Memphis murder rate appears to be highest in decades

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Federal data indicates Memphis' murder rate last year was the worst in two decades, reaching a level not seen since the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1990s.

Memphis reported 228 homicides in 2016, a record number. But not all those killings count as murders under the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting rules, which focus on intentional killings.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports (memne.ws/2oewDuG) that among those that don't count are as many as 19 justifiable homicides and two deaths ruled as negligent homicides.

Criminologist Richard Janikowski, a consultant for the Memphis Police Department, says he has so far counted 195 murders in the city in 2016. The numbers are still not complete. That rate of murder, about 29.7 deaths per 100,000 residents is the highest since 1993.

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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com