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Police department releases annual report: Overall crime rates in city dropped
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@starlocalnews.com
The numbers are in, and according to the Annual Police Report released by The Colony Police Department on Monday, the city is seeing record-setting crime rates – in a good way.
According to the report, the total index crime rate dropped 5 percent, as did the per capita rate since 2011. The rate was the lowest since 1990.
“The Colony’s commitment to making our community a safe place to live, work and play is once again evident in the police department’s annual report,” said Troy Powell, city manger for The Colony. “We are proud of our low crime rate and will continue to work to reduce it even further.”
“Training in law enforcement and services provided by victim advocacy groups has increased dramatically during the last decade alone. Even so, there is a significant number of rapes that still go unreported, so the work to decrease that continues across the board.”
Brockway said the most compelling numbers are “crimes against persons.”
“Every law enforcement entity wants those numbers to be low, if non-existent,” he said, “or they want those numbers to decrease. Although all numbers help quantify a city's safety rating, the crimes against persons category are the most realistic.”
The Colony PD saw a decrease in those categories from 2011 to 2012. The vast majority of the crimes against persons category were from known offenders.
There were 23 aggravated assaults reported in 2012, 10 less than in 2011. Of the 23, 19 were family violence, and the victim knew the suspect in 22 of the 23 assaults reported.
The increase in property crime tells another story, as numbers show that most of the theft-type crimes were “crimes of opportunity,” which are some of the easiest to prevent. These can be prevented, Brockway said, by locking doors and removing valuables from vehicles.
There were 115 burglaries reported in 2012, 18 less than in 2011. In 45 percent of the burglaries, forcible entry was used in contrast to the past state average of 66 percent where forcible entry was used.
According to the report, this indicates that many residential burglaries might be prevented by closing and locking doors. In residential burglaries where force was used to enter the home, the back door was the most frequent point of entry followed by the front door and the back window.
Of all the burglaries reported, the report stated, 87 percent were residential compared to a past reported 73 percent residential burglary rate for the state. Most of the burglaries occurred at night, and the most common items taken were computers, vehicles, jewelry, money, electronics, tools, computer games, household items, consumable items, clothing and guns.
“The Colony still continues to be one of the safest cities in the Metroplex,” Brockway said. “This is a testament to the police and the citizens working together to prevent and report criminality. The Colony is a safe place to live, but we should remain vigilant and take preventative steps with our valuables.”
Keeping a list of serial numbers for expensive items will not only decrease the chances of having something stolen to a large degree, but will also increase the likelihood of having stolen property located and/or returned, Brockway said. He added that the city’s geography is a contributing factor to its low crime rates.
“We are surrounded by mostly bigger cities, and we currently only have one roadway that travels due north and south – Main St. or FM 423,” he said. “That is unique to our city and allows more efficient patrolling should the need arise to search for an offender who has fled in a vehicle, as one example.”
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