Evening star., 1949-09-16
Fb| Reports Rise
In Murders and
AssauItsH Here
Other Crimes Drop
Compared to Totals
For First Half of '48

For First Half of '48
More persons were murdered o.
attacked in Washington durin,
the first six months of 1949 thar
in the same period last year, bu
all other major crimes showed e.
decrease, the FB1 reported toda.
in its semi-annual Uniform Grim,
Reports.
Throughout the Nation, the FB
noted. the crime rate rose 81 pc,
cent in the cities and 7.6 per cen
In the rural areas.
In the cities of the Nation, tn,
FBI reported a "a per cent in
crease in burglaries. a 33 per cen
increase in larcenies, a IL PEE
cent increase in aggravated as
saults. a 5 per cent increase il
robberies and a 1.3 per cent in
crease in rapes. A decrease o.
6.6 per cent in murders, 15.5 pei
cent decrease in negligent man.
slaughters and 81 per cent de.
crease in auto thefts also wa,
noted.
81 Murders Here.
In Washington. a comparison
Of this periods figures with thu
FBI figures for the same perioe
last year showed:
Murders increased from 80 tt
81 cases.
Robberies decreased from 67t
to 1928.
Aggravated assaults increased
from 1857 to 1896.
Burglaries decreased fom 1881
to 1858.
Larcenies of $50 or over de.
creased from LOOT to 919.
Larcenies of under $50 de-
creased from 1853 to 4,191.
Auto thefts decrease dfrom 832
to 572.
The FBI showed no current fig.
ures for the number of cases
throughout the Nation cleared BY
arrests, but last year. it reported
police made arrests in 28.9 pei
cent of the known offenses. Dur.
ing the first six months of th'l
year, Washington police reported
5o.2 per cent of the serious crimes
here were cleared by arrests.
Publication of the FBI report
followed by a few days Police
Supt. Robert j. Barrett's report to
the District Commissioners on
crime figures for the 1949 fiscal
year-from July. /, 1948, to June
80. 1949. Maj. Barrett reported
that serious crimes seemed to Level
off for the first time since the
war and the number of cases
cleared showed an increASe.
In its analysis OF the national
crime picture, the EBI noted that
in the South Atlantic States, OF
which the District is a part, and
the East South Central States
murder and aggravated assault
rates are highest. The robbery
figures, according to the FBI, are
generally highest in the East
North Central and Pacific areas
while the Mountain and Pacific
States show the highest rates fol
burglary, larceny and auto thefts
Going back to 1948, the FB1
noted that over II per cent of the
persons charged by police through.
out the Nation last year were
found guilty at their trials.
The police investigation of ar
average group of 100 murders, the
FBI said, resulted in the convic.
tion of so persons, In other type.
of crime, out of every 100 crimes
committed. convictions averaged
80 in the class of aggravated as.
saults; 38 in rape cases; 80 in neg.
ligent manslaughter cases; 81 il
robbery cases; 13 in auto theft!
and IL in burglary and larceny
cases.
For the first half of 1949, thest
crime figures highlighted the FB.
report:
Police recovered 90 per cent o1
the stolen automobiles.
Approximately half of all crime
involving property were com.
mitted by persons under rs year!
of age.
The predominant age of all per.
sons arrested for all types of crime
was 81 years, followed by %, %
20 and "a years.
Forty-one per cent Of the 400,.
089 arrest f1ngerprint cards re.
ceived by the FBI represented
persons charged with major viola.
tions. Twenty-eight per cent o1
the arrests were of persons charged
with murder, robbery, assault
burglary, larceny and auto theft
39,134 Autos Stolen.
OF the rapes committed in
cities over $4,000 during this pc.
riod, 56.4 per cent were listed al
forcible. The rest were cases
where the victim was under the
age Of consent.
OF the robberies in cities of thai
size, 80 per cent involved some
type Of commercial institutions;
60.3 per cent were classed as high.
way robbories and the rest in
volved either private homes o.
were Of miscellaneous types.
The 361 cities over rs 900 popu
lation who reported to the FB
noted 39,134 automobiles wer'
stolen.
Cities Of this size reported tn
loot stolen in crimes involvin
property amounted to $62, ,325, 81
or $173 per ofense.
During 1948. municipal polio
killed in line Of duty totaled "a.