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Stats aren’t cause for concern, leaders say

Donna Swicegood | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | May 1, 2008

In 2007, the city of Statesville saw its homicide rate triple over the previous year.

While that might indicate crime is increasing, law enforcement officials said a jump in statistics doesn’t necessarily mean the streets are more dangerous; and a jump in population doesn’t directly correlate to more crime.

For example, in 1999, Statesville’s population was 20,399 and 290 violent crimes were reported. In 2005, the city’s population was 24,896 and only 264 violent crimes were reported. However, there was only one murder and non-negligent manslaughter in 1999 and there were 4 in 2005 — which could be interpreted as a 400 percent increase.

A lot of factors can increase the numbers, said Sheriff Phil Redmond.

“One year with a couple of multiple homicides can drive the statistics way up, but yet, there hasn’t been a crime wave,” he said.

Statesville Police Depart-ment Assistant Chief Tom Anderson agreed that statistics can be misleading. Like Redmond, he said, one or two incidents can triple rates from the previous year, without meaning crime is rampant.

Redmond said the reporting factor can also mean stats will increase, but that doesn’t mean crime is worsening.

For example, he said, many people report incidents that a few years ago would not have merited a call to law enforcement.

“In the old days, people might have handled something between themselves. Now they call us,” he said. He cited examples of parents calling to have a deputy talk to a child who won’t go to school.

All those incidents generate a call, which in turn generates statistical information.

One or two catastrophic wrecks can also affect serious accident figures.

On the road
A wreck involving a multi-passenger vehicle, for example, that causes numerous deaths can mean fatality statistics for that year go through the roof, said Lt. Everett Clendenin, public information officer for the N.C. Highway Patrol.

In reality, he said, the highways aren’t any more dangerous than before, but the numbers might make citizens think the roads are dangerous.

Law enforcement officials in Troutman and Statesville said they plan to concentrate heavily on traffic enforcement with the growth in order to curb the number of wrecks.

Anderson and Troutman Police Chief Matthew Selves said the majority of the collisions local officials deal with don’t result in serious injuries or deaths.

The main focus on speed enforcement is to keep traffic flowing, Anderson and Selves said.

Redmond said law enforcement officials use statistics for planning purposes, but do not rely heavily on them for crime trends. Statistics, he said, are important for looking at areas experiencing an increase in break-ins or high levels of drug activity.

Anderson said those statistics used for collisions can mean the need for road improvements or increased patrols if speed is a factor in some collisions.

Overall, Redmond said, statistics are a tool but should not be a reason for people to panic if a spike is observed.

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