After recording twice as many rapes in 2004 as the previous
year, the Hollister Police Department reported rape is down by 60
percent so far in 2005.
Hollister – After recording twice as many rapes in 2004 as the previous year, the Hollister Police Department reported rape is down by 60 percent so far in 2005.
There were 22 forcible rapes in Hollister last year compared to 11 in 2003, according to Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller. However, from January through September of this year, there have been only six rapes within the city – 60 percent fewer incidences than the 15 reported over the same time period in 2004, Miller said.
“On some of those it could have been more occurrences or a spate of reporting,” he said. “It’s hard to put a finger on some of those (increases).”
Miller said the increase needn’t be a cause for concern for the general public. Most rapes in Hollister are committed by someone who knew the victim – such as child molestation, domestic sexual assault and date rape – and the rise could have been due to more occurrences or because there’s more of a societal emphasis to report rape, he said.
Although 2005’s number is significantly lower, Miller believes the same mentality concerning reporting cases of sexual abuse still applies.
“We still get calls. It’s hard to account for single-year spikes and things like that,” he said. “For any of these cases, I encourage people to report the crimes. We need to know about them to help. Sometimes (victims) are worried about embarrassment or that it was their fault. It’s never the victims fault. Nobody has a free ride to assault someone.”
Some rapes in Hollister result from a domestic violence dispute that escalates to sexual violence. So far this year, the department has recorded an eight percent increase in domestic violence incidences – with 141 so far, compared with 130 in 2004 over the same time period.
While domestic violence disputes run the gamut in terms of violence, Miller said they are extremely common.
“Domestic violence is something we see pretty much every shift – at least two a day, every day, if not more,” he said.
While a significant decrease in rape is encouraging, Miller said the dip shouldn’t foster a false sense of security for residents, specifically girls and young women.
“We still need to caution, especially our daughters, to be very careful of the situations they find themselves in because they can go bad very quickly,” he said. “And they need to sit down with their boys and teach them the proper way to treat girls and women.”
In comparison to Hollister’s decrease, Gilroy’s rape numbers have remained fairly static compared to last year’s statistics. The Gilroy Police Department, which patrols a city with 10,000 more people than Hollister, reported 10 rapes last year, and so far this year there have also been 10, according to crime analyst Phyllis Ward.
Unlike Hollister, though, Gilroy’s rapes are largely not related to a domestic violence or date-rape situation, according to Gilroy Police Detective Sgt. Noel Provost. The majority of forcible rapes in Gilroy result when a woman is somehow acquainted with an individual – either through a friend, family member or another social contact – and the suspect takes advantage of her, Provost said.
And while there aren’t many stranger rapes in Gilroy, Provost said they have had some. Miller said he could remember only one case of a stranger sexually battering a woman in the past couple years in Hollister.
While rape cases are down significantly, the department recently reported that incidences of child molestation have increased 25 percent since 2004 – which Miller also attributed to residents becoming more comfortable with reporting the crimes, but added that it could also be due to a culture that sexualizes children at younger and younger ages.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
