The Illinois State Police has issued a comprehensive overview of the nature of Crime in Illinois. We have posted an Adobe PDF of the pages that report on St. Clair County. We hope this information will be of value to you.
Metro East crime up in 2007
11/19/2008
The crime rate in several Metro East counties rose last year while the statewide crime rate dropped, according to data released by the Illinois State Police.
Crime in St. Clair County rose by 9.1 percent, mainly stemming from increases in theft and arson. Madison County saw its crime increase by 6.8 percent, while Monroe County rose by 11.1 percent.
"Crime in Illinois 2007," the latest statistical report by the state police, was officially released today and is available on the agency's website (isp.state.il.us).
Statewide, according to the report, the crime rate fell by 3.6 percent. Cook, the state's largest county, saw nearly a 3 percent drop. Chicago, the state's largest city, had a 3.5 percent drop.
"As pleased as I am with an overall decrease by 3.6 percent in the crime rate and a decrease in every category, law enforcement must remain diligent," said state police Director Larry G. Trent. "Law enforcement cannot get complacent as a result of this overall decrease. We must ensure that resources and manpower are utilized effectively to maintain this trend."
Illinois officials do not count crimes under the guidelines used in most of the nation, so their statistics are not included in the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reporting. The state publishes its own statistics every fall.
The crime rates include data from both crimes against persons (murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated assault) and crimes against property (burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson).
The numbers are adjusted "per 100,000" as the FBI standard for comparison. Alton, for example, had 6,689 so-called index crimes per 100,000 residents last year, slightly up from 6,659 in 2006.
But, while there was a statewide crime drop across the board from urban to rural areas, the Metro East saw an increase.
"Last year was tough, but we've learned from it," said Michael Baxton, the East St. Louis police chief.
RELATED LINKS
U.S. Crime Statistics, 2005-2007
His city showed a 20 percent rise in murders: 30 killings in 2007, up from 25 the year before.
So far this year, the murders have dropped.
"We've had 17 murders this year; we had about 27 at this same time last year," Baxton said.
Baxton said his department had been sweeping drug houses and taking back street corners.
Although the East St. Louis murder number was higher in 2007, it's nowhere near the levels in the late 1980s. In 1989, by comparison, East St. Louis reported 63 murders — more than double its total last year.
Unincorporated areas of St. Clair County had a 46 percent increase in aggravated assault and battery cases. St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl Justus said a rise in domestic violence cases had an effect.
"Those cases are increasingly more reported," Justus said. "And they're hard to police because they happen behind closed doors."
Some notable information from the numbers:
— St. Clair County had 1,347 vehicle thefts, up 11 percent.
— SIU Edwardsville had a 33 percent increase in general thefts reported in 2007, but a 50 percent decrease in vehicle theft.
— The tiny town of Marissa, population 2,024, had 6 total vehicle thefts. It had just one the year before.
— Centreville had a 200 percent increase in arson, 12 total incidents up from 4.
— Columbia had more than an 85 percent drop in motor vehicle thefts. It had 14 in 2006 and only 2 in 2007.
— Maryville, one of the Metro East's wealthiest communities, had a 61 percent rise in reported burglaries but a 72 percent decrease in vehicle thefts.
David Klinger, a former Los Angeles police officer who is now an associate professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said it was not uncommon to see crime rates decrease over a large geographic area but increase in certain counties.
"Looking at the data, I see certain hot spots," Klinger said.
Klinger pointed out a rise in thefts in the Edwardsville area and motor vehicle theft and arson in St. Clair County.
"That's what appears to be driving the numbers," he said.
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