MURDER RATE IN SAN DIEGO UP, BUT STILL LOWEST AMONG LARGEST U.S. CITIES

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East County News Service

March 7, 2016 (San Diego) – Last year,  83 people were victims of homicides in San Diego County, a 12% increase over the year before.  But San Diego still ranks as having the lowest murder rate among the nation’s ten biggest cities.  While San Diego’s murder rate last year was 2.7 per 100,000 residents, Philadelphia and Chicago, the worst cities in the nation for homicides, had 16 and 17 murders for every 100,000 residents, over five times higher than America’s Finest City.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that about 28% of the local killings remain unsolved.  The rest, 72%, were resolved either through an arrest or death of a suspect.

The biggest increase was in murder suicides, which jumped from two victims in 2014 to 12 last year.  But fights were the number one factor in local homicide cases. The victims ranged from very young in cases of child abuse to two cases involving elderly couples.  Guns were the weapon used in the vast majority of murders. Most victims were males and blacks were killed at a disproportionate rate –accounting for 22% of homicide victims, but only 5% of the county’s population.

Many of the cases involved people in close relationships.  Richard Winslow Hobbs, 72, in El Cajon died of severe head injuries in an assault; his roommate was charged with his murder.  In a separate incident, an El Cajon man was arrested for the beating death of his mother.  On the Barona Indian reserve, a toddler’s severely abused body was found in a freezer and his mother’s boyfriend was shot dead.  The mother was released from custody without charges.

But some other cases involved death at the hands of a stranger.  A suspected drunk driver who ran a light at Golfcrest and Navajo  was charged with murder after killing Rocia De Anda Leamon, a 38-year-old mother of three who was crossing the street when she was struck and thrown 57 feet.

 Some efforts are being made to reduce the local murder rate.  San Diego Police Department’s Community Assistance Support Team, for instance, works to prevent retaliation in cases of gang violence. Another program teaches communication skills to young people in an effort to prevent fights.

The County offers some mental health and crisis services, including a suicide hotline that can be reached by calling 888-724-7240 or in an emergency, dial 911.


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