Major Crimes In U.S. Increase

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer

The number of major crimes in the United States increased last year for the first time in a decade, bringing an end to a decline in violence that had resulted in the lowest crime levels in a generation, according to FBI statistics.

The increase included a 3.1 percent rise in murders reported by police departments nationwide, along with significant jumps in the numbers of robberies, burglaries and car thefts, according to the preliminary FBI survey, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Overall, major crimes in 2001 were up by 2 percent from the year before.

One exception to the national trend was the District, which reported a slight drop in crime of 0.4 percent, including lower numbers for homicide, aggravated assault and theft. But the District reported increases in several other serious crime categories, including robberies, burglaries and car thefts, the report says.

The national increase, outlined in an annual report to be released Monday by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, reverses nine years of declining crime numbers and is certain to fuel debates on Capitol Hill over proposed cuts in anti-crime measures.

The reversal comes amid budget pressures on many local police departments because of rapid declines in the tax revenues collected by state and local governments. In addition, the FBI -- which has been deeply involved in major narcotics and gang investigations -- is in the midst of a major reorganization that will result in less attention to traditional crimes in favor of efforts aimed at thwarting terrorist attacks.

Many police chiefs and criminologists have warned that surges in the numbers of teenagers and released prisoners, along with recent economic declines, threatened a return to rising crime.

"We're probably done seeing declines in crime rates for some time to come," said Jack Riley, director of the Public Safety and Justice Program at Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. "The question is how strong and how fast will those rates be, and what kind of tools do we have at our disposal to get ahead of the curve."

The FBI survey does not provide details about specific suburbs, although crime reports in suburban areas overall were up 2.2 percent. Regionally, only the Northeast showed a drop in crime. The largest increase was in western states, followed by the South and Midwest, the FBI said.

Criminologists are divided over what causes crime rates to increase, though most believe that economics and demographics play crucial roles. Riley and other crime experts said last year's resurgence can be explained at least in part by a stagnant economy.

In addition, the number of inmates released from state and federal prisons last year rose to more than 600,000 as many convicted during the crack-cocaine epidemic of the late 1980s returned to the streets, according to federal estimates. Police officials are also concerned about an ongoing increase in the teenage population, which has historically been the age group most likely to commit crimes.

"The great 1990s crime drop ended with the 1990s; the new millennium brings a different picture," said James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston. "This tells us we can't be complacent about crime levels. We have to re-intensify our efforts."

Most of the crime increase in 2001 was driven by jumps in various property crimes -- led by car thefts at 6 percent -- while the overall number of violent crimes rose by less than 1 percent.

But every category except aggravated assault showed an increase, and crime experts said the rises in murders and robberies were particularly alarming because of the severe impact they have on neighborhoods and communities.

Homicides increased sharply in many U.S. cities last year, including a jump of 67 percent in Boston and double-digit percentage spikes in Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis and Phoenix, to name a few. Murders also increased at smaller rates in Chicago and Los Angeles but continued to decline in New York when those slain in the World Trade Center attack are not included.

The uptick in crime documented by the FBI is already being seized upon by some Democrats on Capitol Hill trying to fend off cuts in federal aid to local police departments.

The Bush administration has proposed several reductions in grants and other assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies, including an 80 percent drop in funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services program. The Clinton administration initiative, which aimed to provide funding for 100,000 police officers, has been popular with many local governments but has been criticized by some Republicans as ineffective.

Is self-defense OK?

Avoidance of danger is your first moral responsibility. But when you find yourself in a dangerous situation you could not avoid, defending yourself is absolutely the most moral and ethical course of action. It is also the most effective!

Knowing your attacker does not change your right to self-defense, and it should not change your conviction that you are worth defending.

Traditionally women have been given a selection of options that are either impractical, ineffective ("Spray him in the eyes with hairspray", "Get a rape whistle"), or don't cover the whole spectrum of possibilities in which self-protection might be necessary. For example, advice such as "Don't go into dangerous areas at night, stay home" ignores the fact that a high percentage of rapes occur when the woman is in her home, and also ignores the fact that some women must work after dark!

This advice also ignores the fact that some women are being targeted for violence by assailants who will not be deterred by casual protective measures which would work against random crime or low levels of threat.

Where can a woman who wants to learn about self-protection go for information and advice? Not to the police, who are often bound by department policy not to even mention the higher levels of protection in their talks to the public. Where can she meet women who have experienced being sprayed with pepper spray, or hit with a stun gun, to learn the pros and cons of those methods of self protection? Where can she talk with women whose range of expertise includes practical defensive tactics or even firearms, and who deeply understand more than one method of self-protection?

"Fighting back" is not an effective option unless you are taught precisely how to fight back - where can you meet women (and men) who have had extensive training equivalent to that given to police, and who are certified to teach the same skills to other civilians?

The answer is: AWARE.

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Should you? Could you?

Is it better to fight back, or not?

It's virtually always better to fight back, particularly if you are trained in how to fight back appropriately. Women who fight back are injured less often, are more successful in stopping the attack, regardless of what kind of attack it is, and feel better about themselves afterwards.

I could never fight back.

People who've never been in a situation where they wanted to fight often think that they couldn't fight, but you will find, if you're faced with a life or death situation, that it's very easy to fight. But you need to know how to fight back in order for that instinct to be effective. Getting training of the type that AWARE and other organizations can provide can be critical to overcoming that emotional resistance to fighting.

What can I learn in a few hours or days?

A tremendous amount. It's not necessary to take years of training in order to become an effective fighter or in order to develop a personal protection plan that works for you. In a couple of hours or a few days, you can become proficient in a number of different techniques and learn something about how you apply them.

Self-defense is important

Women in Serious Danger Need Serious Help

All women live with a certain level of risk of violent crime. Statistics show that a woman now 21 years old has a 1 in 4 chance of experiencing a violent crime in her lifetime. For them, much information is already available about how to reduce their risk ("stay alert") and how to respond if something bad happens ("fight back").

Home Security:
Batten down the hatches against crime
    
It's late at night. You've been out on the town and you're coming home for some much-needed rest. As you get out of your car, you notice a window is broken out of your front door, and the door is ajar. It appears you've been victimized by a burglar.

While your first step after a burglary should be to call the police from a cell phone or a neighbor's house (do not enter your home after a break-in without the police!), there are steps that could have been taken beforehand to avoid being victimized.

Trim it back, light it up
One of the most important things you can do to protect your home is to ensure high visibility. Cut back trees and bushes that obscure the view of your home from the road or neighboring homes. Also, install flood lights around your home, or ask your electric company to install a light on a utility pole. The easier it is to see your home, the harder it will be for criminals to break in.

Invest in quality locks, doors and windows
Don't skimp when it comes to locks, doors and windows. Buy the highest quality you can afford. Deadbolts are a must for all entries to home. Solid metal doors are preferable, as opposed to wooden doors or doors with windows. If you can afford it, have a locksmith install locks to ensure the best security possible.

Take a step toward the high tech
Installing an alarm system can go a long way towards giving you peace of mind. An alarm that automatically summons the police is the best, while an audible alarm will cause the burglar to flee immediately.

Document and mark your stuff
Record serial numbers and take Polaroids of all your valuable items to enable identification when merchandise is recovered.

Also it's a good idea to arm yourself with a stun gun,pepper spray,or other self defense products it could make a big diffrence in attack situations.

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