Crime Wave Alert - Atlanta GA - Campus Concerns

Typically, the tipping point of recognition of a crime wave is some heinous incident. Such was the case this past Sunday in Atlanta.

In announcing the new offensive to bolster campus security, Atlanta Police Department acknowledged a singular incident raised consensus for need; last Sunday night four students were carjacked and kidnapped a block away from the Morehouse campus. The youths were able to call 911 on a cell phone and were rescued by police.

The Atlanta Constitution Reported that, "The plan was formalized Tuesday on Georgia Tech's campus, which has been plagued by a series of robberies dating back to May, when a student was shot at a parking deck on Northside Drive and Tenth Street. Last week, there were three incidents reported in which Tech students were robbed either on campus or a short distance from the school." "This is the second major APD initiative on campus crime in the last six months. Last fall then-Police Chief Richard Pennington announced the department would dispatch eight uniformed officers to keep watch over the neighborhoods near Tech and the Atlanta University Center. But Turner said those increased patrols dwindled once the revenue source for overtime pay dried up."

Crime Wave Alert - Chicago violent crime on the rise, appeals for national guard to assist

CNN reported on April 26, 2010, that a "violent crime wave in Chicago" has prompted calls for the National Guard to step in. Two Illinois law makers are urging IL State Governor Pat Quinn to deploy troops following a recent surge in violent crime. Unfortunately, the National Guard, outside of Military Police, are not trained for doing police work -- they are not versed in domestic law enforcement, and are not a good fit. Yet it is interesting to observe that for all the publicly voiced opinions that no crime wave exists, that there are some experiencing acute pain from this economic downturn that they attribute to the conditions giving rise to a crime wave.

Read the article below. The comments on the CNN web link are also revealing in terms of capturing attitudes about the crime situation in Chicago.

April 26, 2010

Chicago Violence: Is the National Guard the Solution?

Posted: 09:15 AM ET

A violent crime wave in Chicago prompts a call for the National Guard to step in. Two Illinois lawmakers, State Reprepresentatives John Fritchey (D) and LaShawn Ford (D), are urging Governor Pat Quinn to deploy troops following a recent surge in violent crime. "We're not talking about rolling tanks down the street," said Fritchey. "If we bring them in to fill sand bags and pick up tornado debris, we can bring them in to save lives."

While they may believe the Guard is the solution, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis disagrees. Weis says the Guard's military training falls short of the criminal laws and procedures that police must follow in combating crime. “I’m not that mixing the National Guard with local law enforcement is the solution," Weis said.

We want to hear from you. Tell us whether you think the National Guard should be called in to help combat the city’s recent crime wave.

Leave us a comment. We’ll share some of them on air in the CNN Newsroom, 11am – 1pm ET

Crime Wave Alert - Honduras - civil unrest, massive peasant squatters movement

In Honduras, government leaders are calling it a crime wave, and are planning to use the military to put down crime wave, that peasant leaders fear will include an assault on peasant squatters that have seized over 10,000 acres of farmland from large corporate owners.

"Zelaya's supporters expressed fear the security buildup might be used in a crackdown on a peasant squatter movement in the area. Just before the coup, about 3,000 farm workers seized almost 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) in commercial plantations used to grow African palms. The pro-Zelaya National Popular Resistance Front said the Aguan deployment posed a serious threat of raids to clear the squatters."

The AP Press reported that "Troops will be sent into Honduras' streets to help police combat a wave of violent crime, the government said Tuesday. Defense Minister Marlon Pascua told reporters that soldiers will be assigned to search vehicles and pedestrians and pursue criminal suspects. He did not specify when the troops would be deployed."

This Central American country of 7.7 million people suffered more than 5,300 homicides in 2009 while grappling with a political crisis touched off by a coup. The country's army was harshly criticized after soldiers hustled then-President Manuel Zelaya out of the country aboard an airplane last June. All six members of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff were charged with abuse of power in January, but all were later cleared by a Supreme Court judge. Lawmakers approved amnesty for both Zelaya and all those involved in his removal. On Monday, Lobo's administration announced it was sending more than 2,000 soldiers and police officers to the Atlantic coast region around the Aguan River to seize drugs and illegal weapons. Drug cartels are increasingly using the coasts of Central America to move drugs toward the U.S. market.

