Spike in shootings

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Amid double-digit unemployment nationwide and threats of a deadly virus, communities nationwide are dealing with another problem -- increases in violent crime.

Criminologist Randy Blazak said the uptick isn’t a surprise, given the steady decline in crime rates nationwide since the early 1990s.

What surprises him now is how much it’s increasing.

“I’m not going to say we’re experiencing a social collapse, but it should be a fairly strong indicator of how deep that pandemic has impacted our social safety net,” Blazak said.

Data from the Portland Police Bureau showed shootings increased 144% in June and July compared to the same time frame last year, but the city is not alone.

Publicly available data in some of America’s biggest cities show similar trends elsewhere. Shootings over the last 28 days compared to the same time period last year are up 201% in New York City, 39% in Atlanta, 79% in Chicago, and 55% in Philadelphia.

KATU asked Blazak if the numbers surprised him.

“The numbers are pretty dramatic. Usually we see things in the increment, maybe a 5% increase would be dramatic. To see these high numbers come in has to do with the level of desperation,” Blazak said.

He pointed to other factors, like the fact that millennials are now the age of most people who commit violent crimes, and the generation is larger than the one before it. Blazak said he expects the property crime rates to increase as well if the economic crisis continues.

In Portland, the police chief said the City Council’s decision to disband of the Gun Violence Reduction Team is likely a factor in the increased violence as well, though the mayor suggested Thursday the city needs to fund a unit at PPB that focuses on gun crime.

Detectives from the unit who investigated only gun crimes are now working all types of crimes. KATU asked the chief what he was doing to solve crimes.

“I’ve allocated additional resources back from patrol to assist the detective division where those previous GVRT detectives are now housed,” Chief Chuck Lovell said. “They’ll be able to go out and do follow-up, contact people, and help solve some of those homicides.”

No matter the reason for the increase, Portland city and community leaders said they’re committed to changing the trend, but many of them disagree on just how to do that. Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty has pushed back on the idea that police need more funding or manpower to fight crime.

She previously suggested the city invest in community resources to address the root causes of gun violence.

Blazak said, in a way, the increase in violence fits into the conversation of de-funding police.

“We might think about how to better spend those police dollars to prevent some of these things that police end up having to come and respond to, how to get people psychological counseling, how to help people with mental health issues, how to help people who are economically distressed, so it doesn’t end up in the laps of the police,” Blazak said. “It sort of adds, in a way, a layer to this conversation about how we spend out police dollars.”

Statistics show that the number of shootings in New York City are skyrocketing compared to this time last year.

On Aug. 3, the NYPD released the July 2020 crime stats, which shows that there was 177% increase year-over-year in the number of shooting incidents across the city in July with 244 in total. In July 2019, there were only 88 shootings over the course of the month. The number of shootings increased by 72% year-to-date, with 450 by July 2019 to 772 by July 2020.

According to the statistics, the number of murders throughout the city for the first seven months of the year is also up, jumping from 181 by July 2019 to 235 by July 2020, rising 30% year-over-year. In July 2020 alone there were 54 murders, rising from 34 in July 2019.

The NYPD has initiated a new plan to simultaneously increase its targeted mobilization and engage with community partners, including a series of Stop the Violence anti-gun town hall events throughout the city. The NYPD’s efforts to address the surging violence includes shifting officers to areas experiencing upticks in shootings and calls on officers to engage with residents at the grassroots level to focus on the problems and solve them locally.

“Amid the ongoing challenges of these times, the NYPD’s commitment to public safety never wavers,” said NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “Our men and women officers represent the best of the policing profession and work every day alongside those they serve in an ongoing joint mission to protect life, prevent crime and build safer neighborhoods for everyone across our great city.”

Burglaries throughout the city in July rose 31% year-over-year, jumping from 989 in July 2019 to 1,297 in July 2020. Year-to-date, burglaries have risen 45%, increasing from 5,932 through July 31, 2019, to 8,594 through July 31, 2020. Transit crimes dropped 41.8% to 107 incidents while housing crimes increased 11.3% to 504 incidents.

The number of robberies decreased by 6.6% year-over-year with 1,124 total in July 2020. Grand larcenies also took a dip last month, dropping 25.1% to 3,016. However, the number of auto thefts increased to 892 citywide, a 53% increase year-over-year.

The NYPD stats say that the number of assaults decreased to 1,983 last month, a 4.8% decrease year-over-year. The number of rapes also dropped 6% from 163 in July 2019 to 153 in July 2020, but the NYPD acknowledges that rape continues to be underreported in New York City. If you have been a victim of sexual assault, the NYPD asks that you please come forward and call the NYPD Special Victims Division’s 24-hour hotline at 212-267RAPE (7273).
While hate crimes against Black and Asian New Yorkers stayed at the same level compared to July 2019, the city saw 22 coronavirus-related hate crimes. The NYPD placed coronavirus-related crimes in an “other” category — regardless of the victim’s race — as there are primarily two motivating factors behind those crimes: The victim’s race (Anti-Asian) and the perception that they have coronavirus. Hate crimes in the “other” category rose from 8 incidents to 17 incidents, marking a 113 percent increase.

Philadelphia’s surge in gun violence continued over the weekend, with at least 25 people being shot on Saturday and Sunday, including two 11-year-old boys wounded in separate incidents, police said.

One of the boys was wounded in a triple shooting Sunday night in Grays Ferry. The other was shot near a playground Saturday night in Olney. Both suffered graze wounds and were in stable condition, according to police.

The bloodshed also included gunfire at a playground that injured six people, a shooting in East Mount Airy that killed a 25-year-old man, another man being shot overnight Sunday after leaving an Airbnb in Center City, and an incident in which two bullets struck the door of an officer’s patrol car, police said.

It was the latest in a series of exceptionally violent outbursts during the city’s most bloody year in more than a decade. And it came just days before City Council plans emergency hearings on how and why shootings keep increasing.

"Investigators are working around the clock to determine the motive of these shootings," says Sgt. Brian Valles with the Street Violence Bureau.

Fresno detectives have their hands full as they investigate seven shootings that happened within the span of 48 hours.

The gunfire injured five and killed one near the Calwa area.

Sgt. Valles says shootings have been on the rise. Currently, they're up 50% compared to this time last year.

"We are almost at 110 shootings more than last year," he said.

An early morning deadly shooting on Saturday ushered in the violent weekend.

Many of the subsequent shootings involved similar circumstances. One car driving up to another and firing at those inside.

"This is one form that has really been trending lately," Sgt. Valles said. "Cars driving up next to each other and firing from one vehicle into the other."

Two shootings were separated by several hours but occurred just a block away from each other.

They took place in central and northwest Fresno.

Investigators have seen a 50% increase in gang-related shootings and that could be the motive behind some of the most recent.

"Can't really attribute it to why it is occurring, but there is a significant increase in shootings related to gang activity," Sgt. Valles said.

Valles says the five victims are expected to survive, but some face a difficult road ahead.

A man who was shot in Central Fresno is now paralyzed. As officers investigate, they're running into roadblocks.

Most victims and witnesses aren't cooperating. Since their information is limited, they're reaching out to the public for help.