Worst Crimes Down in 1st Quarter
The Times-Picyaune is reporting that crime is up. Numerically, that may be true, but the increase from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2007 is reflected mostly in assaults and thefts. Homicides, rapes, and robberies are down. Overall crime is up — true — but the offenses people most worry about are down.
Were I the reporter (of course, NOPD personnel didn’t respond to efforts to contact them), I think I’d be paying more attention to what’s represented in those high assault numbers — shootings? How many are drug-related incidents? How many are defenseless people getting mugged?
I don’t find anything meaningful in looking at figures from the first quarter of 2006, just months after Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans had, at most, 1/4 of the pre-Katrina population.
In no way am I saying that a measurable rate of crime in any category is acceptable. I’m just saying that I don’t think I appreciate the spin put on the statistics by the T-P. Of course there’s more work to do, but some credit may be due where something the NOPD is doing might actually be working to put away the bad guys.
Related:
