NORFOLK
Homicides throughout Hampton Roads appear to have declined in 2008, with some cities reporting fewer slayings and others seeing about the same number.
Overall, at least 98 homicides occurred in the region's seven largest cities. That was 25 percent less than the 131 reported in 2007.
Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News saw fewer homicides in 2008 than in 2007, according to statistics from the police departments.
The number of homicides was flat in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. The number increased in Hampton. Suffolk did not provide statistics.
In Norfolk, the number of homicides dropped by more than 40 percent from 2007.
"We're working as hard in the 61-homicide year as we do in the 28-homicide year in terms of going after criminals and trying to get illegal guns off the street," said Officer Chris Amos, a spokesman for Norfolk police.
Here are the numbers:
- There were 28 homicides in Norfolk in 2008, down from 49 in 2007, Amos said.
- There were 28 in 2006 and 61 in 2005. Police could not say how many of the 2008 slayings have been cleared.
- Portsmouth recorded 16 homicides in 2008, down one from the year before, said Detective Jan Westerbeck, a police spokeswoman. There were 18 homicides in 2006.
- Twelve of the 16 from 2008 have been solved by arrest.
- In Chesapeake, the numbers stayed the same, with 14 recorded homicides in 2007 and 2008, said Officer Dorienne Boykin, a police spokeswoman. Six of the 14 homicides from 2008 have been solved by arrest, she said.
- Virginia Beach also recorded the same number of homicides, with 16 each year. Eleven of last year's cases have been cleared by arrest, police said.
- Hampton police had eight homicides in 2008, plus one that was ruled justifiable, said Cpl. Paula Ensley, a police spokeswoman. All but one have been cleared by arrest, she said. The number was up from 2007, when police recorded seven homicides.There were 12 homicides in Hampton in 2006, plus three that were ruled justifiable.
- There were 16 homicides last year in Newport News, down from 28 in 2007. The 16 include a double homicide of two teens at 35th Street and Orcutt Avenue on Tuesday night. Additionally, there were two homicides that were ruled justifiable. Six of the 16 homicides in 2008 have been cleared by arrest.
"I don't think there's any science to it," Officer Lou Thurston, a Newport News police spokesman, said of the decline in homicides last year. "I think over the year we have successfully removed some of the right people from the community, and I think that has probably helped in lowering the numbers."
Debbie George, a spokeswoman for the city of Suffolk, said she was unable to get homicide statistics from the Police Department this week.
Editor's Note: On Jan. 7, 2009, Suffolk officials provided homicide statistics for the city. Two homicides occurred in 2007; four in 2008, according to spokeswoman Debbie George.
Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com
Jim Washington, (757) 446-2536, jim.washington@pilotonline.com
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"Guns are the problem"
chadroc stated, "Drugs are illegal and banned. O.K. but that doesn't even stop the 15 year old kid next door to me from getting his dime bag."
It wouldn't be that way with guns. All Congress would have to do is declare America a gun-free zone. Here's proof that it would work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7pGt_O1uM8
About Suffolk
According to this site Suffolk was never really that bad.
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=25721
Of course that's back in 2003 but still. It wouldn't surprise me if the number was still 2 though.
If I'm reading this correctly the number was 4 for 2002, so 2 may be about right.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/html/web/offreported/02-table06NO.html
Why is Newport News Bad News then?
Sounds like Newport News really wasn't that bad in comparison to Norfolk. Not that I feel that much safer over there though. These numbers are a joke, overall Hampton Roads is far safer than Richmond ever was and most definitely safer than the Midwest. You have to wonder why the numbers are so low though, I know Chesapeake police are like everywhere, every single turn before you can even think about committing a crime. Same for Virginia Beach, yet ironically the numbers haven't decreased in either city. Portsmouth actually went down for a change, lol.
New Laws...
dupont94 asked, "What is it going to take to convince you gun-nuts that guns kill?!"
A complete reversal of the laws of nature and physics?
That is what it would take for me. The reason America is so deep in murders is solely due to the breakdown of our society. Even semi-automatic pistols were available long before America decided that good is bad and bad is good. The results we see now are solely due to the heathenizing of our nation.
I feel like a crazy person here...
I wish all of you gun control crazies would exercise some logical thinking. Drugs are illegal and banned. O.K. but that doesn't even stop the 15 year old kid next door to me from getting his dime bag. So you want to make guns illegal and ban them. O.k. so are you telling me that criminals/murderers/bad guys are going to say, "Oh my gosh, darn....I want to go kill someone but geez...guns are illegal now, and so, oh gosh what am I to do? I guess I'll go volunteer down at the local mission instead..." Yeah, not very likely is it. If guns were banned the bad guys would still get there hands on them, you can be sure about that. The problem is the only people that wouldn't have guns are us good, law abiding citizens. In a world where the bad guys have the guns and the good guys don't ..... GEEZ, sounds like the opening narrative of a scary movie preview to me, and I sure am scared!
Dupont
I love people that just spout off without knowing what they are talking about! Get your facts right next time.
