Police stats show crime down in New Ulm in 2001

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A report issued by the New Ulm Police Department finds crime generally decreased in 2001.

Compared to numbers from last year, this year's figures mark a 22 percent overall drop in the number of major and lesser offenses reported within city limits.

The report was submitted to the New Ulm City Council earlier in May.

Crime in 2000 jumped by 25 percent over 1999, largely because of a 30.4 increase in lesser offenses, which range from vandalism to DUIs to forgery to disorderly conduct. Major offenses, like arson, rape, homicide and rape, increased by 9 percent in 2000.

Not surprisingly, the number of cleared cases in 2001 -- cases that are considered closed -- also dropped, as did the percentages of cases cleared by arrests, but the percentage of major cases cleared by arrests was still lower than that for lesser offenses.

The downward trend that began around 1999 in juvenile arrests continued, as 24 juveniles were arrested in major cases and 84 were arrested in lesser cases. The number had already gone down in 2000 from 26 in major cases to 25 and 132 in lesser cases to 107.

"That's not surprising," said New Ulm City Attorney Hugh Nierengarten, who prosecutes most of the traffic cases and other misdemeanors that happen within city limits. "It's a nation-wide trend and it's attributed to strong employment and a re-focus on the family."

Police Chief Howard Zins attributed the drop to several factors. He said that several NUPD officers have become more involved with community groups and have more contact with young people than they have in the past. He said foot patrols in downtown New Ulm have also helped keep crime down, as it has increased the department's visibility to the public.

"Generally, we're out and about a lot more, stopping to talk to young people," he said. "I think it sinks in most of the time, even though some don't always get it."

In 2001, NUPD cleared a total of 944 of its 1,207 cases. Arrests were made in 27 percent of major offenses and 63 percent of lesser offenses in 2001.

No murders, rapes or robberies were reported in 2001. Theft dominated the major cases with 273 incidents. Of those, 64 were cleared; 23 percent were cleared by arrest. Behind thefts were burglaries (47 cases) and auto thefts (14 cases). One of the four arson cases in 2001 was cleared and it was cleared with an arrest, the report said.

In lesser offenses, vandalism was most common in 2001, racking up 238 cases -- the most of any crime in either of the two categories. NUPD's clearing rate for vandalism cases was the lowest in the category, as 44 cases were cleared, 18 percent by arrest.

"Vandalism is a hard crime to solve because it's very hit-and-run," explained Zins. "Vandalism is a tough crime to solve unless we get people talking."

Nierengarten called the number of vandalism cases disturbing.

"Typically, it is a wanton crime and is indiscriminate in its victim," he said. "You can see in the lowest percentage of clearances what a random thing it is."

Police had far higher clearance-by-arrest rates in stolen property, DUIs, liquor law violations and family and children cases, where arrest rates in all four categories were 100 percent in 2001. Arrests in traffic cases were slightly behind, as officers closed 135 of 149 traffic cases with a 90 percent arrest rate. Assault cases fared slightly worse, with 76 of 86 cases cleared with an 88 percent arrest rate.

Nierengarten pointed out that the number of DUIs in New Ulm "is down a little bit," the numbers in the report don't include stops made by the State Patrol and the Brown County Sheriff's Department.

"It ends up being cyclical, depending upon staffing during high DWI times," he said. "It also depends upon the distraction of police resources."

The total number of traffic accidents also decreased, as did the number of accidents where injuries and property damage happened. Overall, traffic accidents decreased by 3.9 percent in 2001. Injury accidents went down by 7 percent. Property damage accidents also decreased by 2 percent. NUPD reported no fatal accidents in 2001.

The number of citations issued by New Ulm police officers also fell in 2001 to 585, from 749 the year before, which marks a 22 percent drop. Squad car mileage, however, rose slightly from 194,003 miles in 200 to 197,946 miles in 2001.

"There are few without violation of the law," Nierengarten said about traffic accidents. "That is to say, we could significantly reduce the amount of violations if people would obey traffic laws."

The number of warning and repair tags that NUPD wrote in 2001 was significantly lower than 2000 or 1999. In 2001, officers wrote a total of 10 such tags. By comparison, 281 were written in 2000 -- a 96 percent drop.

Officer assists also dropped last year, but didn't drop significantly. Police escorts dropped by 20 percent, from 330 in 200 to 264 in 2001. Animal complaints dropped by 6 percent, from 780 in 2000 to 733 in 2001. Open door calls dropped by 8.86 percent. Assistance at fires dropped by 7 percent. Riders increased by 60 percent from 53 in 200 to 85 in 2001.

Despite a dropping crime rate in the last year, Zins said he still sees staffing problems within NUPD, even after 36 years as a New Ulm police officer. He recalled a conversation with a police chief in Hutchinson, a town which is growing to the size of New Ulm. Zins said that while the Hutchinson Police Department has four investigators, New Ulm only has one, and that fact sometimes puts a strain on NUPD's regular duties and investigations. He said he plans to ask for a second investigator and a K-9 unit for NUPD's 2003 budget.

"I've been here 37 years, and we've talked about having more patrolmen. I would like to have more patrolmen," he said, adding that medical leave can spread resources even thinner. "That spreads up really, really thin. We just haven't got any headway."

When asked what he thought were the most important statistics in the report, Nierengarten said he felt that the low number of crimes against people were most significant. In a 14,000-population town, burglaries affect less than 1 percent of homeowners. Aggravated assaults averaged one incident per month, he said, but affect less than one-twelfth of a percent of people.

"Generally, when you look at those figures and look at it in those terms, it's a pretty safe community to live in," he said.