ORLANDO BREAKS MURDER RECORD WITH 37TH OF YEAR

ORLANDO . The city broke a decades-old murder record Tuesday, keeping
the tourism mecca on pace for a potential finish at year's end that
would make it one of America's bloodiest.

Christopher Charles, 51, of Maitland, was Orlando's 37th homicide
victim this year, breaking the record of 36 set in 1982 amid gang
turf wars over crack cocaine.

If killings continue at this pace, Orlando could find itself with a
per-capita murder rate in the top 15 nationally -- well above its
ranking of 107th two years ago, the last year for which full FBI
crime data is available.

Police didn't immediately release many details about the most recent
slaying, including cause of death or potential motive. The death was
reported just after 2 a.m. Tuesday in the same kind of area where
most crimes have happened: predominantly black, impoverished and just
west of downtown, where metal window bars and barbed wire-topped
fences guard beat-up businesses.

Most of the victims were males in their teens and 20s who were
involved with drugs or got killed by someone who was, investigators say.

Police have been quick to point out that no victim was among the
area's roughly 50 million annual tourists, and none of the crimes
occurred in visitor-rich areas. Orlando's large theme parks -- Walt
Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld -- are located miles
away, south and west of downtown.

Besides 1982 and this year, Orlando hit the 30-murder mark only once,
with 30 in 1990, FBI figures from 1975-2005 show. Numbers have
fluctuated each year over the past two decades, typically ending in
the teens or mid-20s. There had been no clear trends up or down,
despite a 66 percent population increase since 1980.

Even before the spike, Orlando planned a new public safety initiative
to put 75 additional officers on the streets, add two detectives to
the violent crime unit, hire 13 new 911 operators and create more
police substations.

Police have also stepped up community awareness programs, including a
recent "Kicks for Guns" event that provided new shoes to anyone
turning in a firearm -- no questions asked. The event netted 116
guns, including a Tec-9 semiautomatic and three previously reported stolen.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the city wasn't at that point.

"I don't think we have a lack of resources. We have one of the
highest per-capita ratios of police officers to citizens in the
country," Dyer said.

Dyer also noted homicides were on the rise in cities across the
country, though Orlando might receive more attention as an
international tourism draw.

"Mayors from Richmond, Va., to Milwaukee to Phoenix, you pick them,
are experiencing the same kind of thing," he said. "For us one murder
in the city is too many, and we're not going to tolerate it."