The Madison Police Department released 2006 crime statistics Monday, showing that over the last year overall crime has remained steady, while violent crime—murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery—increased nearly 17 percent.
Statistics compiled by the MPD under Unified Crime Reporting standards revealed 979 cases of violent crime occurred in 2006 compared to 839 offenses in 2005. At a Monday news conference, Police Chief Noble Wray emphasized how police departments across the country are seeing a trend of rising violent crime over the past few years, not just Madison.
""Its important to note Madison is still one of the safest cities for its size,"" Wray said. ""I think residents should still feel safe.""
According to the report, though violent crime increased as a whole, not every individual category of violent crime saw an increase. The increase was attributed to higher amounts of robberies and aggravated assaults, while the number of forcible rapes decreased by 16 percent for 2006.
Violent crime totals last year were highest in Madison's Central District—an area that does not include the UW-Madison campus, but houses many student residences.
""In my very own neighborhood we've seen an increase [in crime] ... mostly due to unlocked doors,"" Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of safety precautions. Cieslewicz also said public safety is a community-wide responsibility.
When asked if Madison residents should be apprehensive about city safety, Wray pointed to overall trends of crime in Madison since the 1990s. He noted that crime was much higher in 1992 than it is now and yet Madison at the time was considered one of the safest cities in the United States.
Central District Detective Lieutenant Mary Lou Ricksecker and Captain Tom Snyder both discussed how a crime ring responsible for multiple robberies affected violent crime statistics for 2006. The group of five individuals were later linked to 15 separate robberies.
""A crime wave can be affected by a small number of people,"" Snyder said, adding that crime prevention methods like keeping valuables out of sight and maintaining a secure deadbolt lock make a big difference.
Ricksecker said the motives for many of the robberies were often the same, with many using money from crimes to buy drugs.
""We've found the majority of people who commit these robberies use illegal controlled substances,"" Ricksecker said.
Ricksecker highlighted community involvement when she discussed the wave of crimes committed last year by groups of men who assaulted intoxicated males leaving bars downtown.
She said the downtown community was important in helping the investigative forces at the police department to identify suspects and respond to the assaults.
Also in the downtown community, juvenile and adult arrests were down in 2006, despite the increases in violent crime. The report concluded less arrests on Halloween and during the Mifflin Street Block Party were a possible reason for the fewer arrests.
