New Ulm crime rate reaches a four-year high

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Lesser crimes like vandalism and traffic offenses have generally decreased over the past four years, but major crimes like theft and burglary have risen steadily since 1999.

The New Ulm Police Department released its annual report to city officials Tuesday. The reports gather statistics about the kinds of crimes that happen in New Ulm and the number of cases solved, among others.

In 2002, there were 355 major criminal offenses committed within city limits -- a 1.4 percent increase over 2001, when 350 major criminal acts were reported.

The year 2001 saw an 8.28 percent increase over 2002, when 321 such acts were reported. A total of 294 major crimes took place in New Ulm in 1999, which was 9 percent less than in 2000.

On average, major crimes have increased 6.25 percent over the past four years.

Theft has consistently led the category; it has comprised the bulk of major crimes reported in the city. Burglary has followed theft and auto theft has consistently ranked as the third most common type of major crime, followed by aggravated assault and arson. Rape tied arson in 2002 with two cases each.

Twenty-five percent of major cases were solved and ended in arrests, the report states. Four percent of those arrested in major crimes were under the age of 18.

Lesser crimes saw an 11 percent increase in 2002 from 2001. 2001 saw a 43 percent drop in crimes like vandalism, disorderly conduct, assault and DUI from 2000, when 1,232 such crimes were reported. The latter number represented a 23 percent jump from 945 such acts reported in 1999.

Among the lesser offenses, vandalism has consistently stayed as the most common, followed by disorderly conduct, traffic offenses, assault and DUI, respectively.

The report said 63 percent of those cases were solved and ended in arrests. Thirteen percent of people arrested in lesser offenses were minors, according to the report.

Of all the traffic accidents that took place within city limits in 2002, 80 percent involved only property damage. Nineteen percent were traffic accidents with injuries. New Ulm did not have any fatal crashes in 2002, the report said.

Most of the accidents in New Ulm in 2002 happened on Friday, with Thursday and Tuesday following, respectively. Monday and Saturday followed those days, with Sunday being the day where the fewest accidents happened. Most traffic accidents happened between 3 and 4 p.m.

Of the driving offenses mentioned in the report, speeding was the most common offense in 2002. It was followed by driving with expired license plates, stop sign violations, seatbelt violations, driving after license revocation, driving without a license, driving without insurance and exhibition driving, in that order.

Police wrote 518 citations and logged a total of 193,355 miles patrolling the streets of New Ulm last year.

Officers assisted mostly with animal complaints, escorts and funerals, in that order. Fires and ride-alongs were somewhat less common.

Police generated a total of $16,136 through fees for copies of driving records, reprints of photographs and fingerprinting and fines for both animal and vehicle impound services. NUPD earned about $8,000 by selling forfeited vehicles in 2002.

Police Chief Erv Weinkauf characterized 2002 as a year of change for the New Ulm Police Department. The city appointed Weinkauf as its new chief and saw two veteran police officers retire. Those retirements started a chain of promotions and saw one new police officer join NUPD.

Weinkauf pointed out that the most significant cases in New Ulm in 2002 were the 25 drug arrests in June and the Valley Bank and Trust robbery in September.