Property crime up sharply in valley

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

Nationally property crime declined 1 percent last year from the previous year, but during the same period property crime in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County jumped 20 percent, according to a preliminary report of the FBI's crime statistics.

Metro Police said the statistics underscore the department's need to hire more property crime detectives.

According to a report by a consulting group that analyzed Metro's operations, the property crimes section is the most understaffed and needs an additional 34 detectives to keep up with the workload.

"The detectives here are working hard and I don't have enough," Lt. Larry Spinosa, head of Metro's property crimes section, said, adding that his section gets 5,000 new cases per month.

The FBI report also notes that violent crime in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County increased by 2 percent last year while declining by 3.2 percent nationwide.

Nationally, homicide was the only violent crime on the increase, rising last year by about 178 cases, or 1.1 percent.

Metro had a 5 percent increase in homicides; there were 137 in 2002 and 144 last year.

The uptick in homicides in recent years might be attributed to increased drug activity and more guns on the streets, experts said.

Attorney General John Ashcroft cited tougher law enforcement methods and stiffer sentences for habitual criminals for driving down the nation's violent crime rate.

"Hard-core criminals are paying unprecedented penalties, and law-abiding Americans are enjoying newfound safety," Ashcroft said in a statement.

That's not the case in Las Vegas, however. Sheriff Bill Young said crime overall has jumped 25 percent in the past two years, and if the trend continues, it could hurt tourism.

He is pushing for a sales tax increase to pay for more police officers.

Robbery in Metro's jurisdiction rose 4 percent, from 3,776 in 2002 to 3,955 last year. Rape increased 3 percent, from 494 in 2002 to 511 in 2003.

Larceny/theft was the property crime that increased at the greatest rate in Metro's jursidiction last year, according to the FBI report. In 2003 there were 30,052 cases reported and 24,204 in 2002, for a 24 percent jump.

Motor vehicle theft in Metro's jurisdiction rose 17 percent in 2003 compared with the year before, and burglary climbed 14 percent, the report says.

Arson is the only crime that decreased in Metro's jurisdiction. In 2002 there were 288 incidents and 280 last year, for a 2 percent decline. It dropped 6.9 percent nationally compared with 2002.

Decreases in crime were reported in all regions of the country, with the Midwest showing the steepest drop at 7 percent. The decreases were 3.2 percent for the Northeast, 2.7 percent for the South and 1.2 percent for the West.

The numbers come from 11,921 law enforcement agencies around the country that participated in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The final report for 2003 will be released in the fall.

The Associated Press

contributed to this story.