As many Philadelphians know, there is a lot of crime in the city of Philadelphia. Some of these crimes are things like theft and drug distribution, but some are even more serious. Philadelphia has a very high murder rate. But in 2013 the number of annual murders greatly lowered. There were 247 murders in the city of Philadelphia in 2013, according to the Philadelphia police department, a twenty seven percent decrease from the 33l murders in 2012. The question that the police, and the people of Philadelphia have is, why has the murder rate gone down so much recently?
The number of murders Philadelphia has not been as low as it was in 2013 since 1967, when there were only 234 murders. This sudden decrease in the number of murders is surprising given the high number of murders there have been in Philadelphia in recent years. In the past decade there have been annual murder numbers in the high two hundreds to high three hundreds, with 406 murders in 2007. The number of crimes in the city has gone down as well.
Philadelphia has the fourth highest number of annual murders of any city in the United States. It also has the highest number of murders to population ratio of all of the country’s ten largest cities, about 21.6 murders per every 100,000 people living in the city. Chicago had the highest number of murders in the U.S in 2013, it had just over 400, but this is a decrease from 600 murders ten years ago. Other cities in the U.S. are also experiencing this decrease in murders. This drop in homicide is not just a local decrease.
The Philadelphia police are not exactly sure what caused this drop in homicide. Has Philadelphia become a nicer place to live, or have hospitals gotten better at saving the lives of victims of violent crimes, or has the police have gotten better at stopping these murders? Technology allows the police to analyze crime data better. This makes it easier to keep track of crime statistics. It is easier for them establish which neighborhoods remost likely to have lots have crime, and they can pay more attention to those neighborhoods. They are also keeping close eye on suspects, and ex criminals. The police may be getting more efficient at preventing murders.
The Philadelphia police department predicts that 2013 will not be the only year with a low murder rate. They expect that this will be a continuing pattern, and that Philadelphia’s murder rate will get even lower. This could make Philadelphia a safer city to live, and cause more people to want to live here. Experience in dealing with high murder rates may have lead to the Philadelphia police being able to lower them.
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