Sean C. Morgan
Statistics continue to indicate that most types of serious crimes declined in 2016 from previous years, according to new figures compiled by the Sweet Home Police Department.
After reporting reductions in serious crimes and total number of calls for 2016, SHPD has compiled more detailed statistics that show reductions in crime across the board.
In two of three key statistics, both of which were previously reported in The New Era, the Police Department recorded decreases in the number of reported crimes. They included burglaries, 54 in 2016, down from 78 in 2015, and thefts, 381 in 2016, down from 507 in 2015. Although the number of Part II crimes and reports, mostly less serious crimes, decreased overall, the number of reported criminal mischiefs increased from 115 in 2015 to 123 in 2016.
Overall, the number of reported Part I crimes, which are aggravated assault, arson, burglary, forcible rape, motor vehicle theft, murder, attempted murder, robbery and theft, decreased from 641 in 2015 to 466 in 2016, a 27.3-percent decrease.
The most recent U.S. Census Bureau population estimate for the city of Sweet Home is 9,270 on April 1, 2015, which means Sweet Home had a crime rate of 50.27 per 1,000 population for 2016 – a 23.3-percent reduction in the crime rate. The crime rate in 2015 was 65.55 per 1,000 population. The crime rate increased substantially from 2013 to 2014, from 56.6 to 74 crimes per 1,000 population before falling in 2015 and again this year. (The 2016 rate is based on raw data from SHPD. The older rates, including 2015 reflect slightly different numbers reported in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports based on differences in what is included. For 2015, the FBI recorded 597 Part I crimes, 44 less than SHPD records.)
The number of Part II reports decreased from 2,051 in 2015 to 1,362 in 2016, a 33.6-percent decrease. Among Part II reports are criminal mischief, animal offenses, drunken driving, curfew violations, disorderly conduct, drug offenses, embezzlement, fraud, forgery, kidnaping, liquor offenses, littering, simple assault, sex offenses, warrant arrests and recovery of stolen property and vehicles.
Among Part II reports, police had almost half the number of warrant arrests in 2016, with 587, compared to 2015, with 957. They also had less than one-third as many in the category “Other,” which includes things like ordinance and tobacco violations, going from 306 in 2015 to 97 in 2016. The number of simple assaults increased from 71 in 2015 to 101 in 2016, but the number of sex offenses fell from 16 in 2015 to 12 in 2016.
Total Part III reports increased from 8,682 in 2015 to 8,749 in 2016, a .8-percent increase. Part III reports include a variety of non-criminal reports, such as alarm activation, ambulance assists, background checks, code enforcement, impounds, suspicious persons and circumstances, prowlers, crashes and trespass warnings.
Among those statistics, code enforcement calls decreased from 460 in 2015 to 293 in 2016, a 36.3-percent decrease. SHPD entered more warrants in 2016, with 617, than in 2015, with 582, a 6-percent increase.
“We’re really encouraged by some of the figures we’ve seen,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. “By no means are we satisfied with the stats as they stand.”
The possible reasons for the progress are likely varied, he said. It could be because some offenders are currently incarcerated or because the economy is improving. The causes are difficult to track.
In other statistics, the department issued 458 citations to 294 persons in 2016, up from 449 to 290 persons in 2015. The department conducted 1,242 traffic stops in 2016, up from 1,100 in 2015.
Police arrested 1,051 individuals on 1,767 charges in 2016. In 2015, they arrested 1,290 persons on 1,850 charges.
Part I Crimes Reported 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Aggravated Assault 8 8 17 5 18
Arson 2 1 3 0 3
Burglary 54 76 87 94 107
Forcible Rape 3 2 1 2 2
Motor Vehicle Theft 16 43 32 20 22
Murder 0 0 0 0 0
Attempted Murder 0 0 0 0 0
Robbery 2 2 7 3 5
Theft 381 507 570 426 402
– Sweet Home Police Department