As big cities record decrease in violent crime, Detroit braces for the worst

Just as criminologists are baffled about an unexpected decline in violent crime in many of the nation’s biggest cities, Detroit’s new police chief is predicting that the “Wild West” nature of violent crime in the Michigan’s largest city will worsen and the rates of murders and other violent crime will increase.

Warren Evans, the former Wayne County sheriff, has pinned the crisis not only on a troubling increase in homicides but also on years of underreported violence by the police department.

According to The Detroit News:

The growing homicide rate — already nearly 20 percent higher in 2009 than even revised totals from last year — and the disturbing revelation that perhaps as many as 20 percent of violent crimes are not logged by the Detroit Police Department are his top priorities, said Evans, who took command two weeks ago.

As The Washington Post reports, other cities are dealing with a situation that’s dramatically different than what’s facing the Motor City.

The District [of Columbia], New York and Los Angeles are on track for fewer killings this year than in any other year in at least four decades. Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis and other cities are also seeing notable reductions in homicides.

“Experts did not see this coming at all,” said Andrew Karmen, a criminologist and professor of sociology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

The Post notes that criminologists are not in agreement about the cause of the decrease, but generally are sure that it isn’t connected to the nation’s feeble economy.