Lemoore City Council told that crime is up, but property recovery up too in 2013

According to the annual report, felony crimes in 2013 increase 7.45 percent over 2012 figures and misdemeanor crimes also spiked upwards, from with 1,909 crimes reported for a 7.25 percent increase. Overall there were 32,119 calls for service that Lemoore police officers were required to investigate. Smith attributed the increase to AB 109 and overcrowding of local county jails. "We attribute the increase mainly to the impact of AB 109 and jail overcrowding," he said. "It appears that we continue to arrest the same offenders over and over again."

Smith told council members that adult arrests also increased in 2013, increasing by 16.30 percent to 1,265. Juvenile arrests totaled 295 in 2013.

Among the seven major crimes as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) there were no homicides, six rapes, 28 robberies, 336 assaults, 408 larcenies, 88 auto thefts, and 112 burglaries.

On a positive note $616,519,000 worth of property was recovered by officers in 2013, an increase of almost 100 percent. The most common types of recovered stolen property continues to be electronics, jewelry and precious metals. The Lemoore Police Department recovered 25 stolen vehicles.

The Kings County Narcotics Task Force, of which Lemoore is a member, arrested 171 suspects for narcotics violations and seized illegal controlled substances valued at $2,594,004.

Traffic safety continues to be an area of concern for the Lemoore Police Department. There were 252 traffic accidents reported in 2013 compared to 235 in 20012, a 7.23 percent increase.

The number of Neighborhood Watch programs also increased from 98 to 103 in 2013