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2010/04/13/1093389/honduran-army-to-help-combat-violent.html#ixzz0lGkPC9T1

Crime wave in New Haven: murder on the rise

What will the crime wave look like when it arrives? This is a question that researchers and watchers are asking. Criminal justice scholars are pleased with their observation that "no crime" wave has occurred, and that somehow this time is different. City leaders in New Haven are not so sure, as they are experiencing rapidly increasing violence in the past four months, with 17 homicides so far this year.

Despite the well intended scholars, or the hopeful politicians, this time is not different -- we will not avoid a crime wave -- rather it will get a lot worse before it gets better as we went so much further down the economic roller coaster, and we have yet to pull up. Furthermore, it is dangerous anytime someone suggests that somehow this time is different. This logic allows city officials to lay-off police at the same time that the conditions for crime are brewing. It must be remembered that it was not until 1933, some four years after the 1929 stock market crash, that the public was so greatly outraged by crime that something was done about it. Murder, extortion, kidnapping, racketeering, bank robberies, and many other crimes were the seminal markers of crime wave during the Great Depression era.

Consider now what is happening in our nations cities. Each is different, unique, and yet all are suffering from new conditions. The streets are getting meaner. Consider the recent press conference held Monday (yesterday) that marked the first time city leaders have spoken publicly to discuss the crime wave, responding to the continuing violence and rising anxiety in the city. New Haven Police Department Chief Frank Limon, who was sworn in just last week, said he will work on strategies for his “Operation Corridor” policing campaign, which was just launched this weekend and increased police presence in the area where the recent murders occurred. In the past four months, there have been 17 homicides, 15 of which involved firearms, Limon said. Most of the victims were in their late 20s or 30s and were recently released from prison. All were black, and this is most troubling as only 12% of the city population is African American, so this is intensely located in specific demographic areas, but it impacts the whole city.

New Haven is a densely populated city of 160,000 located along I-95 on the easter n seaboard. The city is comprised of a 19 square mile area.

Is there something going on in New Haven? In past economic crises, such as the Great Depression, criminal organizations were more violent to each other seeking to take away turf and restore profits. Perhaps times are not so different on the mean streets where it is believed that the victims and shooters are somehow gang related.

Crime Wave Alert - Bahamas

Coming & Going: Violent crime is up in the Bahamas

Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Washington Post

Crime wave

Bahamas-bound travelers, beware.

Crime in the popular tourist destination is on the upswing, especially on New Providence Island, where the capital city, Nassau, is located. And we're not talking just petty thefts or purse-snatching, but far more serious violent crime.

This island nation finished 2009 with a record 87 murders -- a statistic tourism officials probably won't be trumpeting in their next "It's Better in the Bahamas" ad.

More recently, on Feb. 25, an American tourist was attacked in his hotel room on usually tranquil Harbour Island (60 miles from Nassau) by two men wielding a cutlass, according to the Tribune newspaper. The victim survived and suspects are in custody, but the incident prompted police and Ministry of Tourism officials to meet with concerned Harbour Island residents last Monday.

Bahamian officials from Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham on down have publicly acknowledged the problem and taken steps to address it, putting more police on the streets in Nassau, especially after 18 cruise ship passengers became victims of an armed robbery in November.

The criminal activity has prompted the operators of the world's largest cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas, to warn its passengers to "be mindful of their personal safety," the Nassau Guardian newspaper reported.

CoGo isn't waving sun-seekers away from the Bahamas, because most of the violent crime seems to have occurred in New Providence's "Over the Hill" neighborhoods,where few tourists venture. Would-be tourists should also know that crime hasn't been as much of an issue in the Bahamas' less populated Family Islands, such as Exuma, Bimini and Abaco.

Even so, "be mindful" seems like an appropriate mantra for visitors, especially in Nassau, where the State Department has reported "assaults, including sexual assaults, in diverse areas such as in casinos, outside hotels, or on cruise ships."