Poor Robert
I drive a SUV (GMC Denali to be exact) and most of the time you will see me driving it alone. If i'm willing and able to drive my "Gas Guzzler" than so-be-it. I for one does not and will not ever drive a mini van (I'll leave that to you and the soccer moms). Besides i'm pretty sure that if I was to get involved in a accident [God forbid] my chances of not being injured is highly favorable than someone in a minivan.
Robert
Robert, speak for yourself. Some of us like to drive a safe vehicle, one where IF I have an accident there is a pretty good chance of me walking away. I would not drive a 40 mpg minivan if gas goes to $5.00 a gallon. My life and the lives of those that ride in my truck occasionally are worth more than that. To me the dumb ones are the ones that drive any vehicle that can be totaled/fatal in a parking lot fender bender!
Hand Guns
Hand Guns are tools just like knives, Hammers, Cars, Chain Saws.
All have been used to kill people.
Law abiding citizens have caused a big drop in Murders and attacks by becoming armed.
I have read in this paper and others that the biggest fear of Criminals is that the Victim will be armed.
These interviews of Criminals were conducted in prisons, if memory serves.
When Police are minutes away and Death is seconds away, a Hand Gun could save your life.
bLetters not Updated
This response should go to bletters, “War on Stupidity” but the Pilot still has yesterday’s bletters on the Web as of this time late in the afternoon. Their staff cuts really affect the quality of this paper.
Dumb – Americans are guilty of network externalities when it comes to vehicle buying. Every time I see someone solo in a gas guzzling tip-over prone world’s most dangerous vehicle (the high and mindless SUV) which, because of the gargantuan quantities of gas needed to propel this four seater mass of metal down our highways, I think - how dumb! Dumber - the big three refuse to come up with the vehicle we all want - a hybrid minivan that gets 40 mpg (more room than an SUV and much safer). Sadly we find that the only 40 mpg hybrid minivan, the Toyota Estima, is sold only in Japan, despite an American ground swell of demand for it. Toyota is most likely holding off a little longer while the free publicity builds. Dumbest – Oregonians want a mileage tax rather than a gas tax (page 3 off today’s Pilot). Yes, let’s all spend $500 to install a devise that registers our mileage - anything to continue our addiction to the most stupid vehicles the big three bailout b
dupont94....
....either you are an idiot OR all of my guns are defective - none of them have killed ANYTHING in over 40 years - it's people who kill people, should the car-nuts give up their cars? More people are killed by cars in the US than by guns.
dupont your figures are a bit off
I went to the Richmond Times Dispatch and there were only 36 homicides in Richmond in 2008. There were 82 homicides in 2008 if you included all of the cities.
For the city of Richmond:
2006 77
2007 52
2008 36
One could use logic and hypothesize that the decrease in homicides in directly related to the increase in LEGAL gun ownership by people who do not want to be victims.
Suffolk Unable to provide statistics ?
Suffolk unable to provide statistics- Come on! I'm sure every police homicide squad keeps a running real time tally of homicides committed! What a shame Suffolk didn't provide the statistics and participate in this story. Hope you follow up and publish their position in this important comparison. The citizens in this region should be provided this information, BTW isn't is public info subject to FOIA and submitted to the FBI for a annual statistical report? Please follow up and print the numbers, perhaps there is a reason Suffolk didn't provide like an increase.
Decreases in deaths are
Decreases in deaths are always good. Of course guns are the tools of choice for murderers. Why wouldn't they be? Guns make very powerful weapons. But in America, you don't take powers away from citizens; communist countries take rights away from citizens. In America, responsible gun ownership empowers the law-abiding public. The anti-gun lobby, on the other hand, believes in the weakness and irresponsibility of our citizens, and like communists, would happily step in to erase the rights of strong citizens. But the end of reducing deaths does not justify the means of removing our rights. Find another way - just like murderers do, when guns are not available.
Where did you get your figures from?
Take the city of Richmond with over 180 homicides last year. If you go to the Richmond Times Dispatch, they have a link to the city's homicide report. The overwhelming majority of homicides were committed by guns. What is it going to take to convince you gun-nuts that guns kill?!
Where’s the O.K. Corral?
How can this be? We were promised by certain groups that when citizens were allowed to easily get concealed weapon permits, they would be shooting each other in the streets like the Old West. So now that hundreds of thousands hold CWPs, where are all those dead bodies?
Guns?
Not all of these killings were done with guns. Some were beat to death and others stabbed. If the inclination is there to kill, then that person will use what ever means that is availible. Lets not blame guns when it takes people to pull the triggers. We need more people control.
congratulations portsmouth
I see murders declined by one but you intend not to make that mistake in 2009. The new year was only a few hours old and you have the distinction of having the first murder in Tidewater. Happy New Year.
4769
Guns don't kill people; people kill people. Plain and simple.
Philipt
There is a huge difference in demographics between Scotland and our region. If you look at the specifics of almost all of the perps, you'll see that there are few of them in Scotland. You can carry it further and compare the demographics and crime of American cities and see the same thing, demographically speaking.