Quantcast
MobileRJ | RSS TwitterTwitter FacebookFacebook E-mail Alerts
Home manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

sponsored by
News
Jan. 10, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas crime figures show downward trend

By LAWRENCE MOWER
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL



The number of homicides and sexual assaults rose slightly in Las Vegas last year, but every other crime category within the Metropolitan Police Department's jurisdiction fell, in some cases dramatically.

Automobile thefts dropped by 30 percent last year and traffic fatalities by 15 percent, improvements Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie attributed to targeted efforts.

Most Popular Stories
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • Three suspects arrested in shooting death of police officer
  • FATAL SHOOTING: Police again mourn comrade
  • NORM: Biden finds rank has its privileges
  • NORM: Walton: Coach deserved a punch
  • Two of three suspects in slaying of officer could face death penalty
  • DEADLY HOME INVASION: Police suspect link to family
  • Station Casinos posts $455 million third-quarter loss
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • Las Vegas police shoot at man fleeing after traffic stop
  • NORM: 'Girls Gone Wild' creator feels heat
  • UNLV sacks football coach Sanford




    • The drop in crime came despite one of the sharpest economic declines in Southern Nevada's history, as unemployment rose to record levels and growth slowed to a crawl in the second half of the year.

    "Some indicators that are there tell us that some of these things that we're doing, they're working," Gillespie said.

    Auto thefts, once a reliable black mark for the city in national comparisons, decreased for the third year in a row. Nearly 11,500 cars were stolen in the department's jurisdiction last year, down from an all-time high of nearly 20,000 in 2005, according to preliminary statistics from the department.

    Robberies also fell, by about 11 percent last year, and burglaries experienced a slight decrease.

    Las Vegas joined other cities in experiencing crime drops. Baltimore saw the fewest homicides in two decades, according to news reports, and the Los Angeles Police Department saw crime decreases in nearly every category.

    A poor economy, contrary to the belief that it can increase crime, might instead have been a factor in driving it down, said University of Nevada, Las Vegas assistant professor Bill Sousa.

    Criminologists have theorized that when the economy is good for everyone, it's good for criminals, too, he said. And when it's bad, it's bad for everyone.

    "It's sort of intuitive that if one thing must go up, the other thing must go down," Sousa said. "But that's not necessarily the case."

    Because more people are unemployed or watching their wallets, they're more likely to spend free time at home, making them less appealing targets for burglars.

    But Sousa said the economy might be having an effect on domestic violence, which can be driven by more stressful home situations.

    Homicides last year were buoyed by a spike in domestic violence-related slayings. Those crimes made up more than a third of all homicides -- more than gang- or dispute-driven killings, according to the department's statistics.

    Gillespie said his department started targeting that trend, and late last year the department's Crimes Against Youth and Family Bureau created a new task force designed to prevent domestic violence killings.

    Detectives are going after repeat domestic violence offenders and working with victims on getting them help, Capt. Vincent Cannito said.

    That task force coincides with a pilot program to be rolled out this month where officers who respond to domestic violence calls will contact local shelters depending on how the victim responds to a questionnaire.

    "We're optimistic that we're going to be able to identify those most at risk and provide them an avenue for assistance," Cannito said.

    Gillespie praised the efforts of his civilian and law enforcement members of the department, who he said have come up with innovative ways to prevent crimes.

    He attributed the drop in fatal accidents to ideas, born in group brainstorming sessions, such as blanketing freeways with patrol officers during morning commutes. He said the tactic has helped prevent motorists from speeding not just on the freeway, but once they get off the freeway.

    The quarter-cent sales-tax increase for more officers has also let the department assign more patrol officers to high-crime areas, such as the neighborhood west of the Boulevard Mall, the lower Fremont Street corridor and the historic West Las Vegas neighborhood.

    "I'll guarantee you today, if you drive down there you'll see a black and white. You'll see somebody on a bicycle wearing a cop uniform," Gillespie said. "Three to four years ago you wouldn't necessarily have seen that as much on a regular basis."

    The drastic drop in auto thefts is a bright point for the department, which for years watched its numbers skyrocket along with the valley's booming population.

    Lt. Bob DuVall's VIPER unit, a focused auto theft task force that includes detectives from the North Las Vegas and Henderson police departments, has helped bring the numbers down.

    The unit added more bait cars to its fleet last year, targeted chop-shops and received high-tech cameras that can quickly scan license plates in crowded places, such as parking garages, for stolen cars.

