Web posted
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Crime trends up in Arkansas City
By CHRIS ROBINETTE
Traveler Correspondent
Domestic violence, burglary and child abuse crime trends are up according to the November and December 2007 Department Activity report.
Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace attributed the rise in domestic violence and child abuse to the stress of the holiday season.
"Holiday's always been bring about emotions," he said. Due to the rise in burglary, the police have been busy attempting to deal with the problem. The department made many arrests for burglary and theft in November and December, according to Wallace. Nine people were arrested for burglary and theft alone in November 2007.
When asked about the most worrisome trends, Wallace noted burglary as the most troubling. There were 90 reported cases of burglary between November 2006 and 2007, as opposed to the 56 reported in between November 2005 and 2006.
Wallace is optimistic about the way the department has handled the investigations.
"We've done a good job of clearing them up. We've made a lot of arrests," said Wallace.
Sex offenses have also been on the rise, though Wallace believes that might correlate with the rise in underage drinking. There were 241 arrests for liquor possession between November 2006 and 2007, between November 2005 and 2006 there were only 209.
"Sex offenses follow underage drinking," says Wallace. He makes the point that victims aren't to blame, but does note that underage drinking is a risk behavior.
"When your inhibitions are down, you do things you wouldn't normally do," he said.
While the amount of some reported crimes have risen, others have fallen in the year-to-date totals. The amount of drug violations reported is down 13.2 percent between the November 2007 year-to-date totals and the November 2006 year-to-date totals.
"Drugs are down because we're hitting it really hard, and drugs are going somewhere else," said Wallace. Drunk driving is also down with 15 arrested in November 2007 as opposed to 19 arrested in November 2006. Yearly totals for drunk driving are down, too, with 112 arrested between December 2006 to 2007, December 2005 to 2006 saw 138 people arrested for DUIs, a 18.8 percent decrease.
"People realize (that) if you drive drunk in Ark City, we're going to find you, stop you and send you to jail," said Wallace.
The amount of moving citations issued has decreased; such as, speeding, which has suffered a 18.3 percent drop between the December 2007 year-to-date total and the December 2006 year-to-date total. This worries Wallace, as a decrease in citations usually leads to an increase in accidents.
Part of the problem is a manpower crunch. The ACPD is budgeted for 26 officers, but three of those are currently in training, making it hard to fill slots in different parts of the department.
"People are our most important and valuable asset here," Wallace said. It's a problem, but it's a problem that the city departments share.
"There's a lot that has to be funded, and you don't want to overburden the systems," Wallace said.
He hopes to gain more people in the future, but the police department is also taking preventive steps to help lower crime.
"We're going to focus on the prevention side more, which involves neighborhood watch programs, and get the community more involved," he says, adding that the department is trying to focus on what causes the crimes. The department is also trying to get more awareness about underage drinking and driving under the influence out by speaking in schools.
We're dealing with the root of the problem, not just the symptoms," said Wallace.
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