The States Pay the Price

Two government reports issued separately last week seemed to illustrate a cause and an effect. The FBI reported that violent crimes in the U.S. last year jumped 6% over 1987, reaching a record of nearly 1.6 million offenses. The National Conference of State Legislatures, meanwhile, said the largest increase in state spending in the same period was for prisons, which grew 14.1%.

The increase in crime included a 2.9% spurt in homicides, to a new high of 20,675. More than half the victims either knew or were related to their killers; only 12% were slain by strangers. Washington had a horrendous murder rate of 59.5 per 100,000 people, more than seven times the national average. Atlanta was the most crime-ridden city in the U.S. For all types of crimes, including thefts and arson, Atlanta led Fort Worth, Dallas, Seattle and St. Louis in the top five. Much maligned New York City was 15th in its overall crime rate and tenth in the homicide rate. No FBI figures were available for Miami, but statistics from local police indicated that the city apparently had the fifth highest murder rate and the fourth worst general crime record.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE

CREDIT: TIME Charts by Joe Lertola

CAPTION: While violent crime climbs ...

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE

CREDIT: TIME Charts by Joe Lertola

CAPTION: ... so do prison costs