DETROIT (AP) -- The city's murder rate, already among the highest in the nation, jumped 16.7 percent in the first half of 1999 -- baffling city leaders who have watched a decline in the number of other serious crimes.
The city recorded 57,736 serious crimes from January through June, a 15.8 percent drop over the same period a year ago. The largest drop came in larcenies, which were down 25.5 percent, while assaults, auto thefts, burglaries, rapes and robberies also declined.But murders increased to 224. Mayor Dennis Archer and Police Chief Benny Napoleon said they were concerned because there was no clear cause and no obvious solution. The murder rate in the city of 1 million dropped last year.
"I wish we had sufficient police officers that we could put an officer on every corner of the streets where we live," Archer said Wednesday. "The reality is that the homicides that are taking place are taking place behind closed doors."
Detroit's murder rate still ranks among the highest in the country. In 1998 Detroit had 429 murders, or 44.2 per 100,000 people, ranking it sixth among U.S. cities with more than 100,000 residents. In recent years, murder has been the leading cause of death among children and young adults.
Crime has been a sore spot for Detroit leaders for many years. Safety was often cited as a cause of flight to the suburbs; poverty and drugs were blamed for driving crime rates up.
Making people feel safe was one of Archer's prime goals when he took office in 1994, and since then Detroit's crime rate has gone down, mirroring a national trend.