In the northern half, shooting incidents are also on the rise, but murder has declined a confounding 12 percent.

From 1994 to 2004, murder declined 56 percent and robbery dropped 61 percent, but rape decreased only 23 percent.

Cities with populations over a million reported that murders and robberies each declined 11 percent.

While murder, arson and looting have been declining since early July, all are still at unacceptably high levels.

A similar decline took place in Los Angeles, where murders declined to 846 in 1994 from 1,076 in 1993, and in Washington, where the number of reported murders fell to 399 from 454.

Velma Barfield: murder, North Carolina 1984 - lethal injection: declined a special meal, having a bag of Cheez Doodles and a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola instead.

Crime, a major concern, has dropped from 21,000 incidents in 1990 to 10,000 so far this year and murders have declined from 35 in 1990 to 7 so far this year.

From 2003 to 2006, murders declined by nearly two-thirds, rapes by nearly a third and robberies by half, according to police statistics.

Mr. Solomon said that murders have declined overall since 1995, when the county reported 65 murders.

New York had a mandatory death law for cop killers until 1977, but since it was struck down, murders of New York police officers have declined (see chart).