Duluth seeks spike in crime

Associated Press

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Police Department says crime in the city jumped almost 20 percent from 2004 to 2005.

Violent crimes, which include murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, rose even more -- 32 percent in the same period.

The Duluth News Tribune reports today that police blame the rise on less community policing and an influx of drug dealers from outside the city. Police Chief Roger Waller says a city hiring freeze reduced the number of officers and forced the department to take resources out of community policing, which puts officers into neighborhoods and encourages them to work with residents.

The numbers amount to a reversal in what had been a positive trend. From 2001 to 2004 crime in Duluth dropped eight and a half percent, while major and violent crime dropped almost 14 percent.