Recently the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation released the 2010 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics for the State of Oklahoma (to view the crime reports visit this page: OSBI UCR Data). From this information, below you will find a compilation of the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office reported crimes for the past decade. Also noted is the crime rate per 1,000 people for the Sheriff’s Office, the entire county (including all law enforcement agencies in the county) and the entire State of Oklahoma. As anticipated, the crimes reported for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office has increased again particularly in the areas of breaking and entering (B&E), larcenies and vehicle thefts.
In reviewing the data, Edwards first year as Sheriff was 2009, breaking and entering went from 39 (2008) to 58 (2009) reported crimes which represents at 67% increase. 2010 nearly mirrored the breaking and entering crimes with 57 reported. When comparing larcenies in 2008, 26 crimes were reported while in 2009 the number went to 28 and in 2010 the number jumped to 58, an increase of 45% from 2008. Finally, vehicle thefts went from 11 in 2008, to 18 in 2009, and 25 in 2010, an increase of 44% from 2008.
Looking at the Sheriff’s Office crime rate per 1,000 people versus the average crime rate for all the law enforcement agencies in the county, the Sheriff’s Office has always enjoyed a much lower rate than the entire county. This continued until 2010, when the Sheriff’s Office crime rate was slightly higher than the entire counties average. While some may believe this increase is due to the downturn in our economy, a look at the state crime rate actually shows the rate decreased, following a statewide decline over the past several years.
Although as a county, we still enjoy relatively low crime rates the increase in the property crimes does not come as a surprise to those that have followed the staffing patterns, workload and direction of personnel at the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office. As noted on our webpage, we intend to implement directed criminal patrol as well as have the patrol division actually patrol in an effort to deter, detect and apprehend criminals. Having our patrol division handling other functions particularly the service of civil processes takes them away from their primary responsibilities of protecting the peace, property and dignity of the citizens of the county. Although a variety of factors could be involved, we believe the recent crime statistics indicates a decreased or absent criminal patrol which enables criminal activity. We believe having visible and active patrols will have tangible results that lead to not only decreased numbers but more importantly, less victimization and less losses of property.
Recently it was brought to my attention an error in the math provided above. Thanks for the correction and the current information will be posted soon as well. The correct percentage changes should have been:
ReplyDeleteEdwards first year as Sheriff was 2009, breaking and entering went from 39 (2008) to 58 (2009) reported crimes which represents a 48.72% increase (not 67%). 2010 nearly mirrored the breaking and entering crimes with 57 reported.
When comparing larcenies in 2008, 26 crimes were reported while in 2009 the number went to 28 and in 2010 the number jumped to 58, an increase of 123.08% (not 45%) from 2008.
Finally, vehicle thefts went from 11 in 2008, to 18 in 2009, and 25 in 2010, an increase of 127.27% (not 44%) from 2008.