Camden's homicide rate soars

Originally Published February 1, 2008; Page 1A
By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff

Camden logged one of its all-time criminal homicide totals last month, dwarfing rates of cities more than 10 times its size.

It was a staggering rate, with 10 people left dead, officials said, and matched only once in the past five years.

The city's January rate was nearly 10 times greater than those in Philadelphia, Newark, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Even Baltimore, which gained national media attention last year when it recorded its highest murder rate in eight years, doesn't match up.

Camden's homicide rate per 10,000 residents is now more than six times higher.


"The possibility this pace could go on for a significant period of time is very worrisome," acting Camden County Prosecutor Joshua Ottenberg said.

Added Camden Police Chief Ed Hargis: "It's a great concern."

And January's statistics are not an isolated situation. Camden's rate has been surpassing most of those cities since 2005.

What is fueling the violence is the city's drug trade. Eight of the city's 10 homicides this year are drug related, officials said. In 2007, at least 25 of the 42 were drug related.

Still, officials said, there is nothing to suggest any of this year's homicides are tied to a greater trend.

"I don't think there's any pattern to it," said Joseph Forte, a captain in the prosecutor's office who oversees the department's homicide unit. "There's no drug war, there's no turf war."

Since taking control of the police department three weeks ago, Hargis has identified possible solutions to the city's violence.

The department has assigned additional officers to walking beats in three of the city's business corridors and endorsed a 90-day emergency curfew that would require youths under age 17 to be off the streets by 9 p.m. On Wednesday, Hargis permanently reassigned the department's special operations bureau to flood problem neighborhoods daily. Those officers, teaming with state troopers, made 26 arrests on their first night.

"It's tough to prevent a homicide," Hargis said. "It only takes a few seconds to make a decision and pull the trigger."

What is needed, said one expert on reducing gun crimes, is creating a community uproar.

Dr. Gary Slutkin, a Chicago epidemiologist who previously worked to curb tuberculosis, cholera and AIDs throughout the world, said shootings need to be treated like a public health issue.
Slutkin runs Ceasefire, a Chicago-based project that uses outreach and intervention to talk with victims, offenders and community members, counsel and "cool down" people before a retaliatory shooting is planned. All of it creates a "change in the norm."

Since the founding of Operation Ceasefire in 2000, Slutkin has overseen a program that is helping Chicago reduce its gun violence. In 2004 alone, the city's gun violence dropped by 25 percent, he said. Some of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods have seen 75 percent to 80 percent reductions.

In Camden, police have made progress in almost all crime categories except homicides.

In 2007 and so far this year, shootings are down. Aggravated assaults, robberies and arsons are also down this year. And, so far, six people have been arrested in five of the city's homicide cases this year.

But an analysis of month-by-month homicide statistics, shows a rise since autumn. Two people were killed in September, four in October, five in November and four more in December. Through press time Thursday, there were 10 homicides in January.

And it is been particularly grim in East Camden.

In 2007, there were 13 homicides in that part of the city. So far this year, there have been six. Five people were killed in as many days during a spree that began Jan. 16. All were shooting victims; all occurred within about a mile of each other.

After reviewing news reports of the city's homicides, J'ona Meyer, a criminologist at Rutgers University's Camden campus, said she believes the spate of killings indicates a "shake-up."

"I would love to know what kind of shake-up," she said. "I would love to know if it's the drug world or gang world," she said.

Meyer said several of the most recent killings -- especially those in East Camden -- appear targeted and drug-related.

Take, for example, four of the most recent East Camden killings.

Luis Rolon, 22, was at home with his children in the 3200 block of Saunders Street when a 29-year-old man killed him during a home invasion around 11:30 p.m. Jan. 16; Malik Williams, 19, was shot multiple times by two men in the first block of South 35th Street around 6 p.m. Jan. 19; Frankie Hernandez, 29, was killed by gunmen as he got out of his car in front of his home in the 200 block of South 32nd Street around 3:45 a.m. Jan. 20; and Wayne Bethea, 21, while with his girlfriend, was shot as he entered his car near the corner of 25th and High streets shortly after 8:15 p.m. Jan. 20.

"For the most part, (a homicide) is not a random thing," said Lt. Art Folks, a member of the prosecutor's office homicide unit. "But there's no rhyme or reason as to when one occurs."

Reach Leo Strupczewski at (856) 317-7828 or lstrupczewski@courierpostonline.com