Just something intresting I found and thought some of u might want to read.....
FARGO CAN’T EXPLAIN SACRAMENTO’S RISING CRIME RATE
By Joe Sacramento • May 14th, 2008 | Bookmark and Share
By Daniel Weintraub (sacramentobee.com)
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B7
Print | E-Mail | Comments (22) |
After seven years as mayor of Sacramento, Heather Fargo apparently lacks even a basic grasp of one of her city's biggest problems: its rising crime rate.
In an interview with The Bee's editorial board last week, Fargo not only downplayed the issue, she did not seem to know that Sacramento had the second-highest crime rate among California's 10 largest cities, trailing only Oakland.
Nor did Fargo know that Sacramento's crime rate has soared on her watch, while crime in many other large California cities has dropped.
The most disappointing thing about Fargo's response to a series of questions about the issue was her almost total lack of curiosity. She displayed only mild interest in figuring out why Sacramento has a problem or what she might learn from studying the experience of other cities.
Instead, Fargo questioned the crime numbers one of her opponents has been using against her in her campaign for a third term. She said the Police Department brass had assured her that everything was fine, and she listed a few things the city had done to improve police protection.
"My sense is that we are tracking at about the same pace as other cities," Fargo said. "That's what I have been told by the police department."
If that's what she's been told, someone is misleading the mayor.
Over the past decade, Sacramento's crime rate has moved from the middle of the pack among the state's biggest cities to near the top. And it's not just that crime is worsening here at a faster pace than elsewhere. Sacramento's numbers are actually moving in the opposite direction from a lot of other cities.
In 2001, Sacramento had about 800 violent crimes per 100,000 people, according to figures from the California Department of Justice. In 2006, the latest full year for which numbers are available, the city had 1,214 violent crimes per 100,000 people. That's an increase of about 50 percent. The city had more murders and rapes, and a huge increase in robberies and assaults.
Property crime has also risen during Fargo's two terms as mayor.
In 2001, the city had about 2,750 property crimes per 100,000 people. Five years later, that number had risen 41 percent to 3,880. Much of that increase was driven by a rise in small-time crimes such as petty theft and larceny, but burglary was up more than 10 percent and auto thefts also rose slightly.
What's really stunning about crime in Sacramento is how it compares to the trend elsewhere in California.
Most people would assume, for example, that Sacramento is a safer place than Los Angeles. And when Fargo became mayor, it was. Back then, Los Angeles had a violent crime rate almost double the capital city's.
But Los Angeles' violent crime – not just the rate, but in raw numbers, too – has since plummeted, while Sacramento's has been rising. Los Angeles went from about 1,400 violent crimes per 100,000 people to just 770. The murder rate dropped by 25 percent. Now, a person is just as likely to be killed on the streets of Sacramento as in Los Angeles, and far more likely to be raped or robbed in Sacramento.
Crime has also been dropping in San Diego and San Jose, the state's No. 2 and No. 3 cities in terms of population. In San Jose, a city of nearly 1 million people, the murder rate is one-fourth what it is in Sacramento. The rate for rapes is about 60 percent that of the capital, the robbery rate is 25 percent as high as it is here and the assault rate is about one-third as high as Sacramento.
I pressed Fargo to speculate about what might explain the difference.
"We do have a lot of immigrants," she said. "We have one in five kids living in poverty here. We do have people who are unemployed, people who are underemployed, a lot of families that are in distress. A lot of gangs have moved up from Los Angeles. Things got too hot for them there so they've moved up here. Those are probably the main things, I would think."
All of that sounds plausible. But it also describes many other California cities. Fresno, which is pretty much Sacramento without the Capitol, comes to mind. The two cities are almost exactly the same size, and immigration, unemployment, gangs and economic opportunity are no less of a problem there.
When Fargo became mayor of Sacramento, her city had a lower crime rate than Fresno. Now it's much higher. Since 2001, Fresno's violent crime rate has dropped 20 percent. Murder has remained about the same but the rates for rape, robbery and assault have dropped dramatically.
And while Fargo has been noting that crime in Sacramento dropped during the first six months of 2007, according to preliminary figures, those same numbers show that crime declined twice as fast in Fresno.
I don't know what, if anything, Fargo could have done as mayor to keep a lid on crime. But I do know that whoever wins this election – whether it is Fargo or one of her challengers – better at least try to find out.
