York Police Department Report– 2010
Times being what they have been, it would be correct in saying that these are very challenging times for any municipal department. The economic downturn in 2008 created a domino effect which has been felt at every level of government. Over the last few years, we have been asked to do more with less even though the demands for our service have increased. I want to express my appreciation to my staff that have endured these times and have continued to devote themselves to all of you and their job.
I would like to thank everyone in York for their exceptional support and encouragement over the last year. There is no question we are undeniably in tough times that require unique and progressive approaches to be successful in meeting the town’s needs while keeping costs contained. I believe; we in the police department have achieved many of our goals and objectives over the last year by being inventive and “thinking outside the box”. We shared resources, partnered with other towns on similar problems and sought out alternative funding and equipment through grants and donations. My thanks go out to my dedicated staff, which support our town day in and day out. The credit for our success comes from the hard work of these individuals. I can assure you that these employees understand these are tough times for all and they will meet the challenges ahead because they are extremely proud of the people they serve and the Town they represent.
I would also like to recognize many of our citizens who go out of their way to offer encouragement, words of thanks for a job well done, and expressions of kindness in forms such as home baked goods routinely dropped off at the police station. Please accept the sincerest thanks, from the bottom of my heart. These expressions truly mean a great deal to those who serve you each and every day. I would also like to recognize all who have donated to our community through our giving programs such as Secret Santa and Christmas for the Elderly. These acts of generosity enable us to reach out to the less fortunate and less capable within our community to lift them up when times are tough. York is a truly special community because of this spirit!
Police calls for service remained fairly consistent over the past four years; however this year we experienced an increase which may have been in part due to the exceptional weather we had during the summer months. The silver lining to the increase in calls for service was the increase of parking revenues by $25,000. As the workload of the police department continues to grow, we are seeing a certain change in trends which raises concern and requires us to redirect our operations to address them. The Seacoast area continues to experience increases in drug trafficking and criminal activity relating to those involved with serious drugs. Crimes against people rose significantly in several categories. Simple assaults were up 8% and harassment complaints were up 31%. Property crimes followed the same pattern with burglaries up 29%, criminal trespass up 16%, and vandalism up 61%. In addition, we experienced another year of increases in social and mental health related calls, which were up 17%. Suicides and attempted suicides again remained high this year with 23. Although many of these trends often times have their roots in substance abuse, there is also a very strong correlation to the “main streaming” of our mental health patients across the country. The dramatic reductions in state and federal subsidies to fund programs targeting treatment, housing, and education for individuals of these groups is placing a serious burden back on the towns. As always we are looking for new ways to help address some of these needs before they become criminal justice issues.
Their hard work is apparent again this year with a 47% increase in charges for adult drug offenses, a 45% increase in summons for violations, and a 14% increase in felony grand jury indictments for the year. These indictments involve the most serious offenses such as drug trafficking, burglaries, major larcenies, and severe crimes against people such as rape, aggravated assaults and domestic violence. Officers also arrested 80 individuals for violating the conditions of their release on bail after an arrest or on violations of protection orders placed on them by the courts. They were also responsible for conducting over 1,435 checks on individuals who were out on probation with court ordered restrictions to insure they were abiding by those conditions. These efforts provide a great impetus for offenders in our community to follow their prescribed restrictions or face arrest.
As your Chief, my primary concerns in these difficult times are to sustain the safety of everyone and to maintain the quality of life we all desire to have in our community. Although increases in crime are not what any of us want to see, it certainly is not due to a lack of action on the part of the men and women of the York Police Department. Our staff regularly assesses what we consider are the “real and immediate threats” facing our community and tailor our responses by changing patrol patterns and by focusing additional resources on these threats to help combat them. Many of the crimes involved in the increases depicted in the last paragraph have already been solved by good police work. Anyone who lives in York can attest to the fact our police force is highly visible and very active in the community 24 hours a day. Their individual efforts and diligence are many times the reason they identify and arrest those involved in committing crimes in our community. Their actions also serve as a positive deterrence to others who might consider committing crimes in York. Overall, York continues to be a very safe place to live.
