Going the right direction

Crime in Idaho is down, a new statewide report shows.

Crime in Kootenai County saw a 9.6 percent decrease from the year before, though the total rate — 54.1 incidents per 1,000 people — exceeds the state average of 39.6.

Violent crime, however, rose slightly last year. Statewide, the Gem State recorded 4,131 violent crimes, up 2 percent from the year before.

Clark County had the highest crime rate, at 107.4 incidents per 1,000 people. The lowest was Butte County, at 9.7.

Overall, 28 counties saw a decrease in crime. Butte County’s decrease was the largest: Its rate fell 52.4 percent. Teton County saw the biggest increase of the 16 counties that saw crime rise in 2018: Criminal incidents there were up 78.6 percent.

The most common type of violent crime reported stateside was aggravated assault, which accounted for 72.4 percent of the total, followed by rape, at 16.1 percent. Most violent crime — about 60 percent — occurs in the home, with 14 percent taking place on the street. One-fifth of violent-crime victims were juveniles. In 62 percent of juvenile cases and 53.7 percent of adult cases the victim was female.

Though violent crime rose, it is still fairly uncommon in Idaho relative to other U.S. states. The Gem State’s violent crime rate was 226.4 incidents per 100,000 residents. That’s the lowest of any Western states and the sixth-lowest in the country. The state with the least violent crime was Maine, with 121 incidents per 100,000. The violent crime rate in the District of Columbia is almost 10 times that, a 1,004.9 per 100,000 people. Alaska, which ranks 48th in terms of population, had the highest rate among the states, at 829 incidents per 100,000 people.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office handled 3,172 crimes in 2018, a 9.4 percent decrease from the year before. A little more than 2,000 of these cases, or 63.2 percent, were cleared. Officers made 3,423 arrests, nearly 5 percent fewer than a year ago, of which 93.9 percent were adults.

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department responded to 3,376 incidents, or about 9.2 per day, which was a 7.6 percent drop from a year ago. Of these cases, 2,099, or 62.2 percent, were cleared. Officers made 2,947 arrests, 84.7 percent of which were adults.

Capt. Dave Hagar of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department said the 37.8 percent of cases that are not cleared tend to be theft cases with little information available to the police, such as a bicycle being stolen from an open garage in the absence of security cameras, witnesses or other evidence like fingerprints.

The Post Falls Police Department handled 1,823 offenses, unchanged from the year before. Of these, 1,201 were cleared, or 65.9 percent. Officers made 1,565 arrests, 88.2 percent of which were adults.

In Rathdrum, police recorded 273 offenses, an 11.1 percent drop from a year ago. Officers cleared 175 of these crimes, or 64.1 percent. Some 82.1 percent of arrests were adults. Spirit Lake handled 115 crimes, an increase of more than 30 percent from a year ago. Of these offenses, only 32.2 percent of which, or 37, were cleared. Adults comprised 72.2 percent of its 54 arrests.

Lt. Ryan Higgins of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said the reason crime rates were rising is because officers have been working proactively and arresting more criminals.

“It’s because of the police work,” Higgins said. “We can be a very busy agency, but the deputies are doing a very good job of being proactive and putting these people into custody.”

Idaho saw 88,269 so-called “Group A” offenses in 2018, the statewide crime report said, which equated to a crime rate of 5,028.8 per 100,000 residents. That was a 1.8 percent decrease from the year before.

Group A offenses are part of the National Incident-Based Reporting System, a data collection protocol used by state and federal law enforcement agencies to track crime statistics.

Each of the 46 Group A offenses fall into one of three categories: Crimes against people, such as murder and rape; crimes against property, including robbery and burglary; and crimes against society, which encompasses drug offenses.

Hagar said the most common drugs police find in the area were cannabis and methamphetamine. Washington legalized cannabis for adult use in 2012: It’s commonly brought into Idaho, where it remains illegal. Hagar said meth’s popularity is part of a larger trend favoring the inexpensive drug.

Property crimes were the most prevalent, at 41,322 offenses statewide, or 46.8 percent of the total. Property crimes in Idaho saw a 6.5 percent decrease from the year before.

Crimes against society were the second-most common, with 28,141 offenses, or 31.9 percent of the total, up 10.6 percent from the previous year. Almost half of all crimes against society, or 49.4 percent, were drug-related.

Crimes against people were the least common, at 18,806 total offenses in Idaho, or 21.3 percent of the total, a 3.8 percent increase from 2017.

Across Idaho, 26 hate crimes were reported, a 49 percent decrease from the year before.

Crimes against law-enforcement officers were down 5.9 percent from the previous year. A total of 400 officers reported being assaulted. No law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2018.

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department uses statewide crime information to reduce crime and act more efficiently, Hagar said. It uses a form of policing that uses crime data and maps to deploy its resources in a bid to stay a step ahead of criminals. Hagar said the best way to keep crime rates low is for the community to be aware and exercise common sense. Last year, for instance, 86 percent of cars involved in robberies in Kootenai County were left unlocked or had the windows rolled down.

Crime on the Clock

Offense Frequency

Murder 11.8 days

Rape 13.2 hours

Drug crime 37.8 minutes

Robbery 1.8 days

Burglary 1.7 hours

Larceny 27.1 minutes

Vehicle theft 4.4 hours.

Arson 2.2 days

SOURCE: 2018 Crime in Idaho Report

CRIME BY COUNTY

COUNTY 2017 2018 CHANGE

Butte 20.33 9.68 -52.39% 1

Franklin 21.88 12.1 -44.70% 2

Camas 18.6 15.33 -17.58% 3

Jefferson 19.15 16.23 -15.25% 4

Lemhi 19.1 17.65 -7.59% 5

Madison 24.08 18.56 -22.92% 6

Lewis 30.56 18.81 -38.45% 7

Boundary 21.02 19.4 -7.71% 8

Blaine 19.14 20.3 6.06% 9

Caribou 33.34 25.2 -24.42% 10

Custer 17.86 26.54 48.60% 11

Oneida 35.1 28.09 -19.97% 12

Gem 31.07 29.15 -6.18% 13

Teton 17.42 31.11 78.59% 14

Idaho 27.18 32.22 18.54% 15

Fremont 33.85 32.44 -4.17% 16

Lincoln 32.49 33.46 2.99% 17

Latah 44.24 33.67 -23.89% 18

Washington 21.75 35.69 64.09% 19

Minidoka 38.18 37.14 -2.72% 20

Clearwater 56.88 38.64 -32.07% 21

Bear Lake 40.58 39.09 -3.67% 22

Gooding 36.24 39.59 9.24% 23

Power 31.03 39.8 28.26% 24

Cassia 44.85 41.08 -8.41% 25

Jerome 46.88 41.83 -10.77% 26

Bingham 47.63 42.08 -11.65% 27

Owyhee 50.05 43.23 -13.63% 28

Bonneville 47.59 45.07 -5.30% 29

Bonner 40.68 46 13.08% 30

Elmore 47.21 46.72 -1.04% 31

Ada 50.68 47.65 -5.98% 32

Boise 38.32 49.76 29.85% 33

Valley 57.8 50.65 -12.37% 34

Benewah 47.07 51.28 8.94% 35

Payette 45.88 53.33 16.24% 36

Kootenai 59.88 54.11 -9.64% 37

Adams 69.59 55.09 -20.84% 38

Canyon 56.63 56.95 0.57% 39

Twin Falls 61.99 58.23 -6.07% 40

Shoshone 69.01 63.31 -8.26% 41

Nez Perce 63.27 64.96 2.67% 42

Bannock 63.82 75.04 17.58% 43

Clark 73.03 107.39 47.05% 44