Some Bahamians attribute the crime wave to high unemployment (hovering around 15 percent on New Providence Island, according to the Guardian) and the nation's status as a gathering spot for drug traffickers.

On a personal note, CoGo saw no evidence of criminal activity during a recent three-day stay in Nassau, if you discount the scruffy young man who whispered "coke, weed, coke, weed" as we strolled along Bay Street, the main shopping drag, one evening.

For more on this article, click the hyperlink above.

Middle Class Customers increasing Shoplifting Behaviors

10th November, 2009

Middle-class turning to shoplifting

Affluent shoppers hit by the recession are fuelling a shoplifting crimewave, according to research.

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Middle-class people reluctant to give up luxuries they can no longer afford are behind thefts of expensive foods, alcohol and cosmetics, the Centre for Retail Research data claimed.

More middle-class people are shoplifting, a report suggests

Hundreds of retailers said shoplifting surged as goods were taken for personal use and not for resale by organised criminal gangs.

Shoplifting shot up by a fifth in the 12 months to June, leaving shops to pick up a £4.88 billion bill for lost stock.

The data was compiled from 42,000 shops across Europe by the Centre for Retail Research on behalf of Checkpoint Systems, a retail security company.

Britain registered the highest rate of shoplifting in Europe and only the United States and Japan had higher levels worldwide.

Neil Matthews, of Checkpoint Systems, said: "We are seeing more instances of amateur thieves stealing goods for their own personal use rather than to sell on than before. This is epitomised in the recent uprising of the middle-class shoplifter, someone who has turned to theft to sustain their standard of living.

"This is driving theft of items such as cosmetics, perfumes and face creams, alcohol, fresh meat, mobile phones, computer games and DVDs as well as small electrical goods like cameras, iPods and personal care gadgets."

Researchers questioned 1,069 large retailers with combined sales of £514 billion for the survey.

ttp://www.retailresearch.org/home/index.php(Centre for Retail Research)

12-year old Juvenile One-Man Crime Wave! (UK)

METRO REPORTER - 16th March, 2010Share|

12-year-old 'crimewave' boy jailed

A violent 12-year-old car thief has become one of the country’s youngest prisoners after a string of more than 30 offences.

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The one-boy crimewave was given a ten-month detention sentence after admitting assault and aggravated vehicle taking.

The Essex boy, who is ‘too young and vulnerable’ to be named, had ‘bared his teeth like a wild animal’ when he attacked a woman and a man, magistrates in Witham heard.

After the attack, he stole keys to a red Audi TT, mounting pavements on an erratic drive – only just able to see over the wheel.

Crime opportunity and Craigslist; a match making domain

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Crime Wave Alert - California

California has been hit with long term unemployment, a terrible housing downturn, and characteristically, these conditions can create conditions of economic misery that can lead to crime waves. Consider the following report:

Loomis Neighborhood Rocked By Crime Wave

More Local News

Reporting
Neda Iranpour

LOOMIS (CBS13) ―

Click to enlarge

1 of 1

CBS

Loomis residents are worried about a rash of burglaries that have swept through their neighborhood.

There have been five car break-ins in just one cul-de-sac over the last two weeks. Homeowners are taking safety into their own hands. They're forming a neighborhood watch, installing alarms, cameras, lights, and patrolling the streets looking for anything suspicious.

"They've taken away that feeling of security and small town safety," said Diane, a Loomis resident.

"Hey, were not immune to problems Loomis is a nice town, but crime is coming to us," said Bob Peugh, a burglary victim.

Neighbors were told these break-ins may be linked to waves of crime in Elk Grove, Rocklin, Granite Bay, and Napa Valley.

Not everyone believes a crime wave is coming; certainly not the FBI or selective police chiefs

While this blog's author believes that a global crime wave is inevitable, and has published this blog to provide a voice of warning, caution, and preparedness, not everyone agrees with this scenario.

The FBI and selective police chiefs site lower crime rates since the recession began. Referenced in this article appearing in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, one scholar believes that perhaps one reason the crime wave has not hit is the impact of exogenous factors such as the stimulus plan that moved to lengthen the term of benefits for unemployed (meaning increased social insurance) and additional jobs replacing some of the lost jobs during this period. And there is some merit in this argument. The question remains however, can placing a thumb in the hole spring in the dike hold back the raging flood waters?

