BLACK ON BLACK CRIME STATISTICS

CRIME IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, & THE UNITES STATES
(Statistics below are based on the most recent available for specific years referenced)

While African Americans comprise 13.5% of the U.S. Population, 43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American, 93.1% of whom were killed were African Americans.

Victimizations of African Americans from violent crime which include the following; rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple Assault was 24.3% in 2007, with the highest percentages of victimizations within the age ranges of 15-24 totaling a percentage greater than 38%.

The U.S. Justice Department provides a breakdown of homicides by the race of both the victim and offender. Looking at the data for 2005 (the latest year available), we find that whites committed 48.0% of all murders and blacks committed 51.2% of all murders.  However, whites outnumber blacks in the population. In fact, non-Hispanic whites are about 69% of the population and blacks are about 13%.  These statistics alone, shows that blacks are 13% of the population, but commit 51.2% of the murders, indicate that blacks commit a seriously disproportionate number of murders."

In Arkansas, there were 14, 959 violent crimes and 109,038 property crimes in 2009 according to the Arkansas Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Report.   In Pulaski County and metropolitan statistical area, violent crimes were 1,242 per 100,000 reported in 2008.  3,727 violent crimes reported in 2009 – 251 victims received compensation; and in 2010, 3,889 violent crimes reported and only 233 victims compensated with some form of services.  In 2009 and 2010 there were a combined 45 homicides recorded in Pulaski County.  According to the most recent ACIC report (2008), 7,529 violent crimes were reported from 12 different law enforcement agencies in Pulaski and Saline counties alone.  Pulaski County reported 6,634 violent crimes and Saline County reported 895 violent crimes.  Each of these statistics are equal to or higher than the national average. (Source:  Little Rock Police Department, Arkansas Crime Information Center and the Arkansas Attorney General Office)

ABOUT LITTLE ROCK CRIME RATES
With a crime rate of 109 per one thousand residents, Little Rock has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 9. Within Arkansas, more than 90% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Little Rock.

In 2010 a total of 45 homicides were committed in Pulaski County, 54% of which were committed by blacks against blacks. Nationally, homicide is the leading cause of death for black young men ages 10-24, and the second leading cause of death for black women ages 15-24.

There have been over 347 homicides reported over the last 6 years in Pulaski County. The United States spends an average of over 4.5 billion on emergency and physical/occupational therapy associated with crime-related injuries/deaths, with more than 720,000 spent on youths and young adults ages 10-24 treated for injuries sustained from violence.  In 2009, according to the FBI, murder cost the United States almost $263 billion—nearly as much the federal government annually spends on Medicaid.

Separately, it is always interesting and important to compare a city's crime rate with those of similarly sized communities - a fair comparison as larger cities tend to have more crime. NeighborhoodScout has done just that. With a population of 183,558, Little Rock has a combined rate of violent and property crime that is very high compared to other places of similar population size. Regardless of whether Little Rock does well or poorly compared to all other cities and towns in the US of all sizes, compared to places with a similar population, it fares badly. Few other communities of this size have a crime rate as high as Little Rock.

The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.

Now let us turn to take a look at how Little Rock does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in Little Rock.

For Little Rock, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included forcible rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Little Rock is one in 60.
Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that Little Rock experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.

Listen to the Black-on-Black Crime Coalition Radio PSA!

Sources

* AR Democrat Gazette, Jan. 19, 2009
* US Census Bureau
* Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Victimization
* LRPD, Crime Analyst Unit
* U.S. Department of Justice
* Channel 7-(www.katv.com)
* COMPSTAT Report
* Arkansas Crime Information Center
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
* US Department of Justice
*Neighborhood Scout
*Federal Bureau of Investigations

The Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits is a project of the Women’s Council on African American, Affairs, Inc. (WCAAA).

Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits • Joyce Raynor, Executive Director
2416 South Chester • Little Rock, Arkansas 72206 USA
Phone (501) 372-3800 • Fax (501) 372-2150 • E-mail: hhscenter@sbcglobal.net