Overall number of crimes in county decreased in 2009
While there was a slight rise in violent crime in San Benito
County last year, nearly all other types of crimes saw a decrease
locally, according to statistics recently released by the
California Department of Justice.
The number of violent crimes in the county rose from 243 in 2008
to 246 in 2009, a 1.2 percent jump. However, the number of
homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, property crimes and arsons
all dropped year-to-year.
”
The latest drop in crime is good news for Californians and
reflects well on the dedicated and courageous efforts of peace
officers throughout the state,
”
California Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement.
”
Yet it is no cause for complacency. Crime remains a serious
problem in California, and law enforcement officials at every level
must redouble their efforts to ensure public safety.
”
Overall number of crimes in county decreased in 2009
While there was a slight rise in violent crime in San Benito County last year, nearly all other types of crimes saw a decrease locally, according to statistics recently released by the California Department of Justice.
The number of violent crimes in the county rose from 243 in 2008 to 246 in 2009, a 1.2 percent jump. However, the number of homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults, property crimes and arsons all dropped year-to-year.
“The latest drop in crime is good news for Californians and reflects well on the dedicated and courageous efforts of peace officers throughout the state,” California Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement. “Yet it is no cause for complacency. Crime remains a serious problem in California, and law enforcement officials at every level must redouble their efforts to ensure public safety.”
There were no homicides in San Benito County in 2009, compared to three the year before. There were half as many forcible rapes – 9 instead of 20 – and 4.2 percent fewer aggravated assaults, according to the state-provided statistics.
The number of robberies in the county jumped from 29 to 54 over the past year, but the number of property crimes fell 11 percent last year, with burglaries, motor vehicle thefts and larceny over $400 all falling by 10 percent or more.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said identifying one specific reason for a falling crime rate is difficult, though he said deployment and enforcement strategies have likely made an impact.
“We do directed patrols, so our patrol teams are required to identify a crime problem or a quality of life issue and address that,” he said, citing curfew violations and vandalism among the issues addressed. “It’s always good news when crime statistics go down. There’s a combination of time, place, enforcement and prevention strategies. If there was any one reason why crime goes down, someone would bottle it and sell it and we’d put crime out of business.”
Miller acknowledged that decreases in certain local crime rates may be attributable to the fact that the police department does not take reports on all types of crimes due to budget issues.
“Because of cutbacks we’ve suffered over the years, we do have self-reporting of some crimes,” he said. “I told the council at the time that we’d probably see a reduction in some statistics because of that. But that is belied by the overall trends we see showing a reduction in crime. I’d love to be able to tell you here’s why crime is reduced, but I can’t. There are so many reasons why crime goes up and down in a community.”
The Hollister Police Department has two patrol vacancies and two officers out with injuries.
“With the new budget coming out, we’ll lose some more,” he said. “It’s always interesting to watch the trends, because when crime goes down it’s indicative that something has worked. Can any one reason take full credit for it? Absolutely not; it’s a combination of things.”
One theory, Miller said, is that locking up “the right people” – those who commit multiple crimes – could be reason for dropping crime rates, though he said he couldn’t identify individual arrestees whose lock-up could impact local numbers to a great degree.
Statewide, there was a 6.6 percent drop in the state’s violent crime rate, marking the third consecutive year in which that category – as well as property crime and larceny and theft rates – has declined. Almost 20,000 fewer violent crimes were committed in California in 2009 than in 2006, according to the attorney general’s office.
Since statewide crime peaked in 1992, crime rates in all three categories have been cut nearly in half. Last year, more than 1.4 million arrests were made in the state, down from more than 1.9 million 20 years ago.
Monterey County had the highest murder rate in the state last year, with nearly 12 murders per 100,000 residents. There were 29 murders in Salinas and another 22 people killed elsewhere in the county.
In Santa Clara County, the number of violent crimes fell 8.1 percent, while property crimes jumped 1.4 percent and larceny fell by 0.2 percent. Santa Cruz County’s number of violent crimes fell by 2.6 percent, but property crimes and larceny both increased by approximately 16 percent.
Pinnacle wire services contributed to this report.