I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize several awards bestowed on my staff for their great work during this year. The first involved our detective unit for their great efforts involved in last year’s conviction of an individual responsible for a string of commercial burglaries and arsons in ME and NH. These fires and burglaries resulted in millions of dollars in losses and terrorized the “Seacoast area for months. The work in this case is a testament to their perseverance and dedication and I could not be more proud of them. Captain Kevin LeConte and Detective Sgt. Thomas Cryan of the York Police Department, as well as other detectives in ME and NH were recognized by Maine US Attorney, Paula Silsby with the “Outstanding Achievement Award” for their investigative work and subsequent arrest of the individual involved in these terrible fires and burglaries. Officer Tyler Gagne was also recognized with a Bravery Award from the Maine Association of Police for his actions involving an armed subject who had discharged a firearm in a neighborhood before barricading himself in a residence. Officer Gagne was able to safely evacuate people from the home and neighborhood before the standoff ended. The York Police Department was also named the winner for the third year in a row for the Maine Law Enforcement Challenge Award. This award is sponsored by the Bureau of Highway Safety (BHS) in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Thanks to Lt. Charles Szeniawski, Ptl. Owen Davis, Ptl. Matt Calcina and Administrative Secretary Kelly MacNeill for their hard work in putting this presentation together and for managing the department’s highway safety programs and grants. Lastly I would like to welcome Kevin Marrie of Swampscott, MA who was hired in August to fill a vacant patrol position left by Ptl. Tyler Hathorne’s retirement. We wish Kevin the best in his new career.
In addition to our investigative and enforcement activities we have continued to invest time and resources into our highway safety, crime prevention, and substance abuse programs. Education and awareness efforts have proven to raise public awareness and result in higher voluntary compliance rates. We do not enjoy taking enforcement actions against individuals yet we find no pleasure in having to make notifications when someone has died or has been injured, especially when those outcomes could have been avoided. This police department remains committed to being at the forefront of efforts to keep everyone safe.
Everyone in the department is extremely excited with the prospect of building a new police facility as it moves forward for a vote this year. I want to thank everyone who has worked hard to bring this proposal forward, especially the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager Rob Yandow and members of the building committee who have given many hours of their time to insure that the project is well thought out and as cost effective as possible in these economic times. The committee members realize that this project comes with a significant cost, but all agree that it is a long overdue necessary investment in the Town’s infrastructure. We have watched the projected costs for this building go from $2,000,000 in the mid 1990s to over $5,000,000 in the mid 2000s. I believe, in listening to those in the building trades, that this is the most suitable time from an economic standpoint to build this facility as bond costs are at historically low rates and construction costs are still low as well. There is also no doubt in looking toward the future that these factors will not stay the same for long. I believe that we have found a satisfactory piece of land that will enhance the department’s abilities to respond quickly to emergencies anywhere in York. The architects have completed a conceptual design of the facility and the committee has done its due diligence in reviewing and reducing the plan from its original size in attempt to balance needs with costs. This facility will meet the needs of the police department for the next 25 – 50 years.
I can only hope that everyone realizes how critical our needs are in our present facility. We went to the vacant Beach Elementary School in 1981 as a temporary solution to the overcrowding at the present Town Hall. The plans were to utilize the building until a new facility could be built in 10-15 years. Some 31 years later, we believe that we have done as much as humanly possible to get every ounce of worth out of this building. It was built in 1903 as a school and has served the Town for nearly a hundred years. As our town has grown so has our department. We currently have over 60 people working out of this building whose total square foot is less than some of the single family residences we have in York. The present facility can not be expanded outside of its present footprint because of the size of the lot and does not meet present codes and ADA requirements.
The problem we face is the fact that most people either never have been to the police station or have never been beyond the front hallway. We would like to extend an invitation to anyone who hasn’t seen the police department to take a tour of the facility to make your own judgment as to the needs we face. Please feel free to call either myself or one of my staff members who will give you a tour of our present facility and discuss what we see as our present and future needs. I assure you the staff understands that this will not happen overnight and they continue to pitch in to help make our cramped quarters respectable and clean. The project that will be before the voters in May is crucial to the long term plan for both this police department and our communication center. I can only hope the culmination of this goal is only a short way off and when it does come before you that you will support the project.
