Nation: Absolute War in Our Streets

Southern Florida: riots, refugees, and now a crime wave

HELP FIGHT CRIME: BUY GUNS, urge bumper stickers on cars along Miami's Flagler Street. To attract new depositors, the city's Lincoln Savings and Loan Association offers not toasters or blenders, but pocket cans of spray repellent. Newly acquired Doberman guard dogs growl inside increasing numbers of Bade County homes; sales of sophisticated burglar alarm systems and rudimentary iron bars for doors are booming. Says a Miami policeman: "Sometimes I think I'm in Dodge City."

Such are the signs of a crime wave that is surging through southern Florida. Crime rates are continuing to...