or registration for the vehicle. Of that 63 percent, 97 percent are illegal aliens.

# Sixty-six percent of stopped drivers in New Mexico have no license, insurance, or registration; and of that 66 percent, 98 percent are illegals.

You ignore the problem and it bites you.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2007-05-31 11:51  

#3  I could tell you a secret, but the mods would send me to the "shit can" immediately.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2007-05-31 11:38  

#2  The price of "reconquista."
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-05-31 08:35  

#1  Dateline: Tuesday, December 19, 2006

File in the Nostalgic WaPo Political Hitpieces
Posted by: DepotGuy   2007-05-31 08:09  

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