Homicide rate on the rise in Philly

So far this year 56 people have been slain in the city, a 40 percent increase over the first two months of 2010. The year's homicide tally is the highest by this point of the year since 2007. Police, academics and city officials caution that it's too early to draw any conclusions about the year's murder rate. Jerry Ratcliffe, a professor of criminal justice at Temple, said that any hard-core analysis of the city's homicide rate is preliminary. "It's too early in the year to be talking about any type of conclusions," Ratcliffe said. "If we're up 40 percent with two months left in the year, then I'd be concerned."
March 3, 2011 | Philadelphia Daily News