News Currents

Crime down in N.Y.

Overall crime rates continued to decline in New York during 2005 as vehicle thefts dropped almost 13 percent and robberies edged up from 2004, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation report.

The rate of violent crime did tick up 1.2 percent in 2005 — tracking a 1.3 percent increase nationally.

The level of crimes tracked by the FBI declined 3 percent from 2004, largely because of the 12.7 percent drop in motor vehicle thefts and a 3.8 percent decline in property crime. Nationally, vehicle thefts were down 0.8 percent and property crime was down 2.3 percent.

There were 2,554 crimes reported per 100,000 of population in 2005, the FBI said. Of those crimes, 446 were classified as violent — murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. While murders declined 1.6 percent, rape was up almost 1 percent and robberies jumped 5.1 percent, according to the report.

Burglaries and larcenies were down 3.6 and 2.7 percent respectively.

Nationally, the murder rate increased 1.8 percent, rape was down 2.2 percent and robberies increased 2.9 percent.

Va. bird flu impact

A bird flu pandemic would kill nearly 700 people in Virginia’s Fairfax County, forcing hospitals, nursing homes and other medical centers to set up temporary morgues and stockpile body bags to handle the deaths, according to a government report.

The Fairfax report presents a grim scene. A severe outbreak of bird flu would infect nearly a third of the county’s population. As much as 40 percent of the county’s 11,000 work force would be out of commission.

To prepare for such a scenario, the county is giving government officials, infectious disease specialists and first responders explicit instructions. The goal is to minimize the transmission of the virus while keeping the county government running.

The county would track infections through by local doctors and hospitals. Sites would be set up to distribute a potential vaccine or medicine, and sick people could be quarantined. Many county employees would work from home, and hundreds could be diverted from their jobs in “nonessential” agencies. Others would be ordered to stay home.