State crime rates fell again in 2000

By Rebecca Cook

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Washington crime rates fell in 2000, part of a decade-long national trend of declining crime.

The state’s total crime rate decreased 2.8 percent from 1999 levels; nationally, crime rates dropped 3.3 percent.

Most criminal justice experts credit demographics, not police work, with the safer streets. People ages 15 to 25 are most likely to commit crimes, said Gonzaga University associate professor Al Miranne, director of the criminal justice department.

"The baby boom generation that in the 1970s and 1980s was in those crime-prone years is getting older," Miranne said. "There’s a concern that as the echo boom (baby boomers’ children) is coming of age, they may reverse that downward trend."

Even as population increased in Washington, crime rates for rape, robbery, assault, burglary and theft all decreased. The only exceptions were the murder rate, which increased 10 percent in the past year, and the car theft rate, which increased 1 percent.

The FBI Uniform Crime Report counts all crimes reported to the authorities. Sometimes fluctuations in crime rates can be explained by differences in how victims report and authorities record crimes. Experts caution against drawing too many conclusions from the data, but agree they can help track trends.

Since 1995, crime rates in Washington have decreased by 21 percent. Among the general downward trend, some areas stood out. Yakima-area crime rates dropped 26 percent in the past five years, and the violent crime rate was cut in half.

Don Blesio became Yakima police chief in 1995, but he’s not rushing to grab all the credit. He’s been with the department for 36 years, "through good and bad times," he said.

Blesio said that since the mid-1990s, gang and drug activity, specifically cocaine and heroin, have decreased.

"It’s not just strictly enforcement," Blesio said. "Yakima has always had a particularly high level of participation from the community."

On the other end of the spectrum is Bremerton, which bucked the generally positive trend. While overall crime rates in the Navy port town dropped 7.6 percent since 1995, the violent crime rate stayed flat and the murder rate increased by 6.5 percent — the only major city in the state with a murder rate on the rise.

The statistics did not surprise Bremerton Police Chief Rob Forbes.

"I can’t give you a pat answer," he said. "My educated guess is that methamphetamine has something to do with it."

Methamphetamine, a stimulant that often makes users violent, has become a major crime problem across Washington state. "It’s like a cancer, weaving its way through all parts of this community," Forbes said.

Forbes said that Bremerton has a fairly transient population, with more than 60 percent of the property rented rather than owned. High rental rates usually correspond with higher crime rates.

Bremerton does practice community-oriented policing and the department analyzes crime trends and problems, Forbes said.

"Most of the problems are related to drugs. We get one area beat down and another pops up," he said. "I wish I had more resources to do battle."

Statistics can be fickle. The Richland-Kennewick-Pasco area recorded the best decrease in crime rates in the state according to the FBI records, a 31.3 percent drop since 1995. But Richland Captain Mike Case said that only tells half the story — crime in Richland has actually been increasing in the past three years after a few big drops in the mid-1990s after the city hired five new officers.

Comparing crime rates in different cities can be tricky too. The crime rate in Seattle, the state’s largest city, is lower than rates in Spokane, Tacoma and Yakima, the second, third and ninth largest cities in the state, respectively.

Miranne said the ranking may result from community expectations rather than actual crime. People in Yakima may report crimes that people in Seattle don’t, Miranne said. While the FBI report measures the number of crimes reported to police, it also measures the willingness of communities to call on the police.

"I wonder if people who live in big cities, are they willing to accept an amount of victimization?" he said. "They may just take it in stride, while that wouldn’t be tolerated in Spokane. It depends on community expectations."