(James Pinkerton, Houston Chronicle)
Houston crime including murder, robbery, burglary and auto theft rose during the first three months of the year, counter to a dramatic reduction in violent crime in recent years, police statistics reveal.
From January through March, five of the seven major crime categories increased compared to the same period in 2011, according to Houston Police Department statistics released Thursday.
Among the types of violent crime, murders increased 27 percent, robberies jumped 26 percent and aggravated assaults inched up 3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to last year. Property crimes also increased, with burglaries jumping 9 percent and auto theft 13 percent. Rapes decreased 5 percent, and thefts went down slightly.
HPD Chief Charles McClelland said the overall increase across all seven crime categories was 4 percent, adding that operations are under way to squelch crime in “hot spots.”
“We had historic decreases in crime in 2011, and certainly we’re going to try to obtain the same goals and results as we did,” McClelland said. Murders increased to 56 during the first quarter of this year, compared to 44 in the same period in 2011, but were still fewer than the 66 murders in the first three months of 2010, HPD officials noted.
One crime trends expert said the quarterly statistics bear watching, but noted that crime in Houston and nationwide remains at historic lows.
(Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Father of Kidnapped Baby Looks Forward to Reuniting with Children (KHOU 11 News)
- Under Fire From Parents, Grier Withdraws School Schedule Changes: But District Will Reconsider Them Next Year (Houston Chronicle)
- Working Moms’ Challenges: Paid Leave, Child Care (KUHF Public Radio)
- State Agency May Publicize Detailed Information About Abortion Patients (Texas Observer)
- Era of Missing Children on Milk Cartons Recalled (KTRK 13 News)
- Social Security, Medicare Report Card on Tap (CNN)
- Gulf Residents Getting an Extra $64M for Spill Claims (Fuel Fix)
OPINIONS ON THE NEWS:
Gulf Spill: Two Years Later & Still No Policy Response
- Congress Must Respond to Spill Issues
(Editorial, Houston Chronicle)
“…We are especially alarmed by how little Congress has done. After the spill, House and Senate committees held dozens of hearings and promised quick action. But two years later, even the most obvious and non-controversial measures remain stalled, bogged down in disputes about sharing royalty revenue among coastal states, politically charged fights over federal lands and waters, and industry’s inability to agree on solutions…” - A Stain That Won’t Wash Away (Abrahm Lustgarten, New York Times)
“…What is missing is the accountability that comes from real consequences: a criminal prosecution that holds responsible the individuals who gambled with the lives of BP’s contractors and the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico. Only such an outcome can rebuild trust in an oil industry that asks for the public’s faith so that it can drill more along the nation’s coastlines…”