Read below an excerpt from the AJC:

Across the nation, crime, on the whole, is down considerably, especially property crimes and violent crimes such as robbery.

The counterintuitive nature of this recession makes sense when you peel back the layers.

Take home burglaries, for instance.

“We assume crime climbs when the economy is down,” said Rosenfeld, Curators Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. But “during high unemployment, more people are at home and that cuts the rates of burglary.”

Additionally, people tend to carry fewer valuables these days, so there are fewer street crimes such as robberies, Rosenfeld added.

The drug trade, which usually grows and flourishes in a recession, has been contained mostly within the groups of people who were already buying and selling drugs. In the past, disputes over drug deals often resulted in murders or other violent crimes. Now, they’re contained and rarely reported. After all, who’s going to go to the police about a drug deal gone bad?

“The absence of expansion in the drug market could be related to the absences of crime increasing,” Rosenfeld said.

Add last year’s stimulus money, which extended unemployment benefits and food stamps to millions and helped many communities keep more police on the street, and you get a clearer picture.

“That may have cushioned the low-income against the full effects of the economic downturn,” Rosenfeld said.

# # #

For my part, I am quite confidant that in the annals of history that this extraordinary period of economic calamity will indeed foster conditions that will incubate a crime wave born of economic misery from long-term sustained unemployment, loss of income, loss of purchasing power (through devalued real estate) and a portent of inflation on the horizon.

Crime Wave Alert - India

From the Financial Times (India), The number of crimes in Dhaka city appears to have shot up very menacingly over the last one month. This is not to say that the crime rate was significantly better before this period. The law and order conditions have been found sliding for over a year. But crimes of the type like trying to snatch the daughter away from parents or ones indicating the depths of depravity, were not so much noted before. What is very worrying is the spurt in such crimes in the city. Only last week, a couple lost their lives from trying to protect their youngestdaughter whom the attackers on the ground of not being allowed to marry her made an attempt to forcibly kidnap her. When the parents tried to resist this, they were fired upon and killed. Prior to this event, the deceased parents got phone calls and were called upon personally by the assassins who demanded that their daughter must be handed over to them.

The slain couple had tried their best to get the protection of the police but to no effect. Only days after this incident on Saturday, another couple and theirdaughter in the Kalabagan area came under attack with knives and received serious injuries. The attacker was a young man who was identified as an acquaintance of the daughter and who, allegedly, did this out of frustration for not getting some 2.0 million Taka he had demanded from the couple. The above are only some of the incidents that made headlines recently. Apart from these, a number of persons were killed or found dead in the city during the last seventy-two hours or so.

Drug peddling rackets and their members are mainly at the heart of such crimes. Youngsters and many of them in their teens are seen to be most reckless and uncaring members of these gangs. Their number has been increasing and police in many cases are alleged to be their patrons. Regular bribes received from them are guessed to be the main reason why police keep so quiet despite the unacceptable spread of these gangs and their increasingly brutal modus operandi.

The killers of the first couple are alleged to be well known members of drug rackets. They apparently had the confidence that police would do nothing to stop them from being so reckless in their murderous activities or their trying to intimidate the girl's parents before the murders. The relatives of the deceased made known this helplessness of the dead couple to the media subsequently. In most of the other cases of crimes now sweeping the city, the same kind of mentality is seen to be pervasive. Thus, citizens need not be blamed if they come to the conclusion that they have nobody to turn to or there are no dependable institutions of the state to meet the minimum needs of security of their lives and property.

Crime Wave Alert - Europe - Gypsie Children pulled into Fagan like crime rings

Gypsy child crime wave grips Europe

By Mark Bannerman

Updated Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:13am AEDT

Living in slums: many Gypsy children grow up in homes with no running water or official power sources. (AFP: Max Rossi)

• VIDEO: Gypsy Child Thieves (ABC News)
• RELATED LINK: Four Corners

One of Romania's most powerful criminals has warned his country must do something to stop the wave of Gypsy child crime that is sweeping Europe or face a backlash against Romanians.

