On Monday, Shurtleff, the Utah attorney general, released a partial summary of charges contained in criminal histories of Katrina evacuees. It said that there were "42 criminal persons counted" among the approximately 560 evacuees who found themselves at Camp Williams. Among these, eight had been charged at some time with homicide or murder, and one had been charged with attempted murder. That's a far cry from "dozens."

The trouble with the A.G.'s comment Friday is twofold. First, it was incorrect. Second, it probably created confusion and second thoughts among Utahns who had opened their community and their homes to the hurricane victims.

It also slandered all of the evacuees. Because the identities of people convicted of crimes have not been made public, all of the evacuees are held up to suspicion. About 225 remain at Camp Williams.

In his defense, the attorney general attempted to correct his remark after a storm surge of questions from reporters engulfed him in the wake of his comment on KNRS AM 570. A spokesman revised the number of killers who had relocated to Utah to "a small handful . . . less than five." The A.G. later said he had made the original comment based on bad information from the Department of Public Safety. The DPS compiled the list Shurtleff released late Monday.

This is a sensitive issue for a couple of reasons. The majority of the evacuees are black, and Shurtleff's comments might reinforce racist stereotypes.

The television images of looters who emptied New Orleans' stores after the flooding, and the debate over the ethical distinction between taking supplies for survival and committing a crime, already had touched a nerve among African-Americans.

Against this backdrop, it is almost inconceivable that Shurtleff would make the remark he did Friday without having solid facts to back it up.

Shurtleff said he made his comment to warn Utahns that they should ask about the criminal backgrounds of people they may be taking into their homes. Fair enough. Most landlords do that.

But warnings should be based on accurate information.