Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Gillespie: Despite down economy, Las Vegas following trend of lower crime

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Sheriff Doug Gillespie

Beyond the Sun

Statistics released by the FBI this week show crime in Las Vegas decreased last year — and Sheriff Doug Gillespie said Tuesday that pattern is continuing into 2010.

Violent crimes and property crimes decreased in Las Vegas in 2009, falling in line with a national trend, according to an annual FBI report.

Fewer murders, rapes and robberies occurred in Metro Police jurisdiction in 2009 compared to 2008, according to the report. There were 111 murders or non-negligent manslaughters in Metro's jurisdiction in 2009, nine fewer than in 2008.

Aggravated assaults edged up in 2009 with 7,735 reported cases as opposed to 7,543 in 2008 within Metro's jurisdiction, according to the report.

Gillespie said crime in Las Vegas is down 25 percent compared to five years ago — a fact he attributes to a more robust police force.

With more officers, Gillespie said the department has been able to shift resources to combat crime, including more undercover and long-term investigations that have resulted in recent raids on Las Vegas businesses.

The drop in crime follows a nationwide trend: In 2009, violent crimes decreased for the third straight year and property crimes decreased for the seventh straight year across the country, the FBI's annual crime report shows.

Violent crimes and property crimes last year declined 5.3 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, compared to 2008, according to the report.

Despite the ailing economy, Gillespie said tough times don't necessarily translate into more crime.

In fact, he said, some studies indicate the family unit becomes stronger because people are spending more time together by not going out to spend money, which can deter crime. People also are more conscious about protecting their valuables, so they tend to lock car and home doors, he said.

Even so, Gillespie said progress in a decline in auto burglaries appears to be shrinking, so Metro plans to remind the public to take extra safety measures in light of the holidays approaching. It's that type of crime information Gillespie and Metro officers discuss during weekly crime meetings, when they dissect data to spot trends and educate the public.

"We're more able to allocate our resources based on trending than we ever have been before," he said.

Lately, they have been noticing an uptick of murder-suicides in Las Vegas — close to 10 this year alone, he said.

Property crimes last year declined most significantly across the valley — down 10.3 percent in Las Vegas, down 12.1 percent in North Las Vegas and down 11 percent in Henderson, according to the crime report.

North Las Vegas and Henderson bucked the national downward trend for violent crimes in 2009 with a 2.9 percent and 15.6 percent increase, respectively, according to the crime report. Despite the 15.6 increase, Henderson still boasts the smallest number of violent crimes in the Las Vegas Valley, with 612 last year.

North Las Vegas reported six more murders for a total of 17 in 2009, but Henderson had one fewer murder last year than the previous year, with four.

Because numbers can fluctuate from year to year, North Las Vegas Police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said the department looks at trends over a three- or five-year period. From that perspective, she said North Las Vegas has followed the national downward trend of violent crimes.

Coon said aggravated assaults increased slightly in that timeframe, largely because of public campaigns urging people to report domestic violence batteries, which are often lumped into the aggravated assault category.

North Las Vegas had 29 murders in 2007, 11 in 2008 and 17 in 2009, Coon said.

"The peak of 29 in '07 is probably an anomaly," she said, adding the same is likely true for the significant decrease in 2008.

Like Gillespie, Coon credited the overall downward crime trend to hiring sprees in which North Las Vegas hired officers in "double digits" for a couple years.

"When you get that huge increase in resources, you're able to get more cops on scene quicker," she said.

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