Sad Sign of the Times

As a sad sign of the times vandalism (62%) and domestic assaults (41%) are up dramatically in 2009. Theft(-17%), burglary(-52%) and robbery(-100%) are all down dramatically which is a strong testament to our Police and strong sense of community. These crime rates have a natural ebb and flow but there is an obvious under current from the stress and dysfunction of a terrible State and National economy.

This is a mixed bag of good and bad news. Domestics are terribly dangerous for those involved but also for our Police Officers - those numbers are of great concern but do reflect trends. The vandalism numbers are also of great concern as they affect the standard of living in our City. I have zero tolerance for the destruction and defacing of public and private property. This seems like fun and games to those doing it but ends up costing the City and private property owners thousands and some years tens of thousands of dollars to repair.