Crime stats down for first time in four years
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The lower numbers were reflected virtually across the board in the year-end crime report released last week by the McMinnville Police Department. While the numbers reflect only slight reductions in offenses, for the most part, ending a steady four-year climb was welcomed by lawmen.
“Last year seemed to be an unusually busy year for some reason,” said McMinnville Police Capt. Bryan Denton. “This year we seemed to ease back down to normal levels, more in line with the way things were in 2000.”
The numbers of overall offenses reported to police stood at 1,401 during 2002, down from the 1,427 reported in 2001 but still up from 2000 when 1,207 offenses were reported. At the same time, calls for service dropped with police being dispatched on 12,312 calls during 2002, opposed to 13,009 in 2001 and 12,229 in 2000. Despite the fact only one-third of Warren County’s population lives within the city limits, city officers fielded almost 2,000 more calls during 2002 than did county deputies.
“The number of calls for service are generally higher in the city than the county,” Denton said.
Helping reduce the overall crime rate was a reduction in thefts. A total of 465 thefts were reported in 2002, down significantly from 2001 when 579 were reported and 2000 when 592 were reported. A total of 156 of the 465 thefts were cleared by arrest last year.
The lower theft rate was helped along by a reduced number of gas drive-offs as 50 were reported last year compared to 104 just one year prior. The stabilization of gas prices – added with the possibility of losing driving privileges for drive-offs – is being credited for the lower number. There were 46 vehicles stolen in 2002.
The falling rate was also reflected in a continued decrease in the number of forgery and fraud cases. The so-called “paper crimes” have been on a steady decrease since peaking in 2000. A total of 53 were reported last year, down from 73 in 2001 and 91 in 2000.
“We’ve been more aggressive in paper crimes since they were really getting frequent for a while a few years back,” Denton said. “I think now people are realizing if they try to pull off a paper crime here, there’s a good chance they’re going to get caught.”
Burglaries, both residential and auto, did not follow the downward property crime trend as they were up with 155 reported last year opposed to 141 in 2001 and 143 in 2000.
In the area of violent crime, armed robberies were heavily cut with six reported last year opposed to 17 in 2001. However, sex crimes doubled with 32 cases reported compared to 16 last year and 22 in 2000.
Drug arrests were also down in the city with 193 arrests in 2002 compared to a record 281 in 2001. The drug arrests for 2002 were nearly identical to the totals of 2000 when 192 people were arrested.
In other areas of interest, drunk driving arrests continued a three-year decline with 76 reported in 2002 compared to 117 in 2001 and 154 in 2000. Wrecks worked in the city rose slightly to 899 from the 861 traffic crashes in 2001. City officers also wrote less tickets in 2002 with 4,465 citations issued compared to 4,727 in 2001.
Friday continued to be the busiest day for patrolman as they answered an average of 37 calls on Fridays, just ahead of 35 on Saturdays. Wednesdays were the quietest days with an average of 31 calls being answered.