Cops Arrest Suspect in Shrink Slaying

(NEWSER) - Summer heat brings people onto the streets—and the murder rate up, the New York Times reports. In the city, September is historically the worst month for homicide, according to an analysis of police data. August is a close second. And the deadliest time? 10pm on a September Saturday. “Homicides vary with social acting,” a criminology professor said. “It evolves from interactions.” More»

Former narcotics officer was to testify against other 'dirty' cops

(NEWSER) - A corrupt ex-cop's arrest yesterday in the murder of his girlfriend has dealt a fresh blow to the NYPD's battered image, the New York Daily News reports. Former narcotics officer James Bowens resigned from the force last year after being charged with stealing cash and crack to give to informants. He agreed to testify against former colleagues in a plea deal, now jeopardized by the death of his lover. More»

Cuts in policing, youth programs blamed

(NEWSER) - Murders of black teens between the ages of 14 and 17 are up 39% since the start of the millennium—five times the overall homicide surge in the same period, and twice that of white teens, reports the Wall Street Journal. The authors of the study attribute some of the staggering jump to slashed law enforcement and youth programs, though conceded it's "hard to pin down" cause and effect. More»

Cops can't check patient files; top suspect has alibi

(NEWSER) - Yesterday police thought they had found the man who viciously stabbed a Manhattan psychologist to death. But after 9 hours of questioning, the prime suspect in the murder of Kathryn Faughey was released after his alibi checked out. Frustrated investigators turned to Faughey’s patient records, only to learn that privacy laws forbid checking them, the New York Post reports. More»

Police hunt killer who wielded meat cleaver in furious assault

(NEWSER) - Police are urgently hunting an unidentified man who walked into a New York psychologist's office Tuesday night and hacked her to death with a meat cleaver. Another doctor, who came to her rescue, was also slashed and left in critical condition, the New York Post reports. The killer pinned him to the wall with a chair, took his driver's license and $90 from his wallet, and warned him: "I know where you live." More»