Crime numbers fall in Cape Girardeau, county

With cities across the country erupting in shootings, protests and assaults last year, it might have seemed like there was no safe haven from violence.

However, just-released crime statistics for Missouri and the local region tell a different story.

Missouri State Highway Patrol's Uniform Crime Reporting data show the state had 25,954 violent crimes in 2014, down from 26,163 in 2013. The FBI's classification of violent crime includes criminal homicide (murder plus non-negligent manslaughter), rape, attempted rape and robbery.

Burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson are classified as property crimes. In Missouri in 2014, there were 169,326 property crimes, down from 190,710 in 2013.

Cape Girardeau

While Cape Girardeau saw its share of violence in 2014, the downward trend continued on the local level.

The city saw 206 violent crimes, down from 258 in 2013. The number of property crimes also fell to 1,643 from 2,018.

Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair said the reduction is attributed to officer diligence and professionalism, and community events and partnerships.

"In all, I think we had a good year," he said in a statement. "Yes, we had four homicides in a very short span over the summer, and we consider even one loss of life to be a horrible and unnecessary tragedy. However, we experienced an 18 percent reduction in violent crime and a 10 percent reduction in property crime from the previous year."

In June, one man was found dead from a gunshot wound in his car near the intersection of Henderson Avenue and Good Hope Street; another was shot to death in the 800 block of Jefferson Avenue. Two men were killed in a shooting in August on South Middle Street.

Blair said officers "have worked tirelessly, with limited resources, to build bonds with our community while aggressively pursuing those who want to commit criminal acts.

"Coffee with Cops, National Night Out and the other community events that are too numerous to mention are merely public examples of the relationships that our police officers quietly work to build on a daily basis," he continued. "Policing a community in a free society could not be effectively accomplished without these partnerships. I couldn't be prouder of our police officers and our community for the hard work we all did."

Two areas where crime numbers rose slightly were arsons, up from nine in 2013 to 11 in 2014, and vehicle thefts, which rose from 57 in 2013 to 61 in 2014.

Cpl. Darin Hickey, public information officer for the department, said those numbers fluctuate from year to year, and little can be done to predict those crimes.

"Those are very hard crimes -- arson especially is a very hard crime to solve. Those numbers fluctuate year to year. ... There's really no prediction in that. There's no prediction in any crime, because you're dealing with a human element that's committing crimes. So we do what we can to try to pre-emptively be prepared for unfortunate patrols, but it's very difficult."

Blair said going forward, the force hopes to strengthen relationships with community groups to help make Cape Girardeau safer.

Cape Girardeau County

Crime in Cape Girardeau County was down in 2014 as well. Instances of violent crime dropped from 298 in 2013 to 244 in 2014.

There was a 17 percent drop in property crime, from 2,569 in 2013 to 2,144 in 2014.

Capt. David James of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department was encouraged to hear the numbers had fallen, but couldn't pin down one explanation for the drop.

"We're all, as police officers, working harder to make a difference to slow the crime down or stop it. ... I really don't know what the answer is."

James pointed out sometimes data can be skewed, depending on the types of calls that come in. For example, a call that comes in as a report of burglary might, over the course of an investigation, turn out to be a case of trespassing.

"To me those statistical numbers aren't necessarily completely accurate, I don't think. ... Hopefully we're doing more right and slowing down the ebb and tide of crime."

Perry County

While Perry County trended downward in property crimes, it had an increase in violent crime in 2014.

The county had 43 violent crimes last year, up from 32 in 2013.

However, the number of property crimes fell, from 232 in 2013 to 214 in 2014.

Helping account for some of that violent crime were a greater number of rapes reported in rural Perry County and Perryville.

The county had seven reports of rape last year, up from two in 2013. Four of those were in Perryville and three in rural Perry County.

Sheriff Gary Schaaf and Perryville police chief Direk Hunt both pointed to a greater number of children coming forward to report abuse as an explanation for that increase.

"I think in a way people are feeling more comfortable, if they feel that they've been abused, coming forward and talking to law enforcement," Hunt said. He attributes that comfort to programs in the high school and elementary schools that teach children what is unacceptable touching.

"Some of these children are disclosing more based on feeling safe that they can talk to their teachers and things. Which is a good thing, if they're being abused," Hunt said. "We want them to feel safe that they can talk to a teacher or social worker or somebody like that, so we can look into it as a possible criminal matter if it is criminal, in fact."

Hunt said he worked more sex crime cases as a detective before becoming chief than the department has had in the past couple years.

"I don't think were're getting any more than what we ever have had for sex crimes. I think at one point our sex crimes were significantly higher, a few years back."

Hunt said one case was solved recently with the help of DNA evidence. "We're getting ready to put out a warrant on a guy." A couple of the other reported rapes turned out to be unfounded.

Hunt said he was glad property crimes are down; usually he expects those to be higher.

"I think we have a pretty safe community."

Schaaf, like Hunt, said the increase in rape numbers was likely from "child molestation-type cases."

"It comes and goes. Especially when you're talking about small numbers like that, one or two can really skew your percentages. So I would say it's probably been about an average year for that."

One thing Schaaf said he is particularly proud of is the department's clearance, or solve, rate for burglaries.

"We have about an 80 percent clearance rate from last year. ... The last time I looked the national average was like 13 percent," Schaaf said. That means 80 percent of the burglaries were solved and the department obtained warrants for the people responsible.

"That's the good part of it. If you catch the ones that are doing it, they won't be out doing it anymore."

Elsewhere

Going against the downward trend last year was Scott County.

The number of violent crimes there was up from 394 in 2013 to 438 in 2014. Property crime also was on the rise, from 2013's 1,369 to 1,460 last year.

Bollinger County's violent crime rate was down by more than half, from 40 occurrences in 2013 to 16 in 2014. Property crime also was down, from 140 instances in 2013 to 114 in 2014.

kwebster@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO

Cape Girardeau County, MO

Scott County, MO

Perryville, MO

Perry County, MO

Stoddard County, MO

Bollinger County, MO

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By the numbers

Missouri

2014

Violent: 25,954

Property: 169,326

2013

Violent: 26,163

Property: 190,710

Cape Girardeau County

2014

Violent: 244

Property: 2,144

2013

Violent: 298

Property: 2,569

Perry County

2014

Violent: 43

Property: 214

2013

Violent: 32

Property: 232

Scott County

2014

Violent: 438

Property: 1,460

2013

Violent: 394

Property: 1,369

Bollinger County

2014

Violent: 16

Property: 114

2013

Violent: 40

Property: 140

Source: Missouri State Highway Patrol*'s Uniform Crime Reporting data