Creative Editing
Chapter 4
Exercise 2
2. Edit this story. Be on the lookout for errors in numbers as well as grammar, punctuation, spelling and style.
The state Bureau of Investigation released crime statistics yesterday which cover the first six months of 1999. According to those statistics, crime in the state dropped 5.7 per cent during the first six months of 1999 from the same period during the previous year but 9.2% more rapes were reported.
Violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) decreased over all 3.6% from the first half of 1998. Property crimes, including burglary, larcany, motor-vehical theft and arson dipped 5.7%.
Crime bureau statistics that were released yesterday indicate violent and property crimes in the state dropped for the tenth consecutive quarter. Rape is the only violant crime on the upswing in the last 5 quarters bureau director J. A. Kelly said.
Among violent crimes, rapes (at least those reported) increased from 276 in the first half of 1998 to 304 during the comparable period in 1999.
Homocides showed the biggest drop at 47.6%. 62 murders were recorded in the first half of 1998 but only 42 murders through June of 1999.
Robbery dropped 16.1 per cent while aggrevated assault was up less than one per cent.
Arson was down 12.5% with 392 cases reported in the first half of 1999, compared with 441 in 1998.
The most frequent crime commited was larcany, with 31,756 cases reported during the first half of 1999.
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