For the past few weeks there has been non-stop news updates about crime in Syracuse. These crimes range in scale but as of late there have been more and more homicides presented on the news. Crime has always been an issue for the Syracuse area, and each year there seems to be more and more deadly cases.
According to Syracuse.com there were 27 homicides in Syracuse during the year. That was a significant increase from the 14 seen in 2012. While homicide statistics have yet to come out this year, the news has reported on an increasing number of shootings resulting in deaths over the past month. Just last week a man was fatally shot in his car, and as a result he crashes it into a tree, and a women brutally stabbed a man to death.
When asked about the recent violence crimes in Syracuse the Syracuse Police Department responded with the usual answers that the community hears on a weekly basis.
“The police department is doing everything it can in order to prevent future crime from occurring,” said Tom Callen, a sergeant at the Syracuse police department.
According to Callen the police department currently uses surveillance cameras throughout Syracuse and is planning on putting up more around the area. He credited the cameras planted in high-crime areas in Syracuse for the decrease in crimes like theft, and the reason why some recent homicides have been solved.
Countless Syracusans have taken to social media to express their feelings on the recent crimes happening throughout the area.
“I don’t feel my family is any more unsafe than in the past. We’ve lived in Syracuse since the late 1980s, and have seen the ebb and flow of violence,” said Syracuse resident Sean Kirst. “There have been even worse times and worse years. We try to use our heads and stay in close touch with neighbors and to be as smart as possible.”
Unlike Kirst, not all people remained unruffled by Syracuse’s current situation. Syracuse native Lynn Lemon said, “I am born and raised here, and I am ashamed of my city, my neighborhood, our schools, our streets.”
While these are quite different perspectives reactions throughout Syracuse range.
On Sept. 24 the US Census Bureau released data that revealed Syracuse is the 23rd poorest city out of the 575 biggest cities in the US. Many speculate that that fact may correlate with the crime rate.
The police department is working hard to ensure the safety of the Syracuse community, but the question left of many residents’ minds is: Is that enough? What else can be done?
