Violent Crime

WASHINGTON -- The nation's crime rate held steady last year at the lowest levels since the government began surveying crime victims in 1973, the Justice Department reported yesterday. The study was the latest contribution to a decade-long trend in which violent crime as measured by victim surveys has fallen by 55 percent and property crime by 49 percent. That has included a 14 percent drop in violent crime from 2000-2001 to 2002-2003. "The rates are the lowest experienced in the last 30 years," Justice Department statistician Shannan Catalona said in the report.

Darin Bufalino - an enforcer for a crime ring allegedly led by Mark Rossetti, a reputed capo for the New England Mafia who has been identified as an FBI informant - pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prisTuesday for conspiracy and attempted extortion related to the crime ring's rackets. The sentence was handed down in Suffolk Superior Court just days after Bufalino was sentenced in Essex County to a separate seven-year term for an unrelated robbery at gunpoint of a landscaper.

WASHINGTON — The government’s most comprehensive crime survey indicates that violent and property crimes continued to decrease last year even as the nation’s economy slumped, confirming an earlier FBI report. The National Crime Victimization study, released yesterday by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, showed violent and property crime last year reached the lowest level recorded in the survey, first published in 1973. The survey estimated that violent crime dropped by 11.2 percent and property crimes 5.5 percent from 2008 levels.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking issue with the U.S. State Department for posting a statement advising travelers to beware of rampant violent crime in his country. Chavez said Tuesday in Cuba during an appearance on Venezuelan state television that the South American country's security situation ought to be compared to that of the United States. "Where would there be greater lack of public security on the streets? In Venezuela or in the United States?," Chavez said.

WASHINGTON -- Every type of violent crime fell last year with one notable exception: Murders were up for the fourth straight year, according to an annual FBI report released yesterday. After reaching a low point of about 15,500 homicides in 1999, the number has crept up steadily since then to more than 16,500 in 2003 -- or almost six murders for every 100,000 US residents. That was a 1.7 percent increase from 2002 and a jump of more than 6 percent since 1999. Still, the latest figure was 29 percent lower than the homicide rate in 1994.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is taking issue with the U.S. State Department for posting a statement advising travelers to beware of rampant violent crime in his country. Chavez said Tuesday in Cuba during an appearance on Venezuelan state television that the South American country's security situation ought to be compared to that of the United States. "Where would there be greater lack of public security on the streets? In Venezuela or in the United States?," Chavez said.

Recently I wrote a blog about how I caved and got my 11-year-old daughter the cell phone she wanted. One of the reasons I did it, I wrote, was that she was starting to be independent and go places alone (brief walks or bike rides) or with friends. More than a few comments on the blog said: why would you let an 11-year-old do that? 11-year-olds should always be with an adult. Fifth grade has always been when my husband and I have begun to let our children be independent; Natasha is the fourth of our five children to hit that milestone.

The municipal police force in the nation's capital is beefing up its officer ranks as it continues to try to reduce violent crime. FBI statistics released last month show that the number of rapes reported in the District of Columbia increased by nearly 25 percent last year. By comparison, rape dropped 5 percent nationwide. The report said that violent crime nationwide dropped 6 percent in 2010. In the District, overall violent crime decreased by 1 percent. Nearly three dozen new recruits to the D.C. police department are set to begin a training program Monday.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Two unidentified gunmen killed a journalist who reported on the wave of violent crime in Honduras, police said yesterday. Assailants stopped Rafael Munguia, 36, as he was driving Tuesday night in the city of San Pedro Sula, dragged him from his vehicle and shot him at least eight times, according to a news release from the San Pedro Sula police department. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was tied to Munguia's work. Munguia worked for Cadena Voces radio station.

Darin Bufalino - an enforcer for a crime ring allegedly led by Mark Rossetti, a reputed capo for the New England Mafia who has been identified as an FBI informant - pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prisTuesday for conspiracy and attempted extortion related to the crime ring's rackets. The sentence was handed down in Suffolk Superior Court just days after Bufalino was sentenced in Essex County to a separate seven-year term for an unrelated robbery at gunpoint of a landscaper.

