Craig,
At the beat meeting Monday night you asked a good question about why the death of Wayne Jones after his attack on Morse was not listed as a homicide. I promised to investigate. I called Sgt. Robert Clark in the 24th District Community Policing Office. Here’s his explanation.
First, he explained the definition of "homicide" as an index crime. "Homicide" is defined as a murder in the first degree – the offender had to have intent to murder his victim for the death to be classified as a homicide. So, a drug dealer who walks up to another dealer on a corner and shoots him dead with a gun, that’s first degree murder – a homicide. But if a drunk driver ran over and killed someone on Morse, that would be involuntary manslaughter and not a homicide, and thus not an "index crime."
Second, the Wayne Jones death was officially classified as an involuntary manslaughter. The investigation showed that there was no intent by the assailant to kill Wayne Jones. Also, there was some question as to whether Mr. Jones’ own physical condition contributed to his death. Thus, the crime was classified as involuntary manslaughter – not homicide/first degree murder.
And you had a question on your blog about what was the percentage decrease in index crime in both index and non-index crime in Beat 2431 in 2006 compared to 2005. Index crime (rape, robbery, murder, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, theft of a motor vehicle, and arson) was down 8.18%. Non-index crimes (all others) were down 15.1%. Total crime was down 12.82%. The 2006 decreases come on top of decreases in 2005 compared to 2004. So we’re headed in the right direction on crime reduction.
Kevin O'Neil
7 comments:
Crime/condo conversion in Beat 231 in 2006 compared to 2005. Index crime/condo conversion (rape, robbery, murder, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, theft of a motor vehicle, and arson/ teardowns and zoning variations) was down/up 8.18%. Non-index crimes (all others/apartment to condo conversion) were down/up 15.1%. Total crime/parking was down 12.82%. The 2006 decreases come on top of decreases in 2005 compared to 2004. So we’re headed in the right direction on crime reduction/avaliable rentals.
The same can be said about percentage of former rental residents that have found a home in Cook County or fruther downstate.
Any comment from the liberal gallery.
I'd like to know how we compare with other beats in the city on crime stats. Not by per person (as our neighborhood is very dense and this can skew the stats) but by physical area. So compare a beat in say lakeview or andersonville with ours and how do we compare? I think I can look at this on the ICAM.
Regardless of what the stats are, we most definitely have that "perception" problem and alot of that has to do with things you can see. I see thugs, I see rif raf, I see prostitutes (on Clark Street) all during daylight hours. They look very comfortable. This needs to change if "perception" is to change. After all, hasn't it been said that "perception is reality"?
Thanks Kevin for explaining this and Craig for asking the question.
Paradise you are so gullible.
Facts and events do not = stats or percentages.
The system is flawed.
Just try to find out how many people died in bicycle accidents in Chicago each year and you will find that is not a talliable stat.
Cyclist are neither pedestrians or motorist so we do not exist.
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http://www.transalt.org/
Just because a person is assulted then dies does not make it a murder.
Just like collecting ssa money then paying someone to do a job that is supposed to be done by the propery owners.
Craig,
Not sure how official I-CAPS is as far as crime classifications, but from your own site, they had declared it first degree murder back in Feb.
http://morsehellhole.blogspot.com/2006/02/
wayne-jones-death-now-ruled-first.html
If the intent of the beating was to do "great bodily harm" it qualifies as 1st degree murder under the criminal statute:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/
ilcs4.asp?DocName=072000050HArt%2E+9
&ActID=1876&ChapAct=720%26nbsp%3BILC
S%26nbsp%3B5%2F&ChapterID=53&Chapter
Name=CRIMINAL+OFFENSES&SectionID=294
93&SeqStart=10600000&SeqEnd=11500000
&ActName=Criminal+Code+of+1961%2E
This applies even if the actual death was unintentional, so long as the intent to do great bodily harm was there. The only way to get involuntary manslaughter out of this is if we were to believe that there was no intent to do "great bodily harm", but that such harm was likely because the action (physical assault, in this case) was performed "recklessly". This is how hitting someone with a car gets classified as reckless homicide or involuntary manslaughter-- the intent in driving isn't to do great bodily harm, but driving recklessly is likely to lead to such.
Maybe the police could explain why they feel Mr Jones' attackers did not intend to do great bodily harm when assaulting him? There is a valid concern that political pressure could result in police tweaking the statistics-- perhaps a more thorough explanation would help ease these concerns.
Paradise,
2nd degree murder in Illinois would mean that either the killer(s) were: (a) emotionally reacting to provocation, or (b) felt that the killing was justifiable, although were mistaken. I don't think either one is likely in this case.
I'm not a lawyer or a police officer, but it seems to me that this is probably 1st degree murder but possibly involuntary manslaughter-- again, I'd love to hear a more detailed explanation from a police representative.
> Mr. Jones’ own physical condition contributed to his death.
old people can't be murdered, they're gonna die soon anyway
old people are always dying, why mess up the stats?
And how about Mr. Choi, who was hit by a car on Morse and died. I don't know if there were ever charges, but there should have been.
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