ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 13, 1996 TAG: 9610140071
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: The Washington Post
The nation's crime rate fell to the lowest level in a decade, the FBI reports in its yearly survey of law enforcement agencies, with the rate of violent crime in 1995 dropping 4 percent from the previous year.
The reduction in violent crime was fueled by an 8 percent decrease in the rate of murders, along with a smaller decline in rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults, according the the report, released today. Overall, 21,597 murders were recorded in 1995, 13 percent fewer than in 1991. The rate of property crime fell by 1 percent to 12 million offenses, the fewest since 1987.
Attorney General Janet Reno and other law enforcement experts attributed the continuing drop in crime to a variety of factors, including maturing and consequently less violent crack cocaine markets, sharp increases in the number of police officers on the streets, improved coordination between federal, state and local authorities, and more prisons to house violent offenders.
The FBI Uniform Crime Report was compiled from crimes reported to more than 16,000 law enforcement agencies covering 95 percent of the nation's population. Preliminary figures, documenting the drop in serious crime, were released in May.
Release of the new numbers comes as the presidential race heads into its final leg. President Clinton quickly embraced the report as evidence that efforts to combat violence are working. He has come under attack by his Republican opponent, Bob Dole, for not doing enough about crime.
``All Americans can be pleased with today's report that our nation's crime rate is at a 10-year low,'' Clinton said. ``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.''
Christina Martin, campaign spokesman for Dole, said: ``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 are cause for alarm and will do everything in his power as president to eliminate the scourge of violent crime.''
While lauding the numbers, Reno and others who follow law enforcement were reluctant to suggest that the country has resolved its crime woes, which continue to rank in polls as a chief public concern, particularly for residents in areas that have not seen dramatic declines in crime.
Nationally, every region of the country except the West showed drops from 1994 crime levels, with each category of serious crime showing modest declines.
The lowest level of crime was reported in the Northeast.
One category that showed a slight increase was larceny, an offense often associated with juveniles. Reno said that while there had been improvement in many areas, juvenile crime increased.
``The larceny increase could be an early warning signal that more young people are coming of crime-committing age,'' said Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University.
Experts predict that the rapid growth in the number of juvenile offenders, which only recently stabilized, could become worse with a surge in the teen-age and young-adult population in the next decade.
``We are hopeful that the declining numbers represent the beginning of a trend, but we remain concerned over the prospect of an increase in juvenile crime in the next six to seven years,'' said James Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police.
While the crime rate numbers were generally heartening, a closer look reveals why many Americans remain anxious.
For example, although the 1.79 million violent crimes reported in 1995 resulted in the lowest rate since 1989, that rate was still 21 percent higher than a decade ago.
Also, the number of people murdered by strangers continued to grow. Fifty-five percent of murder victims were killed by strangers or persons unknown, compared with less than half in 1990.
The recent overall crime decrease is ``good news, but it's far too early to celebrate,'' said James Fox, dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University.
``We are not winning the war against crime,'' Fox said. ``One of the reasons the crime rate is so far down is because it went so high'' in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the nation struggled to cope with the explosion of crack cocaine and its accompanying violence. ``The peak is now coming down to a more normal level.''
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart by AP. color.by CNB