Here’s a couple of central Texas crime stories making the ‘Net this morn.
- Killeen Police seek killer of Killeen man
- Temple mom arrested for leaving kids home alone
- Fort Hood ups security posture in aftermath of shooting
Why Is Crime Down?
Now that some preliminary crime numbers are coming out, criminologists are working to explain why crime is down. There was a great fear that the country’s piss-poor economy would spark an increase in crime but this seems to be a fallacy. There’s an editorial over at the Minneapolis Star Tribune that has this interesting bit.
“Our view is that smarter, more proactive police tactics have contributed most to crime's decline. Reforms begun in New York in the 1980s are now routine nationwide. Officers stop known criminals for minor offenses, and guns are often confiscated. Computerized maps predict crime hot spots, and officers are dispatched to flood those zones. Gunfire detectors and cameras help patrol high-crime areas. Closer police-community partnerships have been forged in many cities. Police administrators are held accountable for lower crime numbers.”
Almost all these tactics involve the work of crime analysts. While Department’s budgets are stretching existing resources thin, it makes good sense to put your money where there’s the most bang for the buck. Crime analysts are crucial to the strategy of smarter crime fighting.
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