Latah County crime reaches 4-year high

Keep your car doors and house doors locked. 

Via the Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Crime rates in Latah County and Moscow are trending in the wrong direction, according to the recently released “Crime in Idaho” report.

Offenses county-wide increased by 21.21 percent from 2016-17 – or by more than 300 incidents – according to the report. The increase in Moscow was more pronounced, as the report found the Moscow Police Department had a 24.87 percent increase in reported offenses. The Latah County Sheriff’s Office responded to 14.72 percent more offenses.

According to the report, the MPD responded to 1,160 total reports in 2017, the most since 2014. In 2016, 929 incidents were reported. The sheriff’s department responded to 600 reports, an increase of 77 over 2016, and the highest amount since at least 2013, when only 468 reports were received. Of the 817 arrests made in Latah County in 2017, MPD’s share was 508.

MPD Chief James Fry attributed the higher rates in Moscow largely to the town’s younger population. He said with marijuana available just across the border in Washington, cannabis-related crime will inevitably be higher in Moscow than in the rest of the county. Additionally, he said, university towns tend to have younger populations prone to specific kinds of crime such as alcohol-related offenses.

 

Sexual offenses – including rape and fondling – increased from 13 reports in 2016 to 21 in 2017.

According to the report, crime statewide rose by just 0.5 percent, including a 2.63 percent increase in violent crimes, nearly three-quarters of which were aggravated assaults.

Looking at these reports, Fry said, it is sometimes difficult to remember that Moscow is a fairly safe community.

“We’re in a low crime area, if you look across the nation,” he said. “But we still have issues we need to deal with and there’s still things we need to continue to enforce so that it doesn’t get out of hand on us too.”

Right-Mind