32% increase of murders in Broward mirrors alarming U.S. tre
32% increase of murders in Broward mirrors alarming U.S. trend
By Brian Haas
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 18, 2006
The number of murders in Broward County and statewide exploded the first half of this year, newly released statistics show.
Overall crime across Broward County and Florida dropped slightly, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported Monday, mostly from decreases in property crimes.
However, Broward County saw a 32 percent jump in murders -- from 28 to 37 -- earlier this year compared with the first six months of 2005 and a 6 percent jump in robberies -- from 1,712 to 1,825. Statewide, the percentage of murders is up 27 percent -- from 408 to 518.
Neither Gov. Jeb Bush nor the Florida Department of Law Enforcement could explain the upswing in murders and other violent crimes. With 518 murders reported the first half of this year in Florida, 2006 is on pace to be the deadliest year since 1994, when 1,152 people were killed.
"It's happening across the country, too, for some reason," Bush said Tuesday. "I don't know if there's any particular reason that can be identified."
Experts say the jump in Broward and Florida mirrors a national trend showing an increasingly young, vicious set of criminals who are quick to pull a trigger to solve disputes.
"I just know that we're seeing a lot more young people committing violent crimes and are also the victims of violent crimes," said Joshua Ederheimer, director of the Center on Force and Accountability at the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, D.C. "They seem to be a little more brutal."
Thirty-seven people were murdered from January through June this year across the county, compared with 28 during the first half of 2005.
The increase is spread throughout Broward's largest and smallest cities and police have cited a variety of motives: 10 domestic-related murders, seven arising from arguments and six robbery-murders.
May proved particularly deadly this year, with 14 murders that month.
One of the cases, the May 19 double-murder of two day-laborers in Fort Lauderdale, illustrates a phenomenon that Ederheimer says is growing.
He said that in a typical robbery, the victim is held up, robbed and then left relatively unharmed. But on May 19, police said, the robbers weren't content with Oscar Castra and Alfredo Sanchez's payday cash. Instead, police said, they shot the two dead.
"We've seen that all across the country," Ederheimer said. "I don't know what's contributing to this manifestation of these more brutal crimes."
Along with increasing brutality in robberies and assaults, Ederheimer said notions of "respect" are turning deadly for young men. "Street respect has taken on a new meaning," he said. "A homicide may occur because of the way someone looked at someone's girlfriend at a club."
Adding to the problems for authorities are more homeland security responsibilities and fewer resources for local policing, Ederheimer said.
In the meantime, he said, police and lawmakers need to find quick solutions.
"Broward County is not alone, they're experiencing a similar phenomenon ... across the country," he said. "It's going to be important to identify that problem and identify some alternatives now, before it gets worse."
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