    During the holiday season, the unit also deployed psychological techniques against would-be thieves, in the form of signs announcing that bait cars were in use at parking lots in the Boulevard Mall, Meadows Mall and Las Vegas Premium Outlets. Whether the cars were actually in use, only the police know, but only one car was stolen from the lots while the signs were up, DuVall said.

    Review-Journal writer Antonio Planas contributed to this report.

    Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Leave Your Comment 20 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    WONDERING wrote on January 11, 2009 11:40 AM: "Some indicators that are there tell us that some of these things that we're doing, they're working," Gillespie said.

    Would REFUSAL TO ALLOW VICTIMS TO FILE POLICE REPORTS, the fact that the courthouse is crawling with criminals in robes and that dirty cops are allegedly shooting themselves on railroad tracks be some of the things you're doing to project the "DROP IN CRIME?

    JUST WONDERING.


    Peachie wrote on January 10, 2009 09:09 PM: If you big tough guys on your keyboards think you can do a better job then go apply.


    Herb wrote on January 10, 2009 06:24 PM: Yes Blue Knight. One time I had a taxi driver get out of his car and come to my window shaking his fist. I should have taken his license number. Keep in mind I wasn't driving slow, I was at the speed limit and this cab driver was outraged.

    Here are my two favorite diving stories, they both happened around a year ago. The cops pulled over a jerk tailgating me. Then a few days latter they gave a ticket to a jaywalker who walked right in front of me in busy traffic. Like I said the more police the better, the innocent have nothing to worry about.


    What-al-lie wrote on January 10, 2009 06:04 PM: If metro...mgt wants to pound their chests for the dropped in some crime..their bs'n the public. Metro's is all about political correctness..started by coward jerry (I love gays)keller. The morons he placed in mgt positions were all yes men..and they followed with his sissy policies today. Take ray, (I'm a fat drunk), Flynn...this idiot ebbs with what ever way the wind blows...The leaders are all gone. What you have today are a bunch of self centered cowards..who back stab each other for their own benefit. The Officers that are worth a darn are just doing their time to get out. Esprit de corp is gone...dizzy gillespie is a joke..The exodus of illegal mexicans is a big reason for the drop in crime. Don't kid yourself.


    Blue Knight wrote on January 10, 2009 04:49 PM: Herb, your first comment about the drivers speeding, tailgating, flipping people off, etc, must be about the taxi drivers! I swear their footfeeds are connected to their horns.


    Ciera Banks wrote on January 10, 2009 11:50 AM: HOW CAN I BECOME AN CSI PERSON DOWN IN LAS VEGAS I WANT TO BECOME THTA OR A POLICE WOMAN I AM ONLY 21 YEARS OLD NO RECORD I WORK 2 JOB THAT DON'T PAY ENOUGH MONEY$$$$$$$$$$$$ TO WHERE I CAN HELP OTHER PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO STAY I WISH MY DREAM CAN BECOME TRUE I WANT TO BE AN CSI PERSON BAD PLEASE HELP ME! MAKE MY DREAM COME TRUE.


    Herb wrote on January 10, 2009 10:41 AM: One other point, I really like to see crime go down as the economy tanks. This proves it's a liberal lie that crime is simply a reaction to economic hardship. Wrong liberals! Crime is a character defect. Criminals are all around horrible human beings, they are morally inferior to us higher evolved non-criminals. Criminals are rotten to the core, they will commit their dastardly deeds in both in good times and bad.


    Herb wrote on January 10, 2009 10:17 AM: I am in favor of excess cops. They need to write more speeding tickets. I drive the speed limit and am sick and tired of these dangerous drivers who tailgate me, throw their hands in the air, and flip me off. Then I see them change lanes and drive at a dangerous rate of speed, yet we still hit the same red light. Come on Metro, please write more speeding tickets and punish these dangerous speed demons, besides we need the revenue.

    As for overall crime statistics, if homicide is going up there is still a lot of work to be done. The key is longer sentences, the introduction of torture in prisons, and much more widespread use of the death penalty.


    aaron wrote on January 10, 2009 09:35 AM: I second Jay T. Get rid of the excess cops. When I first moved to town, you'd never see cops, it was great. I never felt unsafe either. The cops here don't even respond in a timely fashion, that is why no one calls them any more.

    They wont even come out for a stolen car. Really?


    Joe Friday wrote on January 10, 2009 09:10 AM: Jay T makes a good point. If crime is down then Metro needs to lay off some of their excess people. After all, they were hired because of the "increase in crime".


    Read All Comments