http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/spd039s-2012-uniform-crime-report-shows-2-increase-crime_53310.mp3
The Springfield Police Department's annual "Uniform Crime Report" for 2012 is complete. That's the report that shows which areas of crime are on the rise and which ones are on the decline. While some areas have improved over the past year, overall, reported crimes are up. KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann spoke to the Springfield Police Department and has this report.
Each year, the Springfield Police Department tracks crime statistics and trends in its Uniformed Crime Report, or UCR. Major Kirk Manlove is a spokesman with the SPD.
“We did have an overall rise in crime of 2.39 percent. And basically the Uniformed Crime Reporting program is, we report to the FBI along with hundreds of other agencies throughout the U.S. about what their crime rate is in specific categories,” Manlove says.
Manlove says robbery was up in 2012, with more residential robberies than in previous years. He says what’s unusual about many of the break-ins is that many were daytime burglaries.
Manlove also says reported rape is up, from 110 in 2011 to 141 in 2012. He says that most of these rape cases were not attacks by strangers, but rather by someone that victim knew or had just met.
Manlove says the biggest increase the report shows for 2012 reflects "crimes against persons," which is up 22 percent.
“We saw a really big increase in assaults this year. One of the things we noticed is a majority of those are domestic violence assaults. One of the things we tried to do in the last part of 2012 is we’re partnering with some of the domestic abuse service agencies like Harmony House, the Victim Center and Community Partnership of the Ozarks. We want to try to work on some preventative measures to help abuse victims get some help,” says Manlove.
Manlove says the annual report is a valuable tool to target areas needing improvement. He says focusing on prevention, and community awareness can make a dramatic drop in crime.
He says he feels one reason theft from vehicles is down by 28 percent is because of the department's efforts to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.
For KSMU News, I’m Theresa Bettmann.