FARGO CAN’T EXPLAIN SACRAMENTO’S RISING CRIME RATE
By Joe Sacramento • May 14th, 2008 | Bookmark and Share
By Daniel Weintraub (sacramentobee.com)
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Story appeared in EDITORIALS section, Page B7
Print | E-Mail | Comments (22) |
After seven years as mayor of Sacramento, Heather Fargo apparently lacks even a basic grasp of one of her city's biggest problems: its rising crime rate.
In an interview with The Bee's editorial board last week, Fargo not only downplayed the issue, she did not seem to know that Sacramento had the second-highest crime rate among California's 10 largest cities, trailing only Oakland.
Nor did Fargo know that Sacramento's crime rate has soared on her watch, while crime in many other large California cities has dropped.
The most disappointing thing about Fargo's response to a series of questions about the issue was her almost total lack of curiosity. She displayed only mild interest in figuring out why Sacramento has a problem or what she might learn from studying the experience of other cities.
Instead, Fargo questioned the crime numbers one of her opponents has been using against her in her campaign for a third term. She said the Police Department brass had assured her that everything was fine, and she listed a few things the city had done to improve police protection.
"My sense is that we are tracking at about the same pace as other cities," Fargo said. "That's what I have been told by the police department."
If that's what she's been told, someone is misleading the mayor.
Over the past decade, Sacramento's crime rate has moved from the middle of the pack among the state's biggest cities to near the top. And it's not just that crime is worsening here at a faster pace than elsewhere. Sacramento's numbers are actually moving in the opposite direction from a lot of other cities.
In 2001, Sacramento had about 800 violent crimes per 100,000 people, according to figures from the California Department of Justice. In 2006, the latest full year for which numbers are available, the city had 1,214 violent crimes per 100,000 people. That's an increase of about 50 percent. The city had more murders and rapes, and a huge increase in robberies and assaults.
Property crime has also risen during Fargo's two terms as mayor.
In 2001, the city had about 2,750 property crimes per 100,000 people. Five years later, that number had risen 41 percent to 3,880. Much of that increase was driven by a rise in small-time crimes such as petty theft and larceny, but burglary was up more than 10 percent and auto thefts also rose slightly.
What's really stunning about crime in Sacramento is how it compares to the trend elsewhere in California.
Most people would assume, for example, that Sacramento is a safer place than Los Angeles. And when Fargo became mayor, it was. Back then, Los Angeles had a violent crime rate almost double the capital city's.
But Los Angeles' violent crime – not just the rate, but in raw numbers, too – has since plummeted, while Sacramento's has been rising. Los Angeles went from about 1,400 violent crimes per 100,000 people to just 770. The murder rate dropped by 25 percent. Now, a person is just as likely to be killed on the streets of Sacramento as in Los Angeles, and far more likely to be raped or robbed in Sacramento.
Crime has also been dropping in San Diego and San Jose, the state's No. 2 and No. 3 cities in terms of population. In San Jose, a city of nearly 1 million people, the murder rate is one-fourth what it is in Sacramento. The rate for rapes is about 60 percent that of the capital, the robbery rate is 25 percent as high as it is here and the assault rate is about one-third as high as Sacramento.
I pressed Fargo to speculate about what might explain the difference.
"We do have a lot of immigrants," she said. "We have one in five kids living in poverty here. We do have people who are unemployed, people who are underemployed, a lot of families that are in distress. A lot of gangs have moved up from Los Angeles. Things got too hot for them there so they've moved up here. Those are probably the main things, I would think."
All of that sounds plausible. But it also describes many other California cities. Fresno, which is pretty much Sacramento without the Capitol, comes to mind. The two cities are almost exactly the same size, and immigration, unemployment, gangs and economic opportunity are no less of a problem there.
When Fargo became mayor of Sacramento, her city had a lower crime rate than Fresno. Now it's much higher. Since 2001, Fresno's violent crime rate has dropped 20 percent. Murder has remained about the same but the rates for rape, robbery and assault have dropped dramatically.
And while Fargo has been noting that crime in Sacramento dropped during the first six months of 2007, according to preliminary figures, those same numbers show that crime declined twice as fast in Fresno.
I don't know what, if anything, Fargo could have done as mayor to keep a lid on crime. But I do know that whoever wins this election – whether it is Fargo or one of her challengers – better at least try to find out.
