Violent Crimes Increase -- Rate In Tacoma Up 21%; Pierce County Rate Rises 25%
Total crime was down 2.6 percent in Tacoma in the first six months of 1991, but violent crime was up a whopping 21 percent.
In Pierce County, violent crime rose 25.1 percent in 1991 over the same six-month period in 1990.
"The increases in Tacoma and Pierce County were due to increases in aggravated assault and rape," Bev Ickes, of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said yesterday in Olympia. "We did notify them to make them aware of what was happening.
"They did not have any explanation," she said.
Overall, crime in Washington rose 5.1 percent in the first six months of 1991, with Bellevue showing the largest increase and Yakima the biggest decrease among larger cities.
The increase was well above the national increase of 2 percent, Ickes said.
"We have seen a rise in violent crimes consistently," she said.
EVERETT RATE SHOWS DROP
The report showed a small reduction in crime in Everett - down 1.3 percent - but a 9 percent increase in Snohomish County.
Crime was way up at the county level, with Kitsap County leading with a 19.6 percent increase as reported by the sheriff's office. King, Spokane, and Clark counties also had large increases.
A small reduction in crime was reported in Bellingham, with a major surge reported in Spokane.
Property crimes had been falling in recent years but were also up this time, Ickes said.
Violent crimes - defined as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault - rose 7.8 percent in the first six months of 1991 compared with the same period in 1990. The report said rapes were the main cause, rising 15.3 percent.
Property crimes rose 4.9 percent, led by a 24 percent jump in arson.
A surge in rape reports helped raise Bellevue's reported crimes by 13.8 percent from 1990, said Lt. Jack McDonald of the Bellevue Police Department.
"By the end of October we had 33 reported rapes as compared to 23 in 1990," McDonald said. "That's a 44 percent increase."
But he said that 1990 was statistically a low year for rapes, and the increase to normal levels this year does not indicate a worsening community.
"There's nothing we can hang our hat on," McDonald said.
COMMUNITY IS CHANGING
Bellevue, the state's fourth largest city with 88,000 residents, has just 144 police officers, McDonald said.
It would have 172 if matching national averages, he said.
McDonald said Bellevue is changing. "We are not the bedroom community we used to be," he said.
Bellevue still had a relatively low number of 2,724 total crimes.
Yakima, with a smaller population of 55,000, had 3,315 reported crimes in 1991. But that was a 12 percent drop from the same period a year ago, which Ickes said was likely a sign efforts to crack down on drugs were succeeding.
Seattle had a 1.6 percent increase in total crimes but a 3 percent drop in violent crimes.
Crime was up 9 percent in Spokane.
Violent crimes in Clark County rose 55 percent, the largest increase.
---------------- CRIME STATISTICS ----------------
Crime statistics for the first six months of 1991 compared with the same period in 1990. The numbers show total crimes and percentage change from 1990.
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CITIES
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Bellevue . . . . . . 2,724 . . . +13.8%
Spokane . . . . . . 8,137 . . . +9.6%
Seattle . . . . . 32,204 . . . +1.6%
Bellingham . . . . . 2,025 . . . -0.7%
Everett . . . . . . 2,725 . . . -1.3%
Tacoma . . . . . . 10,336 . . . -2.6%
Yakima . . . . . . . 3,315 . . . -12.0%
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COUNTIES
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Kitsap . . . . . . . 2,795 . . . +19.6%
Spokane . . . . . . 3,671 . . . +15.7%
King . . . . . . . 15,430 . . . +12.2%
Pierce . . . . . . . 8,760 . . . +9.6%
Clark . . . . . . . 3,286 . . . +9.6%
Snohomish . . . . . 3,518 . . . +9.0%
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TOTALS
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Total Crimes . . . 152,657 . . . +5.1%
Violent crimes . . 12,305 . . . +7.8%
Property Crimes . 140,352 . . . +4.9%
Source: Police and sheriff departments