On the map
Memphis' crime rate takes a turn for the worse
Issue date: 11/28/06 Section: The Game of Life
"He was very pleasant," Bratton said.
Bratton turned his back to point in the direction of the street and when he turned back again, he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
"His whole manner and demeanor had changed," he said. "It was very interesting."
The assailant demanded Bratton's wallet, which he had left inside his car. Bratton was pushed aside as the gunman made his way to the car to take the wallet.
Weeks after the incident, Bratton seemed to be unshaken. However, his neighbors felt differently and have put up their house for sale.
According to Bob Tutt, a 25-year veteran of the Memphis Police Department, Bratton is lucky he only lost a couple of dollars.
"Criminals are becoming more violent and are more likely to shoot someone while committing a crime than they used to be," he said.
A police dispatcher, who preferred to be known only as Terrie, has seen crime change first hand through her job.
"There used to be a lull from Jan. 1 to the time school ends," she said. "It would pick up during the summer; there would be another lull from the time kids go back to school until Halloween; and it would pick up again until the beginning of the year, but now you don't have any lulls."
Some believe poverty has an impact on violent crime and could be one of many possible reasons for the lack of lulls.
Memphis, the 18th largest city in the United States, is plagued by a 21.5 percent poverty rate, twice the national average.
"It makes common sense that when people are poor and disenfranchised, they are going to try and find a way to equal the playing field," Heidingsfield said.
Tutt has a different take.
"There does appear to be a correlation between the poverty rate and crime, but I don't subscribe to the theory that poverty causes crime," Tutt said. "You often hear of people 'stealing to feed their kids' - I believe that to just be a myth. In years of police work, I have never encountered it."
Bratton turned his back to point in the direction of the street and when he turned back again, he was staring down the barrel of a gun.
"His whole manner and demeanor had changed," he said. "It was very interesting."
The assailant demanded Bratton's wallet, which he had left inside his car. Bratton was pushed aside as the gunman made his way to the car to take the wallet.
Weeks after the incident, Bratton seemed to be unshaken. However, his neighbors felt differently and have put up their house for sale.
According to Bob Tutt, a 25-year veteran of the Memphis Police Department, Bratton is lucky he only lost a couple of dollars.
"Criminals are becoming more violent and are more likely to shoot someone while committing a crime than they used to be," he said.
A police dispatcher, who preferred to be known only as Terrie, has seen crime change first hand through her job.
"There used to be a lull from Jan. 1 to the time school ends," she said. "It would pick up during the summer; there would be another lull from the time kids go back to school until Halloween; and it would pick up again until the beginning of the year, but now you don't have any lulls."
Some believe poverty has an impact on violent crime and could be one of many possible reasons for the lack of lulls.
Memphis, the 18th largest city in the United States, is plagued by a 21.5 percent poverty rate, twice the national average.
"It makes common sense that when people are poor and disenfranchised, they are going to try and find a way to equal the playing field," Heidingsfield said.
Tutt has a different take.
"There does appear to be a correlation between the poverty rate and crime, but I don't subscribe to the theory that poverty causes crime," Tutt said. "You often hear of people 'stealing to feed their kids' - I believe that to just be a myth. In years of police work, I have never encountered it."