Reporter-News Archives Tuesday, November 25, 1997 Crime drops nationwide, but Abilene's rate rises Associated Press WASHINGTON - Although Abilene did not match the national trend, serious crimes declined in every section of the country during the first half of 1997, led by a 6 percent drop in the Northeast, the FBI reports. Abilene Police Chief Melvin Martin said he is somewhat disappointed that Abilene's crime rate bucked national and state trends by rising, but takes consolation that local crime remains well below the national average even after this year's modest increase. There was a 5 percent decline in the Midwest and West, and 3 percent in the South, the bureau said Sunday, citing preliminary figures from its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. It was the second time in little more than a week that the Clinton administration announced a declining crime rate. The FBI figures, compiled from reports of local law enforcement agencies, compared the first six months of this year with the same period of 1996. Two of the most feared crime categories, murder and robbery, each showed declines of 9 percent from a year earlier. Because its homicide numbers are so small, Abilene's percentages can fluctuate widely from year to year. From 1996 to 1997, the rate in Abilene declined 67 percent, reflecting a drop from three murders to one murder in the months compared. In robberies, Abilene also was down almost 4 percent. Driving the city's overall crime increase was a 17 percent rise in burglaries and a 59 percent surge in reported rapes. Nationally, there also were drops in motor vehicle theft, aggravated assault, arson and burglary. A separate Justice Department survey released Nov. 15 showed that violent crime dropped 10 percent from the previous year. The most significant drop of 17.6 percent was in rapes and sexual assaults, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. "With community police at the center of our efforts, we have worked to give communities the tools they need to rid their neighborhoods of gangs, guns and drugs," President Clinton said in a statement. Clinton said his next priority was to take on juvenile crime. "Crime has been falling for several years, because policy makers, law enforcement and ordinary Americans are coming together to do the right thing," Attorney General Janet Reno added. "... Now we must build on our progress, by doing more as a nation to keep young people on the right path." Martin cited four major reasons crime in America has slowed in recent years: - The most crime-prone population group, males 16-24, has been decreasing. This is changing, however, to pose a future challenge to law enforcement officers and other public officials to maintain the positive trend, Martin acknowledged. - Law enforcement is "finally getting a handle on the gang activities." - Crack cocaine use is finally leveling off, putting the brakes on crimeincreases fueled by drug demand. - Innovative, aggressive law enforcement, such as New York City demonstrated in slashing its crime rate, has started to bear fruit. The Abilene Police Department will give NYC's Compstat program a close look in the coming year, Martin said. The goal is to freely share all relevant information among all segments of the police force, fostering more rapid identification of, and response to, developing problems, he said. The latest FBI national figures show: -All violent crime decreased 5 percent and property crime was down 4 percent. -Aggravated assault fell 3 percent, forcible rape declined 2 percent, arson dropped 9 percent, motor vehicle theft and burglary fell 5 percent each and larceny-theft declined 4 percent. -Cities overall showed a decline in serious crime for the six-month period, with municipalities of more than 250,000 population recording a 6 percent drop. In New York City, the falloff was 10 percent, city officials said. "We are per capita the safest city in America with a population over 1 million," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said of the nation's largest city. Suburban areas around the country saw a 3 percent decline and rural areas a 1 percent dip. --- EDITOR'S NOTE: The full report is available on the FBI's Internet site, www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucrpre97.hcl --- (Senior Staff Writer Jerry Daniel Reed contributed to this report.) Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications