Crime in Madison

The Sunday Wisconsin State Journal had this article:

Madison robberies set record

Robberies in Madison reached an all-time high last year, according to new statistics from the Madison Police Department that are already grist for the city's mayoral race.

The 435 reported robberies in 2006 - the first time the number has exceeded 400 - drove violent crime up 16.7 percent over the previous year, Police Chief Noble Wray said.

Later in the article we get this novelty:

Total incidents of crime in Madison are still well below levels in the early 1990s, Cieslewicz noted.

About 10,000 serious crimes - including murder, assault, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson - were reported in 2006, down from about 15,000 in 1991. Despite steady population growth in recent years, the number of crimes reported each year since 2001 has stayed around 10,000 per year.

Serious assaults also increased noticeably, from between 350 and 450 each year since 1999 to 473 incidents in 2006. On the other hand, the number of auto thefts, 435, dropped below 600 for the first time since before 1998.

Any regular reader of Waxing America should see the omission which creates the illusion that crime is 'down.'  (If you need help, go here, here, and here.)

• Since the mid 1990's when crime peaked in the United States, rates for violent crime are down about 50%.
• Cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco saw their rates drop by over half in some instances.
• Madison violent crime in 1991 (the year the mayor cited)  was almost one half the national rate.  Now it is almost equal to the national rate.

While virtually every city in the country had a significant drop in crime since the peak in the 1990's Madison has not. There is a reason, beyond the control of the mayor and the Madison Police department:

• Madison has had a significant growth in poverty, which fuels crime.

However:

• To portray that Madison is 'safe' when violent crime is growing is deceptive, and prevents us from getting to real solutions.
• To ignore the vast growth in poverty only worsens the situation.

Comments

[Kate]

Yes, I find it strange that this city is so highly educated 48% of people hold a Bachelors degree or higher and 92% hold a high school diploma. However, Madison medium income lower and level poverty higher then the state average. How do you explain that….

[Kate]

Yes, I find it strange that this city is so highly educated 48% of people hold a Bachelors degree or higher and 92% hold a high school diploma. However, Madison medium income lower and level poverty higher then the state average. How do you explain that….