Davenport crime rate drops for a 2nd straight year

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By Tory Brecht | Tuesday, May 06, 2008 | 15 comment(s)

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Davenport Crime Report

For the second year in a row, the crime rate in Davenport has shown a double-digit percentage decrease.

According to data compiled by the Davenport Police Department that will be used in its annual report to the FBI, overall crime is down by 14.6 percent. That includes a 6.6 percent decrease in violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault and a 15.4 percent decrease in property crimes such as burglary, theft, automobile theft and arson.

Police Chief Frank Donchez said the city’s three-year-old Crime Control Strategy Program, which targets specific problem neighborhoods with increased police presence and nuisance abatement efforts, as well as hard work by officers, have helped reduce criminal behavior.

“I am so impressed with the dedication and hard work of the members of this department,” he said Monday. “They are not afraid to work and not afraid to do what they need to do to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Davenport.”

A total of 7,048 crimes were reported in Davenport during the 2007 calendar year. In the previous calendar year, 8,249 crimes were reported.

Robberies were down 13.3 percent, burglary down 16.2 percent and theft down 15.7 percent between 2006 and 2007. Donchez said there were three homicides in the city during 2007 — one of which was determined to be a justifiable homicide stemming from an incident in which two Davenport officers shot a suspect to death after the person threatened them with a knife.

Donchez, who came to Davenport in March after serving as police chief in Bethlehem, Pa., said the perception that crime is bad in Davenport is greater than the reality.

“The city that neighbored the one I came from, Allentown, also had a population of 100,000, and they had 20 homicides in each of the last two years,” he said. “To come here and have people say violent crime is a major issue, I’m not seeing it.”

The Guardian Angels, who began patrolling Davenport streets in 2007, also are seeing a drop in street crime, said the group’s spokesman, a Davenport resident who goes by the name “Bard.” He declined to use his real name in order to “protect his family.”

“Just as a regular citizen, not as a Guardian Angel, I’ve noticed the cops have been more active,” he said. “The police department has been reinvigorated in the past six months. They seem much more enthusiastic about what they’re doing.”

Bard said the message is getting out that neighbors are not going to put up with crime.

“When we talk to people, we explain why we’re out there, and it’s contagious,” he said. “It’s everybody’s duty to take back their neighborhoods. If you take care of the small things, like the guys hanging out on the porch drinking at 1 in the morning, then the big crimes also go away.”

Donchez agreed that the “broken window” theory — cracking down on smaller issues such as loitering, littering, public intoxication and other misdemeanors — can help reduce bigger crime problems.

The department’s Neighborhoods Enhanced Towards Success, or NETS, unit has worked four specific areas — Goose Creek, Northwood Village, 14th and Gaines streets and Heatherton Heights — with increased patrols and help from parking enforcement and the city’s nuisance abatement attorney to great effect, according to the report.

“We identify areas that are problem areas, then we go in there and saturate them,” he said. “It’s a cooperative effort with all city efforts. The Crime Control Strategy Program was started three years ago, and we have seen double-digit decreases in crimes since then.”

City Administrator Craig Malin said he is hopeful the new numbers will help improve Davenport’s reputation.

“There’s always a lag between perception and reality, and we’re going to have to continue performing well in this community for the perception to change,” he said. “But I think you’re going to see Davenport surpass dozens of cities on the national rankings of safer places to live.”

Malin said reducing crime is one part of a three-pronged strategy to improve the city’s image.

“There are three things people check when they’re looking at communities: the tax rate, the graduation rate and the crime rate,” he said. “We’re working hard on all three of those to lower our crime rate, improve our graduation rate and continue with moderate taxation.”

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

OTHER CITIES

- In Bettendorf, the city measures its annual crime statistics from July 1 to June 30. The 2007-08 report likely will be issued in August, Police Chief Phil Redington said.

From 2005-06 to 2006-07, crime jumped slightly in Bettendorf, from 1,656 to 1,863 incidents.

“The majority of the increase was drug-related charges,” Redington said, adding that arrests for possession of drugs jumped from 131 to 171 during that time and that drug paraphernalia charges leaped from 81 to 129. “It means we’ve been more aggressive. Most drug cases are self-initiated by police officers.”

The city also saw an increase in simple assaults during 2006-07, up to 185 from 135 in 2005-06.

- The Moline Police Department is still compiling its annual crime statistics.

- Information about Rock Island’s annual crime report was not available Monday.

Crime index

   2006   2007   Percentage Change

Murder   4   3   -25%

Rape   63   46   -27%

Robbery   271   235   -13.3%

Aggravated Assaults   481   481   0%

Violent Crimes Total   819   765   -6.6%

Burglary   1,449   1,214   -16.2%

Theft   5,637   4,752   -15.7%

Auto theft   295   288   -2.4%

Arson   49   29   -40.8%

Property Crimes Totals   7,430   6,283   -15.4%

Crime index   8,249   7,048   -14.6%

Five-year trend crime index

2003   8,067

2004   8,664

2005   9,232

2006   8,249

2007   7,048

Source: Davenport Police Department