Murder Rate Declines First Time in Years

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Whenever and wherever crime strikes in Memphis, we have a tendency to start the "blame game." Yeah, we blame it on the crooks, the cops and the government officials.....who we believe....are not caring, not enforcing and not implementing effectives strategies to make our streets safe!

But, with hours left before the close of another year of living in the "concrete jungle"....here's a twist.

Of all the crimes, violent or otherwise, the most unlikely to be prevented or predicted....Murder.....will finish 2009 on the decline. Yes, murder in Memphis has gone down to one of the lowest figures this decade at 142 this year. So, if we're so busy blaming people, should anyone get credit for one image-important positive statistic?

Memphis City Councilman, Harold Collins, observes, "Maybe people are learning to deal with their anger. Learning to deal with their frustrations differently. And I'm happy to see that that trend is going down. But, you have to be careful about who takes credit for that kind of thing."

Collins' Council colleague, Myron Lowery, says, "We've been looking at the murders so long...there have been a number of initiatives. But, most of the murders are the result of domestic violence or impulse reaction. We need to teach people about anger control."

Whether it's personal restraint, government initiatives like Safe Community or the vaunted MPD Blue Crush data-driven crackdowns, when it came to murder this year, something happened for the good. In 2008 there were 168 reported murders. In 2007 there were 164 victims. For a semblance of improvement, compare those numbers to the decade of the early to mid 90's, when the Bluff City's murder rate skyrocketed past the 200 mark for consecutives years. By June of this year, MPD had 50 murders for a total.....compare that to the summer of 2007....when in the month of July alone....there were 23.

A cautious Lowery says, "To say that it's a trend that's been formed, I'm not quite sure. But, I am extremely happy that so many have been reduced."

Collins notes, "At the end of the day, though it is gratifying to see that the numbers are declining."

So, for those of us depressed by all those national magazines bashing Memphis as a crime-ridden, apocalyptic hell-hole where no man, woman or child is safe to walk the streets....I'm sorry you feel that way.

It's terrible to lose property and valuables to theft. It's terrible to live in fear of rape or assault depending upon where you live.

But, it's far worse to lose a life...any life...extinguished at the hands of a killer, you may or may not know.

In 2009, maybe that thought actually began to sink in?