Joe Bentley
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Houston took in 150,000 evacuees — the most of any U.S. city — after Katrina struck on Aug. 29. Houston police believe the evacuees are partly responsible for a nearly 17.5 percent increase in homicides so far this year over the same period in 2005.
About 21 percent of Houston's 232 homicides through July 25 involved an evacuee as either a suspect or a victim, according to police, who attribute much of the bloodshed to fighting among rival New Orleans gang members.
-------------------- "Existence has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long." - Rorschach, The Watchmen Posts: 8929 | From: Norfolk, Virginia | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Last thing I'd ever want to do on this earth is cross a Houston cop. As a matter of fact it IS the last thing several people have ever done. As my brother puts it, they don't much care if you speed, but they'd shoot your grandmother in a wheelchair if they thought she was going to draw a shiv on them. I expect this to be a temporary increase. I mean, you take in 150,000 people in one fell swoop, it's summer, the Rita disaster strikes, tensions start to rise, etc. etc. This is going to be self-adjusting is my guess.
Posts: 4811 | From: Austin, TX | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote:Originally posted by infoseeker822: um, isn't this encouraging sterotypes of people?
What is encouraging streotypes? The article itself? Posting it here?
What stereotypes are being encouraged?
It appears that the article itself is based on some pretty indisputable facts:
quote: ...a nearly 17.5 percent increase in homicides so far this year over the same period in 2005. ...21 percent of Houston's 232 homicides through July 25 involved an evacuee as either a suspect or a victim.... ...the sheriff's department reported a 41 percent increase in felony arrests in November from the year before. ...Katrina evacuees arrested in the Houston have cost the county's criminal justice system more than $18 million. In June, Texas Gov. Rick Perry sent $19.5 million to Houston to help pay for additional officers and overtime to police the city after Katrina.
I suppose that the bare facts could be interpreted differently, but the people who are closest to the situation are clearly drawing the conclusion that there is a positive correlation between the influx of Katrina refugees, and the rise in crime rates.
The only stereotype that was apparent in the article was the notion that New Orleans courts were more lenient than Texas courts, which may or may not be true.
posted
How big is Houston and did it really absorb 150,000 Katrina refugees?
If Houston is 1 million people and gained 150,000 then it would be expected that the homicide rate would increase 15%. Not that far off the "... nearly 17.5 percent increase in homicides so far this year over the same period in 2005."
Besides, year to year crime rates are notoriously poor crime statistics, there is just too much year to year variation. (Of course, someone will always claim that the rise was caused by ..., or the decline was caused by ...)
Posts: 629 | From: Greenwood, IN | Registered: Dec 2005
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-------------------- There is no interpersonal problem so big that it can't be solved with a suitably large amount of high explosives. ~ Bufungla Posts: 3562 | From: South Texas | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Wait a minute... so there is a 17.5% rise in homicide compared to this time last year. They've had a total of 232 homicides.
So... unless my maths is worse than I think it is, that means that last year there were 198 homicides by this time last year. That is an actual increase of 34 homicides.
Now, they say approximately 21% (I'm assuming a high 20.x value since rounding up always makes the figure more impressive). This means we're probably talking around 48 homicides involving a Katrina refugee (either as a victim or a suspect).
Now, what I'd really like to know is the number of Katrina suspects vs the number of Katrina victims. Why? Depending on the actual numbers, it could be argued that Houston citizens are actually safer than last year and that Katrina evacuees are being targetted by crime (since, if all 48 homicides involve Katrina people as the victim, the number of homicides against Houston natives has fallen).
-------------------- "victory thru self-deception" Posts: 2211 | From: Western Australia | Registered: Jun 2005
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Almost a year after Hurricane Katrina caused the country's largest mass migration since the Dust Bowl, as many as 150,000 evacuees still live in Houston, and increasingly many are indicating that they no longer plan to go home.
To many Houstonians, that's overstaying the welcome.
quote:Originally posted by snopes: Houston Grumbles as Evacuees Stay Put
Almost a year after Hurricane Katrina caused the country's largest mass migration since the Dust Bowl, as many as 150,000 evacuees still live in Houston, and increasingly many are indicating that they no longer plan to go home.
To many Houstonians, that's overstaying the welcome.
Last I checked, in this country a citizen has the right to live wherever he wants to.
I've said it before--Texas is more trouble than it is worth. We should have allowed the Lone Star Republic to remain an independent country, a buffer state between the US and Mexico.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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By the way, there are tens of thousands of evacuees in San Antonio and we aren't having these sorts of issues. I think perhaps it's a Houston thing, not necessarily a Texas thing.
~You still wouldn't understand~
-------------------- There is no interpersonal problem so big that it can't be solved with a suitably large amount of high explosives. ~ Bufungla Posts: 3562 | From: South Texas | Registered: Oct 2001
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MSA = Houston + Sugar Land + BayTown + some small towns + unincorporated areas?
Wiki says Houston itself is a bit over 2 million. Since the crime stats are for Houston the ~2 million number would seem to be approriate.
Posts: 629 | From: Greenwood, IN | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Crime stats are usually based on the area's MSA, not the city proper itself.
ETA: Still, your initial figures would still be off. You assumed a population of 1 million. With a population of only 2 million, an influx of 150,000 people should result in only a 7.5% (roughly) rise in crime.
-------------------- There is no interpersonal problem so big that it can't be solved with a suitably large amount of high explosives. ~ Bufungla Posts: 3562 | From: South Texas | Registered: Oct 2001
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quote: I've said it before--Texas is more trouble than it is worth. We should have allowed the Lone Star Republic to remain an independent country, a buffer state between the US and Mexico.
Put it on the ballot.
I'm fairly sure even the proudest Texans are quiet proud to be Americans and have no serious notions of actually seceding (it's just a fun little game we like to play), HOWEVER as soon as the rest of yall get tired of us, just let us know.
-------------------- "Sometimes it will be fluffy bunnies and cotton candy. Sometimes it will be napalm and defoliants. Sometimes it is roasted bunnies." -Rhiandmoi Posts: 627 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote: I've said it before--Texas is more trouble than it is worth. We should have allowed the Lone Star Republic to remain an independent country, a buffer state between the US and Mexico.
Put it on the ballot.
I'm fairly sure even the proudest Texans are quiet proud to be Americans and have no serious notions of actually seceding (it's just a fun little game we like to play), HOWEVER as soon as the rest of yall get tired of us, just let us know.
posted
Oh, I know about them Buf, but they are the crackpot fringe. The leader of this group got his rear thrown in jail some years ago for printing money (Texas currency I believe) and not paying the IRS.
I'd say they're the P.E.T.A. to evebody else's C.C.A., but they're more the like E.L.F. to everbody else's C.C.A. So of course, they're serious, but they're also bat sh*t insane, too.
-------------------- "Sometimes it will be fluffy bunnies and cotton candy. Sometimes it will be napalm and defoliants. Sometimes it is roasted bunnies." -Rhiandmoi Posts: 627 | From: San Antonio, TX | Registered: Oct 2002
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