This article is entitled "Violent Crime Dips in First Half of '07". I was glad to know that these crimes were losing their appeal to perpetrators, so i expectantly opened the article. The article spoke of the FBI statistics for violent crimes (which included gun violence) around America. It sited many places that violent crime had been drastically reduced but the article finished with a paragraph that somewhat disturbed me.
The FBI report did not separate out data for the District, which has reported a 7 percent increase in homicides for 2007, part of an overall surge in gun violence. (bold and italics added by me)
Somehow the overall surge of gun violence hardly rates a mention because fewer people are choosing to bludgeon their victims to death. Hooray for statistical spin! The article itself is cautious to be quite as positive as the Justice Department spokesman Peter A. Carr who said,
"The report suggests that violent crime remains near historic low levels". Instead it points out that in major cities the violent crimes are down, but in rural and suburban areas these crimes are up.
Perhaps that the Justice Department sees the world through rose coloured glasses while us mere mortals have to just stick with the headlines.
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