Gary murder rate continues to decline

GARY -- Seventy-one homicides were reported in Gary, the "murder capital of the world," last year. The figure marks a new low.\nIt has been declining annually since a record high of 132 in 1995. \nBut homicide rates have dropped nationally, with many law enforcement officials attributing the trend to a strong economy and tougher drug policy. The Steel City has retained its infamous status as "murder capital" in cities with more than 100,000 residents. \nWith a population of 116,000, it averaged 61.21 murders per 100,000 residents, according to police. Washington, D.C. came in second with 42.24 murders, New Orleans third with 41.87, according to a year-end FBI report.\nMost of the victims died from gunshot wounds. Most were young black men, 31 of them between the ages of 15 and 25. The youngest was Gary resident Nathan Lowe, 14, who was shot by an acquaintance at his home on Mother's Day.\nThe oldest victim was Cardell Cast, 60. He was shot in the head Aug.18.\nPolice traced most of the homicides to gang activity and drug traffic.\nA notable exception was a domestic dispute that resulted in the much-publicized shootings of four women and a man in two locations. The bodies were dumped in an abandoned baseball field.\nThe Lake County Prosecutor's Office charged Cleveland Bynum with the five murders. If convicted later this year, he faces 325 years in prison.\nPolice chief John Roby said he remains optimistic, saying his force has made progress on "a number of fronts." He points to the hiring and training of new recruits in an expanded Community Oriented Policing program, to be launched later this year. \nRoby said, by summer, the department will also have a mobile crime unit to respond to all major incidents and gather evidence on the scene. \nIn reaching the new low, the city is already seeing results from existing programs such as Operation Bullseye, which has sent gun violators to federal courts with five-year minimum sentences. \nRichmond, Va, reported 72 homicides this year, down from 120 in 1995, police spokesperson Jennifer Reilly said. With a population of 203,000, it was the first city to crack down on gun violators in federal court.\n"Operation Exile definitely has had an impact," Reilly said. "We were down 40 percent in crime last year."\nOther notoriously crime-plagued cities, such as Newark, N.J., have seen results from putting more officers on the streets. \n"We're down more than 50 percent from five years ago," said police spokesman Sgt. Amilker Velez. \nHe credits the reduction to the department's new policy of assigning 75 percent of its officers to patrol, increasing police visibility in the community around the clock. Like most cities, Gary keeps about 50 percent of its officers on patrol.\nAnd it can't rely enough on community involvement, said homicide detective Sgt. Thomas Branson.\n"The public is our most valuable asset," said Branson, who noted that witnesses supplying vital information led to arrests in several cases. "It's not very often when we see the crime committed, so we need to talk to the people who do. They may think the information is insignificant, but it may lead us to the lead we need."\nBranson knows it to be the case. Assigned to a fatal beating outside of the Mr. Lucky's bar downtown, he wrangled the nickname of the suspect from a street source. It led to an arrest and conviction.