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| Galesburg Area Serious Crime Drops in 2008 |
Crime numbers in Knox and Warren counties mirror a statewide trend - the most serious offenses as a whole are down.
The numbers from the state's Uniform Crime Report for 2008 says "crime index offenses" are considered to be the most serious - such as murder, criminal sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and battery, burglary, theft and arson.
Serious crime is down slightly statewide, three-tenths of a percent from 2007 to last year, marking the fifth year in a row there's been a decrease. However, murder and robbery both increased more than 3 percent. On the flip side, arson dropped 9.9 percent. Serious crime dropped 17.2 percent in Galesburg last year, 17 percent in Knox County, 16.1 percent in Monmouth and 16.6 percent in Warren County.
Illinois State Police Director Jonathon Monken says he realizes that despite the numbers, if you're the crime victim, you will think the crime rate is too high.
"Part of the 'not in my back yard mentality' I'm sure can come into play in this one as well where there's just certain areas that have higher crime rates, or, whether it's a difference in reporting or it becomes a personal thing," Monken said. "If a person gets mugged, they say 'well then crime I think is getting really bad in this particular area.' There's certainly a perception issue that comes along with it."
Monken says it's fair to assume some crime goes unreported, but he wouldn't estimate how much.
The type of serious crime that declined the most in Knox County last year was burglary - down 24 percent. Aggravated assault and battery, theft and arson also decreased. The number of criminal sexual assaults increased from 10 to 26, while there were three more robberies than the year before and two murders.
Warren County also saw burglary and theft decline substantially last year. The one type of serious crime that increased was arson - four last year compared to just one in 2007. |
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| 11 01 09 by Newsroom |
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