CRIME RISES IN WATAUGA, DOWN IN TOWNS

Crime was up slightly in Watauga County last year, though it declined
in Boone and Blowing Rock, according to the annual crime report
compiled by the N.C. Department of Justice.

The annual report gathers information from all law enforcement
agencies for major categories of crimes, and is traditionally released
each autumn.

Watauga's index crimes, those included in major classes crimes,
increased from 1,356 to 1,365.

That included reports from the Watauga Sheriff's Department and the
police departments of Appalachian State University, Boone, Seven
Devils and Blowing Rock.

There were two murders and five rapes in the county last year, up from
no murders and three rapes in 2002.

Crime increased slightly at the university but declined two percent in
Boone and five percent in Blowing Rock.

Aggravated assaults, motor vehicle thefts and burglaries increased
last year over 2002, while larcenies dropped from 898 to 854. The
number of robberies stayed the same at five.

The Watauga Sheriff's office handled 624 of the 1,365 index crimes
reported last year. The Boone police department handled 476 crimes.

The Boone Police Department cleared 79 percent of its violent crime
cases, up slightly from 2002.

The number of property crimes cleared stayed the same at 27 percent.
The Blowing Rock Police Department cleared both its violent crimes and
26 percent of its property crimes.

Appalachian State University Police Department had two uncleared
aggravated assaults in 2003 and cleared 11 percent of the 169 property
crimes.

The Seven Devils police department cleared none of its eight larcenies
in 2003, according to the N.C. DOJ report.

The Watauga Sheriff's Office cleared more than 100 percent of its
violent crimes. Crimes cleared from a previous year are calculated in
the year in which they are cleared. Twenty-eight percent of property
crimes were cleared by the sheriff's department in 2003.

Watauga Sheriff Mark Shook attributed the high clearance rate to
hard-working investigators. He said some property crimes were down
because of increased drug investigations.

He said meth investigations were about the same level so far this year
as last, though informants were reporting that the drug was getting
more difficult to buy on the street.

He said no outdoor marijuana was spotted on a recent aerial
surveillance, but said the rainy weather usually leads growers to move
their operations indoors. He said there was little crossover between
marijuana growers and meth manufacturers.

An examination of crime trends over the past 10 years shows that
Watauga's crime rate is about where it was in 1993. That year, there
were 1,227 index crimes reported. Crime rose in the mid-to-late 1990s
before beginning to level off. During that period, 2000 was the peak
year for crime, with 1,507 index crimes. More than two-thirds of those
were larcenies.

Statewide, crime reports fell by 2.4 percent from 2002 to 2003 while
violent crime fell 5.3 percent.

Rates fell in all crime categories, with murder down 10 percent and
rape down six percent. Arson dropped 23 percent, motor vehicle theft
dropped five percent and robberies dropped three percent.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper hailed the drop in crime but called
for more legislative funding for more DNA experts to work in state
crime labs.

The State Bureau of Investigation expanded its crime lab, but the
number of methamphetamine-related cases across the state continues to
climb.

In 1999, nine meth labs were busted. That rose to 177 labs last year
and 217 labs so far this year. Tougher sentences were adopted this
year for meth manufacturing and distribution under a new law that
takes effect in December.

"Tougher penalties and more assistance for law enforcement to fight
meth are an important step," Cooper said in a statement. "But we can
expect to uncover more of these secret drug labs as people learn to
recognize and report them."

The entire 2003 crime report can be viewed on the Web at
www.ncdoj.com.