Gambling industry hides the truth about crime

Gambling industry hides the truth about crime

Here are some facts to keep in mind as the state Legislature considers expanded gambling in New Hamsphire:

1. Within five years after the opening of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, the annual number of calls to the Ledyard, Conn., Police Department jumped from 4,000 to 16,700.


2. The state of Wisconsin experiences an average of 5,300 additional major crimes a year due to the presence of casinos in that state. Some 17,100 arrests for less serious crimes each year are due to the existence of casino gambling.

3. A U.S. News & World Report analysis found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average. Crime rates nationally dropped by 2 percent in 1994, but the 31 localities that introduced casinos in 1993 saw an increase in crime of 7.7 percent the following year.

4. The number of police calls in Black Hawk, Colo., increased from 25 a year before casinos to between 15,000 and 20,000 annually after their introduction.

5. A city can expect its crime rate to increase by about 8 percent after four or five years of introducing casinos.

6. Nevada ranked first in crime rates among the 50 states in both 1995 and 1996, based on an analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. The violent crime rate in Nevada increased by close to 40 percent from 1991 to 1996, a period in which the national violent crime rate dropped by approximately 10 percent.

Peggy Shaw

Hudson



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