Moses Lake crime stats show decline

MOSES LAKE - A year-end crime statistics report presented to the Moses Lake City Council shows a downward trend in nearly all areas.

Last year there were a total of 59 violent crimes and 1,416 property crimes within city limits, according to uniform crime statistics provided by the Moses Lake Police Department. In 2010 there were 74 violent crimes and 1,529 property crimes reported, while in 2009 there were 98 violent crimes and 1,496 property crimes.

Among the largest declines in the past three years are rapes, which dropped by 15, aggravated assaults, down by 23, and motor vehicle thefts, which declined by 31 during that period.

Last year there was one more robbery than in 2010, for a total of 19, as well as a single murder, while 2010 and 2009 saw no murders.

"In summary, this shows that 2011 statistics for both violent crimes and property crimes have reductions over the previous year and in both cases it also shows that they are lower than 2009," said City Manager Joe Gavinski.

Moses Lake Police Chief Dean Mitchell credited the council for their support.

"When I come to you with requests for grants for more police officers, you've been very generous," he said. "You're seeing the results right here."

The extra manpower allows the police department to spend more time investigating and following up on crimes where there may be scant evidence, Mitchell said. A street crimes unit initiated last year has been making progress in their efforts to target property crimes, he added.

"What we find is we spend 90 percent of our time chasing about 2 or 3 percent of the people in this community and when we can take those people off the streets, these are the results that we see," Mitchell said.