Criminal incident statistics for 2014 released by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation showed that all over the state the crime scenario remains almost unchanged with just a 1% decrease in overall crime rate. This includes both property and violent crimes. However, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department had another story to tell.
Criminal incidents have spiked by a massive 10% in the area and this is just a cumulative rate which seems tame when compared to the increase in specific criminal incident categories. For example:
- In 2014, arson rates grew the most by a whopping 300%.
- Robberies were not far behind with a rise of nearly 250%.
- An estimated 55% more motor vehicle thefts were reported in the region.
- DUI’s also went up by 30%.
Only theft showed a minor decrease of about 4% while burglary numbers did not move from the level they held in 2013. The District Attorney Dan Rubenstein was quick to sugar coat this information by saying that man slaughter numbers did not see a rise and remained at 2 incidents per annum and the number of sexual assault cases plunged by almost 35%.
However, the sentiment on the street is in striking contrast to the optimistic views of Rubenstein. One of the residents clearly stated that she would not feel safe in her own home without a gun and a man around. This is a clear wakeup call for the police if there ever was one.
While Rubenstein acknowledged that there has been a steady increase in the criminal incident rates of the area, he also made a feeble attempt at passing the buck by stating that this can be attributed to greater awareness among the populace, which has led to a greater number of people reporting criminal incidents.
One thing is clear, residents do not care much about the statements made by law enforcement agencies in the area and would like to see clear results to feel safe.