Though violent crime rates are up nationwide, according to FBI
statistics, Morgan Hill’s latest crime report shows those rates
have held steady from 2005 to 2006.
Morgan Hill – Though violent crime rates are up nationwide, according to FBI statistics, Morgan Hill’s latest crime report shows those rates have held steady from 2005 to 2006.
“We’re always pleased when crime is down. Looking at crime in a one-year view is always encouraging, but crime has to be looked at on a much larger scale like a 10-year period,” said Morgan Hill Police Chief Bruce Cumming.
The report shows incident decreases in three of the four violent crime categories listed in the report for homicide, rape and robbery with the exception of aggravated assault which increased by 12 incidents from 2005 to 2006, from 32 to 44.
There were no homicides last year, compared to one in 2005, the shooting death of Luis Bautista on Sept. 30. Anthony Frausto was convicted of his murder earlier this year.
Rapes were down in Morgan Hill compared to 2005, from 11 to six, robberies were also down, from 16 to 10.
Overall, in 2005 and 2006, Morgan Hill had 60 reported violent crimes. In 2006, police cleared or solved 60 percent of those. The national violent crime clearance rate for cities with a population of 25,000 to 49,999 is 49 percent.
“We’re encouraged by the high clearance rate for violent crimes because that is clearly something we have more control over,” Cumming said. “We work hard to investigate and solve these crimes and bring criminals to justice.”
Added Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson: “We concentrated on our investigations, and our officers focused on being thorough … We made a big push to complete our investigations, but we also had some assistance, with the ‘Morgan Hill’s Most Wanted’ in the Times, helping to get that information out, and lots of tips from citizens.”
Several suspects on the “Most Wanted” list were apprehended last year after a resident called police to tell them they had spotted a suspect that was on the list.
Property crimes also decreased in Morgan Hill by 63, according to the department’s statistics, from 1,079 incidents in 2005 to 1,016 in 2006, a six percent decrease.
Of those crimes, burglaries and larcenies decreased by 73, from 244 in 2005 to 171 in 2006 and by 19, from 728 in 2005 to 709 in 2006, respectively. Grand theft auto, however, increased by 22, from 86 in 2005 to 108 in 2006, and arson increased by seven, from 21 in 2005 to 28 in 2006.
“The increase in auto theft is a concern to us. It mirrors increases throughout the Bay Area. We’re looking at this problem regionally,” Cumming said, adding that the department participates in the Santa Clara County Regional Auto Theft Task Force.
The report also indicates that the number of arrests for juveniles and adults increased by 102, from 1,453 in 2005 to 1,555 in 2006. Adult arrests increased by 55 from 1227 in 2005 to 1282 in 2006; and juvenile arrests increased by 47 from 226 in 2005 to 273 in 2006.
“When arrests are up, it typically means our officers are being more proactive, and that proactivity does impair violent crime,” said Sampson. “We take care of the smaller things, prevent them from becoming larger, more significant issues. That could be one of the reasons we are stable when the rest of the nation is going up.”
Sampson explained the department’s crime suppression team has also helped deter crime. “What also makes a difference is the bad guys knowing that we have people out there at times when crimes are likely to occur, nights, weekends, holidays, and being able to do that is a big bonus for us,” said Sampson.
Accidents with injury also showed a slight increase from 56 in 2005 to 62 in 2006 while the “accidents property damage” category showed a decrease of 17 from 236 in 2005 to 219 in 2006.
