Big Cities See 8% Drop in Violent Crimes

Violent crime in the largest U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, fell 8% last year, a trend that also saw the lowest murder rate in a decade and the nation’s lowest overall violent crime rate since 1989.

The FBI’s annual survey, released Saturday, also showed a less dramatic drop of 3% in crime in other major cities across America.

The new statistics mirrored claims on the presidential campaign trail that crime in America is indeed down, yet it nonetheless prompted sharp exchanges between the Democratic and Republican camps on who is entitled to take credit for the welcome news.

*

“Our anti-crime strategy--to put more police on the street while working to get drugs, gangs and guns out of our neighborhoods--is working,” President Clinton said in a written statement.

Still, the president added, the nation “must bear down even harder on violent juvenile crime.” He noted that in May he submitted to Congress a proposal for an Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Control Act. “Enacting that bill’s tough new measures is my top anti-crime priority.”

Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole has argued on several occasions, including the Oct. 6 presidential debate, that local officials are responsible for many improvements, including declining crime, for which Clinton claims credit.

Dole spokeswoman Christina Martin said Saturday that “Clinton’s words of self-congratulation are a shallow attempt to divert attention from the massive increase in teen drug use under his watch.

“Bob Dole knows the numbers [of teenagers using drugs] are cause for alarm and will do everything in his power as president to eliminate the scourge of violent crime.”

The FBI survey was compiled from crimes reported to more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies around the nation that provide public safety for 95% of the U.S. population. Its figures were in line with preliminary estimates issued in September.

The 8% drop in violent crime for cities with a million or more residents--Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas and Houston--is the second year in a row that has seen a decrease. The “violent crime” category includes the offenses of murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

The survey also found that:

* There were 21,597 murders reported in 1995, a decline of 7% from the year before and 13% below the 1991 level. Forty-nine percent of the murder victims were African American, 48% were white.

* Fifty-five percent of the murder victims were slain by strangers or someone the victim did not know. Among female victims of homicides, 26% were killed by husbands or boyfriends. Among male murder victims, 3% were slain by wives or girlfriends.

While the FBI report did not compare 1994 and 1995 crime rates for cities in California, it provided a statewide total. It showed the total crime rate dropping 5.6% from 1994 to 1995, while the rate for violent crimes fell 4.6%.

The numbers fell in California for all of the FBI’s most serious crime categories. The largest decreases were an 8.4% drop in the burglary rate and a 9.5% decline in motor vehicle thefts. The homicide rate was down 5.1%.

*

In Los Angeles last year, there were 849 homicides reported to police, 1,590 forcible rapes, 29,134 robberies, 38,945 aggravated assaults, 41,325 burglaries, 108,149 larcenies, 46,212 motor vehicle thefts and 3,379 arsons.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno said: “These declines are a result of many different causes, including our bipartisan efforts to give local law enforcement the tools they need to combat crime.”

She added that the while the decrease is “good news, this is not time to rest on our laurels.”

“Crime is still too high,” she said. “We need to bolster our efforts to be tough and smart on crime, including our commitment to community policing and increased cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement.”