Cache Valley crime rates are below Utah averages
Cache Valley has low crime rates compared to the state of Utah, but law enforcement agencies are still kept busy and have concerns for safety.
The most common crimes reported in the state are violent crimes and theft.
Although Utah reports do not show drugs and alcohol or traffic violations, there are very high occurrences of these problems.
Utah is in the top five states of methanphetamine production per capita, said Mike Milne from the Utah Council for Crime Prevention.
“We are working with the hotel industry to educate hotel owners and operators of what to watch for to know if people are producing methanphetamines in their hotel rooms,” Milne said. “Methanphetamines and other drug problems are a main focus for the crime prevention council, and it is also a concern for the state.”
According to the USU Campus Police 2000 Statistics report, the most common traffic violation was speeding.
According to the statistics report, theft continues to be the most often reported crime on campus. Next to theft, the most common crimes on campus were criminal mischief and minor in possession.
According to the report, date rape also continues to be a concern and does occur on campus. The USU police had four reported cases of rape in 2000.
According to www.cachesheriff.com, the Sheriff’s Office also reported 14 rapes, But no murders were reported.
The Sheriff’s Office works closely with the schools to provide a safe learning environment and to educate children and adults about the consequences of drugs and alcohol use. They help with such programs as DARE, the Logan-Cache Gang Project and Youth Crimewatch.
North Cache High School received an award for their participation in the Youth Crimewatch program, Milne said.
Nationwide, states and counties report their crime index. According to www.fbi.
gov/ucr/00cius.htm, the crime index is composed of selected offenses used to gauge fluctuations in the overall volume and rate of crime reported to law enforcement. The offenses include violent crimes of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and the property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.
According to www.cachesheriff.com, Cache County’s crime index is at 18.5 and the state’s overall index is at 46.8. Logan City is at 25.3 while Ogden reports 79.9 and Salt Lake City is at 97.9.
According to www.disastercenter.com/crime/utcrime.htm, in the year 2000 the State of Utah had a total crime index of 4,476.1 reported incidents per 100,000 people. This ranked the state as having the 18th highest total crime index in the country.
In a press conference held in April of 2000, Governor Mike Leavitt announced the overall crime rate in Utah is the lowest it has been in 20 years. Overall, the crime rate fell 7.2 percent last year. This is the second consecutive year crime has declined in spite of continuing population growth.
“These numbers demonstrate that Utah’s system-wide effort to reduce crime is working,” Leavitt said.
During the press conference S. Camille Anthony of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, said, “Murder rates are often used as an indicator of overall violence in a community. The fact Utah has seen such a dramatic decrease in murder rates is great news.”
According to the 1999 Crime in Utah report released by the Utah Department of Public Safety, the violent crime rate dropped 10.9 percent, while the property crime rate is down 6.9 percent. In addition, the 43 reported homicides are the lowest number reported since Utah began collecting crime data in 1978.