Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
So you know …
The News-Review's editorial staff has compiled a weeklong series that looks at how Douglas County has been affected by the downturn in the economy.
TODAY: How we got to where we are today
MONDAY: One family grapples with financial disaster
TUESDAY: Businesses meeting basic needs still prosper
WEDNESDAY: Social service agencies strive to help
THURSDAY: Effects on education, opportunities for retraining
FRIDAY: Signs of recovery, tips for staying positive
TODAY: How we got to where we are today
MONDAY: One family grapples with financial disaster
TUESDAY: Businesses meeting basic needs still prosper
WEDNESDAY: Social service agencies strive to help
THURSDAY: Effects on education, opportunities for retraining
FRIDAY: Signs of recovery, tips for staying positive
The sputtering economy may mean declining homes sales, decreasing retail purchases and climbing unemployment rates, but it doesn't seem to correlate to changes in the type or number of crimes being committed, at least not in Douglas County.
“The slow economy, the bad economy, generally doesn't have a big effect on crime,” said Dwes Hutson, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. “This isn't like a retail store or another government agency that issues permits ... and sees a decrease. Law enforcement typically doesn't see those changes.”
Crime statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation seem to back that up. In 2007, the sheriff's office handled 315 burglary cases and 743 theft cases. In 2008, those numbers dropped to 259 and 641, respectively. The 2008 statistics were the most recent numbers compiled by the FBI.
Burglary and theft cases also dropped in Myrtle Creek, Reedsport and Roseburg from 2007 to 2008. Sutherlin and Winston police departments reported lower numbers of burglaries, but experienced slight increases in the number of theft cases the departments handled, according to the FBI statistics.
Changes in Douglas County crime numbers are usually subtle because the overall number of crimes committed in the county are much smaller than the crime count in metropolitan areas, Hutson said.
Around Roseburg, property crimes seem to be occurring a bit more frequently, but Roseburg Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar said that can be attributed to the season. The department usually sees a slight increase in property crimes — such as thefts and vandalism — during the summer months, he said.
“Most property crimes are crimes of opportunity,” said Dunbar, spokesman for the Roseburg Police Department. “With more people outside, they're gonna see more cars with doors unlocked and windows down.”
Even if the number or types of crimes were changing more than usual, Dunbar said he thinks it would take a few years to see if a crime trend could be connected to changes in the economy.
“It's nothing I would be willing to attribute to the economy at this point,” he said.
One area of police activity that Hutson has seen increase is the number of peace officer holds in which sheriff's deputies are asked to assist. Ever since Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg closed its Behavioral Health Unit in the fall of 2007, Hutson said police officers are asked more and more often to intervene and take patients to the hospital's emergency department for peace officer holds.
“And in a bad economy, there may be more of that,” Hutson said.
A couple of types of crimes that seem to have been steadily increasing for the past few years are identity theft and computer crimes, Hutson said. As technology advances, so do criminals' techniques for taking advantage of people, he said.
The sheriff's office has even had reports of fraudulent uses of the social-networking site, Twitter.
“You have a fairly innocent social-networking site ... and now the criminal elements decided to try and exploit it,” Hutson said. “And I think that's a trend you're going to continue to see.”
“The slow economy, the bad economy, generally doesn't have a big effect on crime,” said Dwes Hutson, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. “This isn't like a retail store or another government agency that issues permits ... and sees a decrease. Law enforcement typically doesn't see those changes.”
Crime statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation seem to back that up. In 2007, the sheriff's office handled 315 burglary cases and 743 theft cases. In 2008, those numbers dropped to 259 and 641, respectively. The 2008 statistics were the most recent numbers compiled by the FBI.
Burglary and theft cases also dropped in Myrtle Creek, Reedsport and Roseburg from 2007 to 2008. Sutherlin and Winston police departments reported lower numbers of burglaries, but experienced slight increases in the number of theft cases the departments handled, according to the FBI statistics.
Changes in Douglas County crime numbers are usually subtle because the overall number of crimes committed in the county are much smaller than the crime count in metropolitan areas, Hutson said.
Around Roseburg, property crimes seem to be occurring a bit more frequently, but Roseburg Police Sgt. Aaron Dunbar said that can be attributed to the season. The department usually sees a slight increase in property crimes — such as thefts and vandalism — during the summer months, he said.
“Most property crimes are crimes of opportunity,” said Dunbar, spokesman for the Roseburg Police Department. “With more people outside, they're gonna see more cars with doors unlocked and windows down.”
Even if the number or types of crimes were changing more than usual, Dunbar said he thinks it would take a few years to see if a crime trend could be connected to changes in the economy.
“It's nothing I would be willing to attribute to the economy at this point,” he said.
One area of police activity that Hutson has seen increase is the number of peace officer holds in which sheriff's deputies are asked to assist. Ever since Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg closed its Behavioral Health Unit in the fall of 2007, Hutson said police officers are asked more and more often to intervene and take patients to the hospital's emergency department for peace officer holds.
“And in a bad economy, there may be more of that,” Hutson said.
A couple of types of crimes that seem to have been steadily increasing for the past few years are identity theft and computer crimes, Hutson said. As technology advances, so do criminals' techniques for taking advantage of people, he said.
The sheriff's office has even had reports of fraudulent uses of the social-networking site, Twitter.
“You have a fairly innocent social-networking site ... and now the criminal elements decided to try and exploit it,” Hutson said. “And I think that's a trend you're going to continue to see.”
