They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so I’ll let this chart do the talking. It compares crime stats this year to crime stats from the same time last year. The bars that go to the left (i.e., all of them) indicate a drop in crime:
Good news for Peoria: Crime is down
Whoa YEH! I guess I can finally take advantage of the guns-for-cash deal.
This is great news! Great work from the police department and Chief Settingsgaard.
Mmm… no drugs on that chart… interesting.
Sorry, but it will never last. Crime always fluctuates, but you won’t see major drops unless our society decides to do away with the “drug war.” Most violent crime in Peoria (like most urban areas) occurs in open air drug markets. Dealers and crews squabble over corners and the guns come out frequently. Corner boys can’t take their disputes to court, after all. America’s purtianical streak has once again made a problem worse (we did not learn our lesson after the end of alcohol prohibition). Treat drug use as a public health problem instead of an excuse to put more (predominantly) poor, black men away, and things might improve remarkably. I’m just sayin’…