First of all, note that gun control didn’t play out in these statistics. However, gun control belonged in this report. Because the cities were the murder rate is up are cities you can’t carry a gun!!!Murders Down Nationally,
But Experts Worried by Rise in Some Cities
4.32 p.m. ET (2132 GMT) December 30, 1999 By Donna De La Cruz
NEW YORK ? Homicide rates fell in many American cities this year ? thanks to the aging of baby boomers, a keener sense of community and the decreasing use of crack cocaine, criminologists said.

But a slight rise in murders in several big cities ? including the nation’s two largest, New York and Los Angeles ? has experts worried that sweeping gains made by strenuous crime-fighting in recent years could be reversed by complacency.

New York City will finish the year with the country’s highest murder tally ? as of Wednesday, there were 661 murders, compared with 629 in 1998. As of Dec. 14, Los Angeles had 414 murders, compared with 404 on that date last year.

“The economy is good, crime is down, so we turn our attention to other things,” said James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University. “The problem with crime is if we don’t pay attention to it, the rate of crime can rise as quickly as it fell.”

FBI statistics, complete only through June, show a drop of 13 percent in murder across the country and a 10 percent drop in all violent crime. An Associated Press survey of the 10 largest cities shows murders up in five and down in the other five.

Overall, the number of homicides is far below the figures of a decade ago ? even in those cities showing a rise.

For instance, New York City had its highest murder tally, 2,262, in 1990. The dramatic drop in killings has left the city with a murder rate comparable to the 1960s. In fact, five of the city’s 76 police precincts have had no murders at all this year ? four are in Manhattan and one is in Staten Island.

Fox said several large cities seem to have reached a homicide rate plateau after seeing dramatic declines.

“I call it the criminal justice limbo stick ? how low can you go?” Fox said. “What comes down often goes back up again. It’s like going on a diet. Big cities have taken off the weight ? now they need to maintain it.”

Other large cities with homicide increases include Phoenix (234 so far, 202 in 1998); San Antonio (95, 89 in 1998); San Diego (58, 42 in 1998); and San Francisco (59 through November, 58 during that same period last year).

Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, had the highest number of murders in the country last year with 703. This year, it could have its lowest rate in more than 30 years; through Monday, 632 murders had been reported in the city.

Other large cities posting declines are: Baltimore (306, 314 in 1998); Boston (31, 35 in 1998); Dallas (159 through November, 222 through November 1998); Detroit (411 through November, 500 in 1998); Houston (237, 254 in 1998); Philadelphia (295, 335 in 1998); and Washington, D.C. (226, 252 in 1998).

Eric Monkkonen, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who studies urban murders, said one factor contributing to the decrease is simply that more people are obeying laws.

“I think everyone is tired of the violence,” Monkkonen said. “The last eight years or so showed that there are huge social and economic benefits to peace.”

Fox spelled out several factors that he believes have contributed to plummeting homicide figures in the 1990s, the most obvious being the decline in the crack cocaine market. Murder rates nationwide skyrocketed in the 1980s when crack-related violence plagued cities, he said.

Less obvious factors include the aging of baby boomers ? older people tend to commit fewer crimes ? and more community involvement with local police, church groups and other service organizations, Fox added.

“Ten years ago, citizens were hiding behind double-locked doors, afraid to go out,” Fox said. “We’re getting involved in communities, we’re feeling energized and hopeful.”