Reports show conflicting views of crime in Nevada

Brendan Riley

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 11:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Depending on whom you listen to, Nevada's crime rate is dropping -- or it could be "the most dangerous state" because of murders, rapes, robberies and other crimes that occur here.

The state's version, detailed Thursday in the annual "Crime and Justice in Nevada" report, shows violent crime dropped by nearly 17 percent last year and nonviolent crime dropped by 8.5 percent, compared with 1997 totals.

Nevada Highway Patrol Chief Mike Hood, who released the report, said the findings are heartening and show a continuing pattern of less crime despite Nevada's booming growth.

"Those of us who work in the profession of law enforcement and witness on a daily basis the heartbreak and loss caused by crime are appreciative of any decreases," he added.

The "most dangerous state" designation comes from Morgan Quitno Press, a Lawrence, Kan.-based research and publishing company, in its annual report for the nation that came out earlier this month.

The company noted that Nevada climbed back into first place this year after falling to third place last year. It also had the first-place designation in 1996 and 1997.

But Morgan said Nevada is making headway in reversing its high crime rates, noting that the violent crime rate in the state fell 1.6 percent from 1996 to 1997, the most recent years for which final state crime data are available from the FBI.

Nevada officials prefer the findings in the NHP report, since it shows a lower crime rate of about 50 crimes per 1,000 residents in 1998. Morgan Quitno couldn't access the 1998 data from the FBI, and relied on 1997 information showing a rate of nearly 58 crimes per 1,000 residents.

But the state report still has some grim information, including a finding that criminals in Nevada committed about five times as many crimes in 1998 as police and sheriffs were able to clear up.

The 22 percent clearance rate -- 20,409 of a total 92,921 reported "index" crimes last year -- is down from a nearly 25 percent state average in 1997 and a 24 percent average in 1996, according to the Nevada study.

Crimes included in the total were murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson.

The NHP report lacks 1998 comparisons with other states. But in 1997 Nevada's 24.5 percent clearance rate compared with a 20 percent rate for Western mountain states and just under 22 percent nationally.

Clearances are defined as the identification of a criminal, getting enough evidence to file a charge, and actual arrests. In some cases, a criminal could still be free because a victim refused to cooperate with authorities; or could be imprisoned in another state.

In terms of all crimes, the state study shows a 9.6 percent drop in reports of serious crimes in 1998. That includes the 16.7 percent decrease in violent crimes and the 8.5 percent slump in nonviolent crimes.

A breakdown of the violent crimes shows reported murders in Nevada were down 9.8 percent; rapes were down 9.6 percent, robbery was down 12.5 percent, and aggravated assault was down 20.9 percent.

Other highlights of the report include a "Nevada crime clock" which shows there's a crime of some sort committed every 5 minutes and 39 seconds in the state. That includes a burglary every 26 1/2 minutes, one violent crime every 47 minutes, an auto theft every 38 minutes, a robbery every hour and 58 minutes, a rape about every 10 hours, and one murder every other day.