Orlando death rate climbs to over 100

Orlando came one step closer to an all-time murder rate high on Sunday when a man at a private night club party was shot. Another man was shot in his home, bringing the rate to 101 murders this year -- just 12 murders short of the 2006 record-breaker.


The Orlando Sentinel reported that the dance club shooting occured at a club where there were plenty of armed security officers, but no one wanted to talk.


"'There were plenty of witnesses, but nobody stuck around,' police Lt. Darryl Braunskill said."


The home invasion, which is unrelated to the other shooting, occured when three men broke into a family home and killed a 32-year-old man, whose name was not released. Fortunately, the man's wife was home but was left uninjured.


Now, I would like to blame this all on the economy. I would like to claim that since the economy is struggling, so are people. But the crime rate has been climbing since well before the economy turned for the worst. The news has been headlining sporadically on Channel 13 for months now.


I think the worst thing about it all is that journalists are doing their part. They are being the watchdogs, looking after our police system and reporting that things aren't going the way they should. But what are the forces doing? Are they increasing street time? Are they hiring more policemen? The growing crime rate is hardly news anymore, and I'd like to see how reporting is influencing the police precincts.


It's obvious the Sentinel has kept up with the numbers:
Friday Slayings Boost 2008 to 2nd-deadliest year in history
Orlando area's deadly year: 99 and no end in sight
Frustrated residents: Crime out of control

The last article does describe some police action, but it was resident-fueled action. It appears that the police only stepped up when there was a community meeting, and residents are still dissatisfied.


"'It's just out of control,' said Uribe, the mother of a 5-year-old girl. 'It's an embarrassment to have people over at night.'"