18 Cities And Regions Selected For Crime Study

Wednesday, November 22nd 2006, 3:33 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Oklahoma City is one of 18 cities and suburban regions selected by the government to study for clues on why homicides and other violent crimes are on the rise nationally.

The Justice Department study comes after FBI data in September showed violent criminal activity rising by 2.2 percent from last year. That marked the first increase in violent crimes since 2001.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the study at a Boston meeting last month with police chiefs and other law enforcement officials. It will be rolled out in three phases: looking at crime increases in cities, analyzing those results for any trends, and identifying federal programs that can help.