CRIME ON DECLINE IN BELLEVILLE

Four Per Cent Drop

Local News - An intimate and, in some significant ways, a complimentary
portrait of the community was presented by city police Wednesday.

As Police Chief Steve Tanner scrolled through the law enforcement agency's
annual report for 2003 during the regular meeting of the Police Service
Board, he was quick to point out a four per cent drop in crime.

Tanner applauded the efforts of officers in both regular platoon patrols
and in dedicated investigative units with regards to the decrease, saying
his members have had "tremendous results in criminal investigations and
enforcement" over the past year.

In 2003, police responded to 21,743 incidents within the city limits, an
increase of less than one per cent over the year previous. Officers laid a
total of 8,412 charges -- about 14 per cent less than in 2002. Fifty-four
per cent of the charges laid were for Highway Traffic Act offences while 34
per cent were for criminal code offences.

As predicted by Tanner earlier this year, when he said charges against
motorists are levelling off after a sharp spike in 2002, the number of
Highway Traffic Act charges declined in 2003 to 2,619 from 2,800 in 2002.

Meanwhile, part of the reduction in crime, Tanner said, is a trickle-down
effect from the successes of drug enforcement investigations and arrests,
in addition to officers specifically targeting crimes such as
break-and-enters and robberies.

In 2000, for instance, 728 break-and-enters occurred in the city. During
the past three years the statistics in the category have dropped 26 per
cent, with only 533 in 2003.

Robberies are following much the same trend, with 48 in 2000 sliding down
to 28 in 2003, a reduction of 47 per cent.

"A lot of that hinges on drug enforcement," Tanner contended, attributing
much of the decline to the success of programs such as Project Longarm,
which is a cooperative drug enforcement initiative between area police
services.

"I think our large amount of property crimes that have taken place in
Belleville over the past number of years have been linked to either a drug
need or a drug debt," he said.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense for someone to do a robbery ... at a corner
store for a relatively small amount of money."

People heavily involved with drugs, "... are much more desperate, and tend
to commit a crime that is not as logical."

A portion of the drop in property crime is also attributable to enforcement
he said: "If the people who are committing break-and-enters and robberies
have been arrested for those offences, then they're not on the street."

Since 2001, meanwhile, the total number of "Partner Assault Incidents" in
2003 jumped from 185 to 263 -- a rise of almost 30 per cent.

Charges included in the category include assault, sexual assault, stalking,
intimidation and threatening between those involved in a relationship.

Part of the reason for the jump, Tanner said, is a zero-tolerance policy
with regards to incidents involving domestic violence and the willingness
of victims to come forward and have a partner or significant other charged.

"There probably used to be more of a hesitancy to report a certain type of
crime, for instance, sexual assault within a relationship. It's become more
accepted from the victim's perspective to come forward."

Although sliding slightly to a 52 per cent clearance rate last year from 61
per cent in 2002, Tanner said his service still maintained a high rate of
absolving crimes by laying a charge or using other means.

Hiring more clerical staff to free up front-line officers should also
bolster clearance rates in upcoming years, he said.