Simply known as Breliant, he freely boasts a pedigree rich in thieves. But this week on Four Corners he explains that unless gangs run by his countrymen stop using children to rob and steal, the Romanian Gypsies will be driven out of other EU countries.

"Over the last 20 years I've seen the anti-Gypsy feeling getting stronger, not only in Romania but across Europe," he said.

"I've also seen Gypsy petty crime turn into serious crime, into international organised crime."

Any tourist in Europe knows the threat of street crime is a major problem. Some people are targeted by pickpockets while others are harassed at cash teller machines.

Most of the thieves are young children below the age of 14. In many countries they cannot be held criminally responsible until they pass 14 years.

Lucrative

One of the children spoken to by Four Corners is 13-year-old Daniela.

She has little or no education but pickpocketing in Madrid can earn her up to $500 for a successful robbery. If she gets away with her scam she takes the money to her mother. It is used to buy food and some of it is repatriated to Romania to buy a house.

This week's Four Corners reveals that while some children steal to survive, many are part of a network of organised groups that rob tourists and locals, passing the money back to crime bosses in Romania.

The wave of crime perpetrated by Gypsy children began in earnest when Romania was admitted to the EU.

It is now so bad that authorities in the major Italian city of Milan have declared a state of emergency. The city officials authorised police to set up an undercover operation that used hidden cameras and telephone taps to arrest dozens of people.

In all, 19 adults were jailed for theft and the abuse of children. The investigation found some children were generating up to $15,000 to $20,000 a month from their criminal activities.

That did not mean the children were well-treated. In one raid, police broke into a farmhouse and found children locked in a cupboard. They were unwashed and malnourished.

Crime Wave Alert - Uganda

THE Police yesterday warned of a new wave of crime that has hit the city involving people employed by owners of commercial buildings breaking into shops and stealing property.

The Police said such people lock themselves inside commercial buildings and access shops through the ceiling.

Speaking at the weekly Police press briefing at the Kampala Central Police Station, the Kampala deputy Police spokesperson, Henry Kalulu, said incidents like that are now common.

He paraded before the press Salif Lubega, a welder at Cooper Complex, a commercial building, downtown Kampala, whom he said was arrested over the weekend in connection with the vice.

“Lubega on Saturday night locked himself in the office in which he was working and climbed through the ceiling. He broke into two shops and stole phones. Fortunately, when he was jumping out through a hole in the roof, he was arrested,” Kalulu said, adding that four similar break-ins have been reported.

He said two incidents occurred in the same complex about a month ago, and a similar complaint was received from a nearby complex recently.

“In the incidents, there are no signs of padlocks or door locks having been broken but property is missing,” Kalulu said.

He cautioned landlords to be careful, especially when employing people, adding that Lubega will be charged with theft.

Crime wave alert - Nigeria

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger authorities arrested 618 suspects overnight in raids aimed at curbing a crime wave in the capital, Niamey, state radio announced on Tuesday.

"Operation Punch" took place in neighbourhoods across the city, where residents say serious food shortages, on top of already severe poverty, have led to a spike in crime.

It was not immediately clear if the operation was linked to the weekend wave of arrests of senior officials linked to former President Mamadou Tandja, who was ousted by the army in a coup last month.

"We will identify people and, if there is nothing to charge them with, we will free them, as the law requires," said one police officer, asking not to be named.

Over the last few weeks, Niamey has seen an increase in armed robberies and carjackings -- and an increase in the number of suspected robbers lynched by angry crowds.

Crime Wave Alert - USA

Niagara crime wave alert!

Thu, 2010-04-01 10:19.

Rick Fleming

Niagara police are warning you about an outbreak of thefts in the Grimsby, Beamsville, Jordan, Smithville and West Lincoln areas.

So far, over 65 incidents have been reported; mainly items stolen from unlocked vehicles and garages. Last year, thieves stuck over 250 times.

Officers say you should remove valuable items from your car, or at least ensure they are out of sight, so as not to tempt thieves.