DUIs down markedly in Warren

Warren police release annual crime index

By Ted Hayes
Posted 8/12/16

DUIs and overall arrests were markedly down in Warren last year, though police officers dealt with slightly increased crime across a host of categories, from fraud to larceny to burglary.

Officers …

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DUIs down markedly in Warren

Warren police release annual crime index

Posted

DUIs and overall arrests were markedly down in Warren last year, though police officers dealt with slightly increased crime across a host of categories, from fraud to larceny to burglary.

Officers made 370 arrests during 2015, according to a crime index recently released by the Warren Police Department. That’s down 102 — nearly 23 percent — from 2014.

At the same time, officers saw crime increase in several areas. Some increases were minor, others large. They include:

* There were seven cases of sexual assault investigated, up from 2014. Those seven investigations represented a three-year high.

* Burglaries were up 17 percent, from 36 in 2014 to 42.

* Domestic offenses were up markedly. Overall, officers investigated 185 domestics, more than one every two days. That’s up by more than 30 percent from 204, when officers investigated 117 domestic disturbances.

* Though doemstics were up, disorderly person calls were about the same: 122 in 2015 as opposed to 117 in 2014.

* At the same time, DUI/refusal cases were down dramatically. The 20 DUI/refusal investigations over the course of the year is the lowest in at least six years, and is down nearly 80 percent from the 117 cases police investigated during 2014.

“Our DUI/refusal numbers have declined in the past seven years on average,” Deputy Warren Police Chief Joseph Loiselle said.

“I believe part of the reason is the increased efforts on the part of the Governor’s Office on Highway Safety that fund the extra enforcement for DUI patrols. There (are) quite a bit of advertisements and commercials that really emphasize, ‘If you drink and drive, you will be arrested.’”

* Other categories of crime remained more or less constant: Robbery, simple assault, property damage, arson and drug cases saw minor fluctuations.

Other numbers:

* Police responded to 460 accidents during 2015. That’s consistent with 2014, when they were called out to 457.

* Officers handed out 623 parking tickets over the course of the year, up about 20 percent from the 512 they gave out in 2014. Meanwhile, traffic violations were down from 2,082 to 1,942. Overall, police received 25,510 calls for service. That’s a call every 20 minutes, slightly down from 26,995 in 2014.

* Once again, Metacom Avenue proved to be the most accident-prone road in town. Overall, 111 accidents were investigated there, followed by Main Street (100), Market Street (75) and Child Street (31).

* The most common traffic violation issued was speeding. Police handed out 451 speeding tickets,down from 528 in 2014. People driving on suspended registrations (208) was the second highest, up markedly from 141 in 2014.

* Overall, police drove 131,501 patrol miles over the course of the year, averaging 15.01 miles per hour.

* The brutal winter of 2015 had a direct impact on the number of people cited for violating the snow parking ban. Sixty-three were cited, up markedly from 14 during the Winter of 2014.

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