Though the entire report is of value, I would like to touch
on a few areas of note.
Larceny is a broad category that covers
various methods of theft as well as amounts. For instance, Vehicle Burglaries
in which a vehicle is entered whether unlocked or not and nothing is taken is
categorized here.
Motor Vehicle Thefts increased from the previous year;
however they have slowed due to several arrests in multiple jurisdictions. All
vehicles taken during the time frame have been recovered. The dollar amount
reflected in recovery being higher than that of taken is due to the diligent
work of our officers locating and arresting individuals in stolen vehicles that
were taken from outside our jurisdiction.
Burglaries saw a decrease in the reported
timeframe as well as a rise in clearances.
Domestic Violence instances are categorized
separately; however, they extend into other areas of crimes reported. Property
crimes are not presented in Domestic Violence, however a Robbery, Burglary, or
Larceny which is presented in these charts can and are reflected in the total
number of offenses.
I am pleased to report that our newly formed Detective Bureau
is working tirelessly to bring the individuals responsible for these crimes to
justice and have shown a drastic increase in productivity from the previous
year.
Chief Nick Wollschlager
Property Offenses 2016 2017
Burglary 37 26 -29.7%
Larceny 54
60
+11.1%
Motor
Vehicle Theft 7 11* +57.1%
Total
Index Offenses 100 106 +6.0%
Clearance
Rate for Index 6.0 25.5
+324.5%
[*The 11 vehicle thefts were ALL unlocked with all but one vehicle having
their keys left in them]
Other Offenses
Simple
Assault 7 2 -71.4%
Arrests
Burglary 3 6 +100.0%
Larceny 2 10 +400.0%
Motor
Vehicle Theft 2 4
+100.0%
Stolen/Recovered Property
Total
stolen property $226,607 $446,659 +61.5%
Total
recovered property $144,565 $277,000 +91.6%
MH- Okay- so these are the main
categories that affect us. For anyone interested in seeing any other crime
categories, I suggest you visit the Village website as they are listed there in
full.
Some Observations from Chief Wollschlager:
As we take a moment to look back over the course of 2017
several terms come to mind, some good, some not so good. We look to expound on
and continue to progress on the good and as for the not so good, we look to it
for learning capabilities and in gaining wisdom through experiences.
One particular area of concern going into 2017 was a withered
reserve program that once flourished. A program that allows for experienced
officers to donate their services free of charge to the village was operating
with only four officers. Throughout the course of the year we have been able to
operate around fifteen reserve officers with some leaving to take full time
positions and us having to rotate in other qualified individuals.
Biscayne Park carried a well-known moniker of “Don’t Even
Think About Speeding”, yet in the not so distant past, that message was lost.
Through reinstituting state funded programs such as the “Click It Or Ticket”
campaign and cooperating in new ones such as the “Put It Down” campaign, we are
reestablishing the Biscayne Park Brand.
The department was restructured to better utilize personnel
and serve the public more efficiently. In this effort we utilized our newly
recharged reserve program to form a Detective Bureau that operates at zero
salary and is staffed by four individuals as opposed to one. In doing this, we
are also able to ensure all our full-time officers are on the road.
***
My Observations:
First
and foremost, there has been a marked improvement in our Crime Clearance Rate
(solved crimes). Not only have we boosted our crimes clearance rate by +324.5%,
but all of this was accomplished by our reserve officers. This method is cost
effective and in truth, simply efficient in general based on this actual
performance. Another area which stood out for me was the recovered stolen property
increase of +91.6%. The 6% uptick in our Total Index Offenses is the
best/ smallest increase we’ve seen in years.
Lastly, and a question that should
interest all BP taxpayers was “how did
the Department manage their budget for the year.” I am happy to report that
I was told our Police Department came in under budget for the year. A good
effort all around.
The Not So Good
The
+57.1% increase in Motor Vehicle Theft.
The
+61.5% increase in stolen property.
However,
it is hard for me to place too much blame on the Police Department regarding
our Motor Vehicles Theft increase when we still have neighbors who invite these
“Crimes of Opportunity” into our community by not locking their vehicles and removing their keys. This presents an “easy target” and this
is totally self-inflicted.
Please
realize that this does not only affect you… but all of us once they’re here
roaming around our streets searching for easy targets. We need to do better in
this regard.
For
any specific questions, I would suggest to contact our police department
directly.
Standing
Watch,
Milton
Hunter
The
Biscayne Parker
miltonhunter@gmail.com
