City crime on a downward trend
Crime was down this spring in McMinnville as most areas of criminal offenses showed a downward trend when compared to last spring when crime took a perceptible jump.
According to a recently released McMinnville Police Department report, there were 352 offenses reported in the city during the spring quarter. The number was significantly down from last spring when 431 offenses were reported, but was still higher than 2000 with 293 offenses.
One of the major areas which led the decrease in crime rate was thefts as 132 were reported this past quarter. The rate was nearly identical to 2000 while dramatically less than last year when 187 were reported.
Burglaries also showed a three-year low with 34 reported this spring compared to 42 last year and 40 in 2000. Shoplifting was one of the few areas to go up this quarter with 26 reported. The shoplifting rate hit a three-year high compared to 21 last year and 16 in 2000.
One of the most marked decreases this spring came in the area of overall arrests. City officers reported making 268 arrests during the quarter, a number significantly less than the preceding two years when city police made 352 and 346, respectively.
The lower arrest rate was also reflected in the number of juvenile arrests which hit a three-year low with 46, down four from last year. The lower juvenile arrest rate is welcome by local officials after both McMinnville and Warren County reported a juvenile offense rate way above the state average in their recent TBI reports. However, city officials point out some of the highest juvenile crime rates come over the summer when school-aged youth are on vacation.
The number of drug arrests also fell from last year with 59 reported last quarter opposed to 91 last year. However, that number is expected to jump significantly during the next report due to two recent undercover drug operations.
Drunk driving arrests also followed suit, as police arrested 21 for DUI, half the number arrested last spring.
The lower number of arrests and lower number of crimes translated into a lower number of calls fielded by city police. Officers responded to 3,380 calls for service this past quarter, an average of 37 per day. Last year, during the spring quarter, police responded to 3,508 calls.
The number of tickets issued by police also fell with 1,123 citations issued this past quarter, down from 1,257 last year.
Violent crime stay virtually unchanged from the past two years with 46 assaults, five sex offenses and two robberies reported.
Total offenses
Spring 2001 – 431
Spring 2002 – 352
DUI arrests
Spring 2001 – 42
Spring 2002 – 21
Drug arrests
Spring 2001 – 91
Spring 2002 – 59