City’s crime rate down in 2008
April 9, 2009
By Administrator
Out-of-towners are main perpetrators, police chief says
The crime rate in Newcastle went down in 2008, according to the annual police report.
Part I serious crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, car theft and arson) were down 6.5 percent from the preceding year. Part II crimes (including fraud, forgery, vandalism, drug violations and driving under the influence) were down 15.7 percent.
Irvine
Fourth-quarter crime statistics in Newcastle reveal a 60 percent drop in felony offenses from the same period in 2007 and a 30 percent decline in misdemeanor offenses in the city from the final quarter of 2008 compared to 2007.
Last December’s snowstorm cancelled school and made life miserable for motorists, but kept criminals away.
“The big drop can be attributed partially to the snow, as criminals found it difficult to get here,” Newcastle Police Chief Melinda Irvine said.
The perpetrators are not homegrown, nor are they, for the most part, from neighboring Bellevue or Renton, she said.
“We’re arresting people from SeaTac, Kent, Pacific and Lakewood,” she said at a March 25 presentation to the Newcastle Rotary club. “This is a target-rich environment for them.”
There were no homicides in 2008. The last homicide in the city was the shooting of Newcastle Police Officer Steve Herzog in 2002. There was one reported rape in 2008, compared to four in 2007. Similarly, aggravated assaults dropped from five in 2007 to three in 2008. Robbery remained unchanged with two in each year.
Vehicle theft was down slightly — 26 in 2008 compared to 28 in 2007. The number is way down compared to the 79 vehicles reported stolen in 2004.
“We’ve had a very aggressive program, working with the prosecutor’s office and surrounding jurisdictions to make certain all charges are coming forward,” Irvine said.
Traffic accidents have dropped appreciably (39 in 2008 and 76 in 2006), which Irvine attributed to road construction on Coal Creek Parkway, which has people moving through the area at a slower pace.
While crime was down in 2008, burglaries are up in the first months of this year compared to the first quarter of 2008, she said
“I don’t know if it’s related to the economy, but burglaries are up all over,” she said.
And the thieves are becoming brazen, with a taste for heavy machinery in one instance.
Sometime between 5 p.m. Feb. 17 and 6 a.m. Feb. 18, a thief stole a flatbed truck, trailer and an excavator from the Coal Creek Parkway construction site between Southeast May Valley Road and Southeast 84th Way. The truck and trailer were found Feb. 23 near downtown Kent, Irvine said. The excavator has yet to be recovered, she said.
Marshbank Construction Co. has offered a $2,500 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Anyone who was in the area at the time and believe they saw anything suspicious should call Newcastle Police at 206-296-3311.
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