"Wild West Motown: Vigilante justice on the rise in Detroit as 'justifiable homicides' jump 79% after police budget is slashed34 self-defence killings in Michigan city last year
2,200% above U.S. average as police cuts get worse
Response times average 24 minutes for priority calls
Precincts and district HQs closed to public after 4pm
By Jennifer Madison and Mark Duell
An interesting statistic - it doesn't surprise me. I heard a quote on a radio show several days ago that handguns are successfully used approximately 6400 times a day in the US to stop various criminal activity. That includes simply showing that one is armed and ready to defend oneself - not simply shooting an assailant. I regret that I don't recall where that number came from, but I do remember that the source sounded credible to me - some sort of government agency (police group?).
Another interesting statistic is that aggravated assaults have shown a seven-fold increase between 1957 and 1993 according to law enforcement. Even though the murder rate is down, that downturn is attributed to improved medical techniques. We live in violent times.
