The number of violent crimes in the unincorporated areas of San
Benito County decreased by nearly 30 percent last year, according
to statistics from the state’s Department of Justice.
The number of violent crimes in the unincorporated areas of San Benito County decreased by nearly 30 percent last year, according to statistics from the state’s Department of Justice.
“It’s good to see that drop in violent crime,” San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill said.
He said the decrease, which included the number of murders falling from six in 2001 to one last year, was led by a nearly 39-percent decrease in aggravated assaults. There were 193 aggravated assaults in 2001 compared to 118 in 2002.
The decrease represented an average 1.5 fewer reported aggravated assault cases every week during last year.
“That’s your every day, societal kind of offense that if you can get those down then people have a better sense of safety in the community,” Hill said.
The overall decrease in violent crimes did, however, include an increase in the number of reported rapes, climbing from 14 in 2001 to 21 in 2002.
Violent crimes include homicide, forcible rape robbery and aggravated assault.
Along with the drop in violent crimes came a 32-percent increase in the reported number of property crimes, which includes burglary and motor vehicle thefts.
The largest increase came in motor vehicle thefts, that increased from 124 in 2001 to 185 in 2002, state statistics stated.
While Hill said he found the increase disturbing, he was more concerned with what the 23.5-percent increase in burglaries.
The jump from 251 reported burglaries in 2001 to 310 in 2002 was a by-product of a much larger social problem, he said.
“I think the property crime is attributable to drug use,” Hill said.
Although Hill said a small part of it was because of the dip in the economy, he is concerned the primary reason for the rise in burglaries has to do with people addicted to drugs, such as methamphetamine, who are looking for an easy way to earn money for drugs.
“I know we had a lot of methamphetamine use in the county about a year ago,” Hill said.
Methamphetamine use had become the drug of choice in the county last year, according to local law enforcement.
“We saw a significant increase in meth use,” said Bob Cooke, former commander of the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team.
He said although marijuana use was still prevalent among drug-users in the area, the rapid growth in methamphetamine use was undeniable.
The stimulant’s popularity among drug-users has, within a short time, surpassed that of cocaine.
“It’s half the price of cocaine and the effects last longer than cocaine,” Cooke said.
He said a large part of the problem is that users become addicted to the narcotic before they realize it.
“Some people use it once and they can become addicted to it,” Cooke said. “It’s almost an immediate addiction. It’s a real scary drug.”
In the 1970s, drug dealers learned how to make the drug using a variety of over-the-counter drugs and common household chemicals.
The ingredients can include over-the-counter cold and asthma medications containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, red phosphorous, hydrochloric acid, drain cleaner, battery acid, lye, lantern fuel and antifreeze.
Hill said his department has seen the drug begin to work its way into the local high schools and is calling for the community to pull together to combat the spread of methamphetamine.
“This stuff covers all cross-sections of our community. There is no one that is immune to this,” Hill said. “The kids out there in the community know who (the users) are and who is dealing this.
“If they have kids who are staying up all night hanging out with their buddies and sleeping all day to about 3 p.m., parents may want to start paying attention to this.”