In closing, any of you who know me understand how very proud I am of the men and women who serve this York Police Department. I want to thank all of them personally for their professionalism and dedication during these trying times and to recognize that they truly make up a unique team, one I consider a family. The greater part of any recognition for the department’s success belongs to them!
Police Statistics Report – 2010
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|
2010
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2009
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2008
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2007
|
|
Total Patrol Miles Driven
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329,839
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321,225
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345,187
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353,342
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|
Total Calls For Service
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31,289
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30,202
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32,880
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29,152
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|
Arrest Reports
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1,767
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1,566
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1,144
|
763
|
|
Assists – Medical
|
1,699
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1,544
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1,648
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1,478
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|
Assists – Fire Department
|
771
|
581
|
998
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806
|
|
Assists – Mutual Aid- Other Agency
|
4,101
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3,553
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2,669
|
2,502
|
|
Patrol Checks
|
7348
|
6,349
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8,285
|
4,255
|
|
Public Assists
|
2,247
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1,190
|
1,194
|
1,365
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|
Motor Vehicle Assists
|
373
|
307
|
647
|
702
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|
Court Ordered Checks/At residence, work, or PD
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1,435
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1,071
|
363
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1,822
|
|
Residential & Business Checks
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3,507
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2,253
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8,285
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3,335
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|
Mental Health/Well being Checks
|
273
|
233
|
233
|
352
|
|
Transient Persons/Homeless Persons Checks
|
154
|
137
|
139
|
94
|
|
Residential/ Business Alarms (Fire, Burg, Med)
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1,376
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1,213
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1,318
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1,661
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|
Suspicious Activity/Prowler Complaints
|
675
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456
|
994
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951
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|
Homicides
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0
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0
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1
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0
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|
Suicides & Attempts
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23
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22
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14
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15
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|
Unattended Deaths
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7
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6
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5
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4
|
|
Rapes
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3
|
5
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4
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5
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|
Aggravated Assaults
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1
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3
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0
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5
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|
Simple Assaults
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188
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175
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187
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165
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Domestic Complaints - Disturbances- Fights
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78
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87
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83
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71
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|
Harassment – Verbal or Telephone
|
81
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62
|
67
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46
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|
Child Pornography/Indecent Exp./Sex Cases
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3
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2
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11
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7
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|
Sexual Offender Registrations
|
10
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12
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16
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12
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|
Neglect - Abuse
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4
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4
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2
|
3
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|
Arson
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1
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1
|
3
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1
|
|
Robberies
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1
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2
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0
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0
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|
Burglaries
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45
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32
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29
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39
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|
Criminal Trespass
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37
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32
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37
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14
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Larcenies
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185
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191
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183
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164
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|
Vandalism
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122
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76
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92
|
94
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|
Bad Checks
|
38
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48
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34
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45
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|
Auto Theft- Including Motorcycles
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5
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4
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6
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6
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|
Adult Arrests
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533
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545
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640
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651
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|
Juvenile Arrests
|
70
|
95
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84
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97
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|
Violations of Bail Conditions
|
80
|
92
|
75
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36
|
|
Court Summons Issued
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3,131
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2,153
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1,937
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1,456
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Warnings Issued
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6,816
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5,843
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6,622
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9,405
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|
Grand Jury Indictments/Felonies
|
240
|
210
|
220
|
147
|
|
Adult Drug Offenses
|
369
|
251
|
252
|
223
|
|
Juvenile Drug Offenses
|
78
|
96
|
81
|
70
|
|
Liquor Violations
|
133
|
108
|
94
|
120
|
|
Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol/Drug
|
83
|
99
|
110
|
115
|
|
Motor Vehicle Accidents
|
539
|
554
|
428
|
498
|
|
Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents
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0
|
2
|
0
|
1
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|
Personal Injury Motor Vehicle Accidents
|
93
|
79
|
85
|
95
|
|
Total Personal Injuries from MVAs
|
124
|
112
|
111
|
119
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