Motown is Mo Murder Town

It's probably safer to walk the streets of Baghdad than the streets of Detroit:

Detroit crime numbers, already among the highest in the nation, are expected to balloon this year as a result of dramatically increasing homicides and chronic underreporting of violence in previous years, said Warren C. Evans, the new chief of police.

The growing homicide rate -- already nearly 20 percent higher in 2009 than even revised totals from last year -- and the disturbing revelation that perhaps as many as 20 percent of violent crimes are not logged by the Detroit Police Department are his top priorities, said Evans, who took command two weeks ago.

"It's the Wild West out there," said Evans in an interview with The Detroit News about the city's violent crime problem.

According to Evans, 216 people had been slain in Detroit this year as of Thursday, putting the city on pace for as many as 450 for the year. Over the same period in 2008, there were 181 homicides and 375 for the year, giving Detroit the highest murder rate in the nation.

Well, there's a new sheriff comin' to town. I'm flying to Detroit tomorrow and I expect those people to be on their best behavior.