The 19-year-old daughter of a Chilean diplomat in Venezuela was shot to death by police at a road checkpoint early Saturday. Fernando Berendique, Chile's consul in the western city of Maracaibo, said his daughter, Karen, was riding in a vehicle with her brother and another young man when she was killed. He said the trio ignored a command to stop by police at the checkpoint, fearing the officers might be robbers. Violent crime is widespread in Venezuela. Venezuelan authorities said the young woman was hit by three bullets.

Recently I wrote a blog about how I caved and got my 11-year-old daughter the cell phone she wanted. One of the reasons I did it, I wrote, was that she was starting to be independent and go places alone (brief walks or bike rides) or with friends. More than a few comments on the blog said: why would you let an 11-year-old do that? 11-year-olds should always be with an adult. Fifth grade has always been when my husband and I have begun to let our children be independent; Natasha is the fourth of our five children to hit that milestone.

FROM THE wheelchair that will define the rest of his life, Marcus Hurd can still recite "the code. " "I live by the code; I die by the code," Hurd, the sole survivor of the 2010 massacre in Mattapan testified in court last week. "You're supposed to take what happens, whatever comes your way," added the 33-year-old man, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down as a result of a bullet shot to his head. Four people were killed, execution-style, including a 2-year-old boy. When it happened, Rev. Eugene F. Rivers, a longtime observer of urban...

A spate of deadly violence and nonfatal shootings and stabbings in recent weeks has rocked several of Boston's communities, after a relatively calm start to the year. Since Friday, there have been three fatal shootings, one fatal stabbing, and at least four nonfatal shootings and stabbings in Dorchester, the South End, and Mattapan, violence that has alarmed community activists. The police commissioner suggested that the warmer weather may be a factor. Antiviolence activist Emmett Folgert, executive director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative, said the amount of...

RE "CRIME bill critics call for more analysis: Key lawmakers stand fast on 3-strikes penalty" (Metro, Jan. 25): I am a middle-class, middle-aged mom from the predominantly white suburbs. I stand with the black community in demanding that three-strikes legislation be removed from the "habitual offenders" bill, and that final legislation include sentencing reform. The heartbreaking injustices of violent crime are not answered or ameliorated by creating, or exacerbating, injustices in the prison system.

Authorities in South Carolina have charged a man with robbery in a botched holdup at a Waffle House that left another suspect dead. Spartanburg County Sheriff's Lt. Tony Ivey says 29-year-old Kenneth Jowan Craig was arrested late Saturday night and charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Investigators say Craig and 19-year-old Dante Lamont Williams tried to rob the restaurant early Saturday morning. A customer with a concealed weapons permit drew his gun and told the men to wait for sheriff's deputies to arrive.

WASHINGTON -- The nation's crime rate was unchanged last year, holding at the lowest levels since the government began surveying crime victims in 1973, the Justice Department reported yesterday. Since 1993, violent crime as measured by victim surveys has decreased by 57 percent and property crime by 50 percent. That has included a 9 percent drop in violent crime from 2001-2002 to 2003-2004. The 2004 violent crime rate -- assault, sexual assault, and armed robbery -- was 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people age 12 and older.

WASHINGTON -- The government selected Boston and 17 other cities and suburban regions yesterday to study for clues on why homicides and other violent crimes are on the rise nationally. The Justice Department study comes after FBI data in September showed violent criminal activity -- including rape, murder, robbery, and aggravated assault -- rose 2.2 percent from last year. That marked the first increase in violent crimes since 2001. Albert Goslin , Boston's acting police commissioner, welcomed the city's participation in the study.

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo says the United States is sending people to help Honduras battle the violent crime that led to the withdrawal of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers this week. Lobo says the Americans will work on analyzing the problems. Lobo told the HRN radio network Thursday that "soon there will be U.S. personnel here … and that will contribute to the tranquility of the Honduran people. " He did not say if the Americans would come from some government agency or a private company.

Puerto Rico's police chief has suspended an officer who used his patrol car's loudspeaker during a funeral to demand that the superintendent resign. Officer Harold Ortiz was accused Friday of insubordination and improper use of government property. The loudspeaker incident happened Wednesday while police chief Emilio Diaz Colon spoke to the press during the funeral of a police sergeant whose killing remains unsolved. Diaz has faced increased calls in recent months to step down as violent crime continues to soar across the U.S. Caribbean territory of nearly 4 million...