Officers respond to record number of calls

Calls for service set yet another record this past quarter with McMinnville police officers fielding just under 5,000 calls in the three-month period.

Police responded to 4,860 calls between April and June, according to quarterly statistics from McMinnville Police Department. That number is up from the previous all-time record of 4,801 calls answered the first quarter of 2007.

The number also dwarfs the second quarter of last year when 2,953 calls were answered. Last year’s second quarter was a valley among peaks as calls for service have escalated in recent years as 3,707 were answered the second quarter of 2005.

Joining the rise in the number of calls for service was a rise in the crime rate with 441 offenses reported this past quarter, reflecting a three-year high in crime as 376 offenses were reported in the second quarter of last year and 430 in 2005.

The rise in offenses were mirrored by a rise in arrests, which continued a three-year upward trend, with 399 arrests this past quarter compared to 324 in the second quarter of last year and 297 in 2005.

While adult arrests are up, juvenile arrests hit a three-year low with 30 people under the age of 18 arrested this past quarter, six less than last year at the same time.

Also falling in the area of arrests are the number of people arrested for drugs. A total of 45 drug arrests were reported during the second quarter this year, less than half of the 109 drug arrests made during the second quarter of 2006.

In the area of crime, theft was the most common with 112 cases of theft reported, up from 93 during last year’s second quarter, but quite a bit lower than the 135 thefts reported during the same quarter of 2005. Of that number, 18 were gas drive-offs as gas hit $3 per gallon. There were 16 cases of forgery and fraud, referred to as paper crimes, during the second quarter.

Burglaries were up with 38 reported compared to 25 last year and 33 in 2005.

In the area of violent crime, assaults led the way to drive up the violent crime rate with 99 assaults reported during the second quarter of 2007. The number was up considerably from the 77 reported during the second quarter of 2006. Assaults are also ranked as one of the most commonly solved crimes.

In other areas of violent crime, there were five sex crimes, one robbery and five cases of child abuse. There were no murders.