Bad behavior or good policing?
By Hayden Seder
A recently released crime report from the state shows offenses and arrests increased in Blaine County from 2017 to 2018. The good news: Crime overall is lower than it was in 2015 and 2016. And, some of that increase may be due to more thorough policing efforts, not necessarily a spike in criminal activity.
The latest numbers come from the so-called Crime in Idaho Report. Published annually by the Idaho Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the report is a collection of crime statistics such as crime rate by county, crime by type (against persons, against property), statewide crime profiles, and more.
While Blaine County crime does not statistically differ from similarly sized counties, Blaine County’s roughly 6 percent increase is concerning when compared with the same percent of a decrease seen by larger Ada County and a slight drop in overall crime statewide. Officials say it takes time to properly analyze all the new numbers and folks should be careful about comparing apples to
oranges.
“I have analyzed these reports over the years; there’s definitely an ebb and flow to the crime rates and crimes that are committed in Blaine County,” said Chief Deputy Will Fruehling.
Fruehling also noted the increase in certain types of law enforcement activities can trigger higher crime statistics down the road.
“We have a narcotics enforcement team, a multi-agency task force,” Fruehling said. “We have staff that, at certain times, focus only on drug enforcement and investigations. You’ll see that a large portion of drug arrests and violations in the county are from the [Blaine County] Sheriff’s Office. I think that’s a direct reflection of putting resources toward conducting drug investigations.”
The full crime report can be found online at nibrs.isp.idaho.gov. For now, here are some highlights—or lowlights.
The State
In 2018, the State of Idaho saw 88,269 total crimes against persons reported, a 0.54 percent increase from 2017 offenses. The crime rate actually saw a 1.87 percent decrease from the 2017 crime rate, but violent crime, crimes against society and crimes against persons increased from 2017. Officers assaulted, hate crimes, and property crime all saw a decrease from 2017.
Blaine County
The whole of Blaine County’s offenses and arrests (not just the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office) increased from 2017, though it remains at roughly the same statistical level as other small counties like Camas, Custer, Teton, Lemhi, Jefferson, Franklin, Boundary and Butte.
In 2018, Blaine County had 453 offenses (326 of which were cleared), a 7.86 percent increase from 2017. There were 505 arrests (443 adults and 62 juveniles), a 7.45 percent increase from 2017. The crime rate itself, which is calculated per a population of 100,000, was 19.14 percent in Blaine County in 2017 and 20.3 percent n 2018, a 6.06 percent increase. For comparison, Ada County saw a 5.98 percent decrease from 2017 to 2018. But while total offenses and arrests are higher this year, they are lower than 2015 and 2016 for both.
Blaine County Sheriff’s Office
& Ketchum Police Department
Fruehling said he couldn’t speak to the entire county, but could address the Sheriff’s Office crime statistics as well as the Ketchum Police Department (a division of the Sheriff’s Office).
Fruehling points out that the report for the Ketchum Police Department shows 66 DUI arrests, significantly higher than the Blaine County Sheriff’s DUI arrests of 40.
“That’s the center of where nightlife is in this county; there’s more bars, more people on vacation or coming to town to work permanently or temporarily,” Fruehling said. “It’s a pretty small town but the deputies there are very proactive when it comes to DUI enforcement. They’re out there to make the community safe, so they’re very proactive when it comes to enforcing the laws of the state.”
The city of Ketchum’s report says there has been a 7.5 percent increase in total number of offenses in Ketchum compared to 2017 and a 53.85 percent increase in arrests. The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office saw a 32 percent increase in total number of offenses from 2017 and a 19.71 percent increase in arrests.
As to what can contribute to these statistical changes, Fruehling says the type of offenses go up and down over the years.
“When the economy does well, we see in Blaine County that there’s more people coming to visit, so I think the tourism numbers sometimes can reflect higher crime rates and arrest rates,” Fruehling said. “A lot of building permits were issued in 2018 as well, so the housing market and new construction seems to bring more workers, both permanent and temporary. It’s a little hard to put your finger on one thing that might cause a tick up or tick down.”
One of the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office’s highest reported offenses was for drug/narcotics violations and drug equipment violations. Of the 165 offenses, 85 fell into those two categories.
Hailey/Sun Valley/Bellevue
The Hailey Police Department had a decrease in both offenses and arrests compared to 2017, down 9.21 percent and 14.29 percent, respectively. Of the crimes reported, the majority were DUIs, drug/narcotics violations, simple assault and destruction of property.
The report for the Bellevue Marshal’s Office shows total offenses reported in Bellevue went down 17.07 percent and a decrease of 9.68 percent in arrests compared to 2017 numbers.
In Sun Valley, numbers went up compared to 2017. Total offenses increased by 36.36 percent and arrests increased by 61.54 percent. Most crimes were DUIs and larceny/theft offenses.