Madison crime in 2021 involved property, drug law violations - Northside Sun
The City of Madison did not have any major violent crimes during 2021 but rather found that most crimes were related to property and drug law violations.
At the start of 2021, the FBI phased out the standardized Summary Reporting System (SRS) of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which cities and jurisdictions used to report crime offenses to the federal government. This reporting system was replaced with a “more robust” reporting program: the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). As a result of this change, this is the first year of the new data report and, therefore, cannot be compared to previous years.
However, NIBRS crime data contains more detailed information regarding the crime stats as opposed to the previous system. It can include up to 10 offenses per incident, create victim and offender profiles, and provide more context and understanding around the crime – unlike UCR.
“Only after our second year of NIBRS participation (calendar year 2022) can such comparisons be made between consecutive NIBRS reporting calendar years,” Madison Police Chief Gene Waldrop wrote in a statement. “Regardless, I am happy to report there were no major violent crimes within the City of Madison in 2021.”
Fifty-two crimes were reported against persons, including two kidnapping reports that were cleared without arrests, five aggravated assault reports that led to five adult arrests, and one intimidation report. However, most of the crime that occurred in Madison in 2021 revolved around property and drug laws.
Property crime reports totaled 292. The highest categories being identity theft with 90 reports, shoplifting with 53 reports, and other larceny with 41 reports. There were 11 reports of breaking and entering or burglary and 12 of theft from motor vehicles.
“We continually remind our citizens to secure their homes and garages when not in use, remove valuables from their automobiles and secure them at all times, preferably in the trunk,” Waldrop said.
Drug law violations are included within crimes against society. There were 308 drug and narcotic violation reports, which led to 298 adult arrests and nine juvenile arrests. Drug equipment violation reports totaled 113 with all but one being cleared and 98 arrests being made. With drug law violations being the highest category of crime offenses in the city, this could be partially due to the use of fentanyl among teenagers and adults that the narcotics officers have been seeing in the area.
Deputy Chris Picou heads up the K-9 Drug Enforcement program for Madison and Rankin Counties, and he attributes the high number of drug law violations to increased enforcement – not increased drug activity.
“There is increased enforcement,” Picou said. “When fentanyl came around and we started seeing young people dying and overdosing on this, naturally, you are going to increase that enforcement activity.”
Picou said it isn’t just the narcotics unit increasing their enforcement but also officers patrolling the highways and the local area narcotics officers.
“One of the things right off the bat that I noticed when I took over the unit is we have some really good guys working out here and sniffing this stuff out,” Picou said. “We’ve got some guys out there that are really doing a good job detecting crime on the interstates, and the guys working local area narcotics are doing a really good job also.”
Waldrop wrote that the police department utilizes both citizen input and programs and highly visible police presence to attempt to keep crime to a minimum. He said citizen participation is a major component to any successful anti-crime efforts.
“As in years past, 2021 has seen a continuation of the population growth in the city and a tremendous and steady growth in the commercial, retail, and professional community,” Waldrop said. “I congratulate the City of Madison officials, members of the Madison Police Department and especially the citizens of the city for a partnership that is successfully working to keep crime to a minimum and the city a safe and wholesome environment to live, raise a family and retire.”
source: https://www.northsidesun.com/local-content-top-stories/madison-crime-2021-involved-property-drug-law-violations
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