God Reduces Crime?

In Gary? We thought God left Gary about 60 years ago or more:

• Crime in Gary fell dramatically in the first half of the year, with violent offenses having the biggest drop, 43 percent, police said.

  Cmdr. Anthony Titus said he can't explain the decline in the data submitted to the FBI.

  "It's God," he said, smiling. "I would really love to take the credit, but just like I can't take responsibility for a homicide, I can't take the credit here either."

  Assaults are down from 1,039 to 645, with a decrease in every assault subcategory, including the use of a firearm, knife and fists.

Maybe they're taking a page from Chicago's book? If it takes the police an hour or more to get there, the chances of the victim just shaking their head and leaving the scene increase exponentially:

• No victim = No report = No crime

43% sounds like a rather large statistical anomaly without a little assist from the Creative Accounting Department. Even when Shortshanks fudges numbers (Taste of Chicago attendance, Air & Water Show figures, First Day of School head counts), it's never more than a percentage point or two lest the media look too closely at the reality. Gary sounds like they got greedy.