The Border: Analysis shows that statistics don't back up claims of rising drug cartel-related crime along border

Austin Statesman: "Last month, two retired Army generals, flanked by the state officials who had hired them, stood in the Texas Capitol and painted an alarming picture of escalating violence on the Texas-Mexico border. Their report, which relied less on crime statistics than anecdotal evidence, concluded that the Texas side of the border had become a "war zone."

But a closer look at crime numbers in border counties since 2006 ... does not reveal evidence of out-of-control chaos. An American-Statesman analysis of all 14 counties that share a border with Mexico and two dozen border cities shows that violent crime along the Texas side of the Rio Grande fell 3.3 percent between 2006 and 2010.

... Questions over statistics highlight the push to control the narrative along the border, which has major repercussions nationally. The country's perception of the border — as either a war zone or a violence-free haven — influences discussions ranging from immigration reform to presidential politics." read more