Cara Michelle wonders why GPD has two different sets of homicide numbers. She also has the 2006 department review showing numbers for all crimes committed and how they compared with 2005 numbers.
The department review is fascinating reading. But compare the numbers for major crimes citywide in the chart with the numbers on the accompanying graph. Some don’t match. The chart shows 32 murders in 2005 and 29 in 2006, while the graph shows 31 and 27, respectively. Burglary doesn’t match up, either, with the graph showing a smaller increase, while thehe biggest problem is with the larceny numbers, where the chart shows a decline in charges from 2005 to 2006 but the graph shows an increase.
I’m no statistician, but I’m pretty sure I’m reading it right because the numbers on other crimes match up. What gives? At any rate, I’m glad to see the new council jump right in, although it appears as though the number of murders in 2007 will hold steady or go up only slightly. We hope.
Update: Greensboro City Council member Mike Barber says “If we took our last two weeks as a snapshot, then at this rate we would surpass Philadelphia, Washington and New York in murders.”
