Ohio newspaper: 2003 a deadly year

January 1, 2004
Mansfield News Journal

MANSFIELD -- Seven people were killed in the city in 2003, the highest number since the police department began keeping computerized crime records in 1988.

Last year, the total was six, up from just two in 2001.

The reason for the high number, Mansfield police Chief Phil Messer said, is both straightforward and discouraging.

"Unfortunately, it's been a particularly violent year. Not just in Mansfield, but in most of the state. The number is not out of line with what we're seeing in Columbus, which will break 100 (murders) this year," he said.

No one has been arrested for any of the murders.

"It's unusual to go this long without bringing some of the cases to the grand jury," Messer said.

Part of the reason has to do with the investigative techniques the department is focusing on.

"We're gathering a lot of forensic evidence, and with violent crime up in so much of Ohio, the (forensic) labs are extremely back-logged. Sometimes they're just overwhelmed," Messer said.

The city's continuing budget problems also have contributed, with the police department still short on officers and support personnel, Messer said.

Assistant Chief Jim Boyer said there was no single tactic the department could adopt to reduce the number of murders in 2004.

"Unless you have a police officer in every house and on every corner, that's a crime that's hard to prevent," he said.

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