Killings Surge in Oakland, and Officials Are Unable to Explain Why.

The New York Times reports that there is a cresting wave of violence in Oakland, California.
(published June 22, 2007)

A recorded 148 homicides in 2006, a 57% rise over 2005 and the highest number in 11 years. Possible explanations include large numbers of violent parolees returning from prison..."We're trying to make sense of it, " said Officer Roland Holmgren, a spokesman for the Oakland Police Department. "But it's irrational. "Many criminologists and law enforcement officials are debating whether the violent-crime data signal a significant national trend. In a report, "A Gathering Storm - Violent Crime in America," the Police Executive Research Forum, a professional organization of police chiefs, warned last year that violent crime increases were at "the front end of a tipping point of an epidemic of violence not seen for years."

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