Arvada's 2007 and 2008 Crime Statistics
One of the biggest increases in Arvada’s
crime statistics reported in 2008 was the jump in incidents involving
weapons (54%) last year.
While the double-digit increase may seem
dramatic, these numbers can be a bit deceiving.
“Something to consider as you review
Arvada’s statistics is that they are based on low numbers of occurrences
to begin with as compared to larger cities; therefore, any increase
or decrease in Arvada crime stats will have a dramatic effect on the
change of a category from year to year,” said Deputy Chief Creager.
Creager adds “Regardless of the low
crime numbers in general, we must address the increase in the number
of cases involving weapons.”
The area of counterfeit and embezzlement
dropped 34% last year.
“A factor for this decrease is quite
possibly an increase in the proactive nature of our investigators as
they target groups of criminals rather than the crime itself. Using
this approach has afforded these detectives the opportunity to maximize
the number of charges filed against these criminals through the district
attorney’s office,” said Sgt. Ginger Charles of the Arvada Police
Department.
In addition to solid detective work,
there are fewer checks being used as more people are transitioning to
debit cards.
“It’s important to analyze and track
crimes occurring in our community,” said Deputy Chief Creager. “Not
only does this process enable our department to better allocate resources,
but it also helps citizens become aware of what crimes may be impacting
their neighborhoods and their everyday lives.”
The Arvada Police Department is currently reporting crime statistics using an incident-based reporting (IBR) method.
The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was developed by
the Federal Bureau of Investigations to improve the statistical reporting
and analysis capabilities of the law enforcement community.
There are many advantages to incident-based crime reporting systems
over the summary-based crime reporting systems ranging from the ability
to conduct detailed crime analyses for a variety of law enforcement
agencies, and the expansion of data collection efforts to include 22
categories consisting of 46 offenses.
Group A Offenses 2007 2008 Crime Against Person
Assault – Aggravated 104 98 Assault – Simple 446 415 Homicide 4 1 Kidnapping 27 19 Sex Offenses 103 105 Crime Against Property
Arson 25 31 Burglary 439 409 Counterfeiting/Forgery 144 95 Embezzlement 1 0 Extortion/Blackmail 0 0 Fraud Offenses 326 361 Motor Vehicle Theft 245 240 Robbery 48 62 Stolen Property 48 38 Theft Offenses 1,974 2,084 Vandalism 1,267 1239 Crime Against Society
Drug Offenses 1,055 1,212 Gambling 0 0 Prostitution 7 4 Weapon Offenses 39 60 Total Offenses 6,613 2,412
