Observers are ecstatic that in the first six months of 1999, the number of reported serious crimes in the United States has fallen 10 percent.

Tuesday, November 23, 1999

Observers are ecstatic that in the first six months of 1999, the number of reported serious crimes in the United States has fallen 10 percent.

Because serious crime nationwide has been falling since 1991, the figures are especially encouraging.

The crimes being tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation are murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault as well as such property crimes as burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft.

According to the Associated Press, "The preliminary FBI report surprised experts, because the overall crime figure declined by only 5 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent in the preceding three such reports."

According to the FBI report, in the first six months of 1999 murders nationwide declined 13 percent, forcible rapes 8 percent, robberies 10 percent and aggravated assaults 7 percent.

The FBI also reported in the first six months of 1999 burglaries were down 14 percent, larceny-thefts, 12 percent, and motor vehicle thefts, 8 percent.

But, despite the FBI’s excitement over declining national crime statistics, three spokesmen for the local criminal justice system say "Take them with a grain of salt."

The reason: the murder rate in the city of Austin increased by 100 percent in the first six months of 1999 over the same period in 1998.

That is, of course, because the city had no murders in 1998 and it points out the skepticism that exists over such reports.

When Angelito Doroteo Munoz, 21, allegedly stabbed to death Jose Luis Castillo inside a house at 104 3rd Ave. SE in June, the homicide theoretically caused concern, because by itself it propelled the city of Austin’s homicide rate to 100 percent.

"That homicide is an anomaly, of course, in Austin. We don’t, fortunately, have many ever," said Austin Police Chief Paul M. Philipp. "But it did increase the city’s murder rate by 100 percent and, therefore, that would be cause for alarm if taken at first sight. One homicide skews our statistics dramatically."

"But," Philipp added, "generally speaking, the serious crime rate for the city is at the status quo level. Certain serious crime rates have not increased and, in fact, they have gone down. For instance, felony assaults and rapes are down."

"Because of the generally low numbers of those crimes, any fluctuation either way, up or down, could see statistics for the city rise or fall dramatically," Philipp said.

Mower County Sheriff Barry J. Simonson said, "It’s really hard to get an accurate picture of serious crime rates out here in rural Minnesota."

"Because of the relatively few numbers of those crimes that we do have reported, there just doesn’t seem to be any clear trend," he said.

Police chief Philipp said wide coverage of horrific crimes, such as the rape of an 8-year-old St. Paul girl, the school shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and any serial killer blur the facts in rural Minnesota. "Their perception is, of course, that crime is rampant; especially serious crimes when they see or read those crimes being reported," he said. "That is still an issue to deal with in law enforcement: people’s perception versus the facts."

County sheriff Simonson doesn’t believe "most people" hold the attitude that crime is rampant in rural Minnesota and that they are able to separate horrific crimes happening elsewhere with the relative peace and security they enjoy.

Meanwhile, Mower County Attorney Patrick A. Oman weighs in with an opinion that while serious crime may be down nationally, according to the FBI report, and that serious crime, in general, may not be as regular an occurrence locally as it is elsewhere, more crimes are happening locally.

"It does appear, according to the report, that overall most serious crime is down nationally," Oman said. "But, the rise and fall of serious crime statistics actually moves from state to state. While one is enjoying a decrease, another may be seeing an increase, so one should not think serious crime is down everywhere."

Oman also delicately addressed the growing concern or, at least, the perception, that crime is increasing locally.

Choosing his words carefully, Oman said, "Austin is experiencing a shift in population and since that shift began, there as been a noticeable increase in criminal activity."

Oman said the prosecutor’s office has been overwhelmed with misdemeanor and traffic offense cases, according to the latest reporting period by his office staff: 600 through September this year.

Also increasing are felony and gross misdemeanor cases: over 90 for the same reporting period.

With the growing caseload, there are related problems in the criminal justice system. "Our jail and others around us are packed," he said. "Also, we’re seeing more electronic home monitoring and house arrest, because of that."

"Also, we have had some rather ugly assault cases. In fact, we’ve seen some horrendous assaults, so I can understand how people’s perception would be alarmed at that fact," he said.

The addition of a fourth attorney in the Mower County Attorney’s office only a few years ago helped, but, Oman observed, "All of a sudden, we’re seeing a hefty caseload increase and tightly court scheduling as a result."