Pennsylvania ranks second in the nation in the rate of per-capita homicides against blacks, down one spot from topping the list last year, according to an annual study released yesterday.
The study, "Black Homicide Victimization in the United States: An Analysis of 2005 Homicide Data," uses the most recent data available from the FBI to rank the 50 states according to their black homicide victimization rates.
Pennsylvania's report showed 32.14 homicides per 100,000 black individuals -- just behind Missouri with 32.79 deaths per 100,000.
"The goal [of the report] was to focus public attention on what has been a shame for years," said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center and co-author of the study. "It's too easy to think the problem isn't bad."
While Pennsylvania's ranking fell one rank for the 2008 edition of the report, both the number of victims and the rate of black homicide victimization increased. In 2004, when the state ranked first, Pennsylvania had 398 victims, for a rate of 29.52 deaths per 100,000. The 2005 data presented Pennsylvania with 448 black victims, for a rate of 32.14 per 100,000.
Pennsylvania State Police Public Information Coordinator Cpl. Lynette Quinn said the state police are making an effort to reduce the number of homicides, especially in the Philadelphia area, which has a "high record" of homicides.
According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, the southeast region of the state accounted for 458 homicides and non-negligent manslaughters in 2006, or 63.5 percent of the total homicides in Pennsylvania that year.
A "concentrated effort" pairs up Philadelphia police officers with state police officers in cruisers to help patrol the streets, Quinn said.
"That's a first for us, to actually be in the car with a Philadelphia police officer," she said. "So far, we've been pretty successful."
Other efforts to slow the homicide rate in Pennsylvania include working with local partners to speed investigations, using undercover agents and creating task forces to address the problem, she said.
"It's a lot of things you don't see," she said.
The study also found that the majority of homicides against black victims were committed with firearms. For homicides in which the weapon used could be identified, 83 percent of black victims were killed with guns. Of these, 77 percent were killed with handguns.
Although Missouri, which placed fifth last year, is now ranked higher than Pennsylvania, Sugarmann said the exact rankings of the states are not really important.
"If you're that high up, and your rates are that disproportionate to the rest of the nation's, it really is a very clear message that this is a problem that needs to be looked at and addressed," he said.
