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Show " State TYess , Qj' 1 it ; , V.A IK Ni CRIME RATE RISES. Craig Holyoak (left) studies the recently compiled 1978 Cedar City crime statistics with Cedar City Police Chief Douglas Bolton (right). Holyoak is the .department's crime prevention officer. Statistics indicate CedarCrime Increase The Cedar City Police Department today released the crime statistics for 1978. The statistics confirm the predictions made by Police Chief Douglas Bolton in March, 1978, when he warned that crime would be considerably higher than in previous years. The figures show that burglary increased in Cedar City by 76 percent over the 1977 totals, thefts were up 76 percent, and arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUD increased in-creased by a 40 percent margin. Chief Bolton expressed concern over the criminal activity related to vehicles. The statistics show that . approximately one half of the $144,791 worth of property stolen over the twelve month period in all types of crimes could be accounted for in stolen vehicles and items taken from cars and trucks. This, stated Chief Bolton, points to the need of car owners to properly secure their vehicles when they are not driving them. The Chief added that most crime involving vehicles could be avoided by having the drivers remove the keys from the vehicles and locking the doors. The statistical report shows that the number of young people under the age of 18 who were referred to juvenile court for unlawful activity rose by 42 percent. The highest crime categories for juveniles in 1978 were thefts, vandalism, and the violation of state liquor laws. Crime Prevention Officer Craig Holyoak stated that 37 percent of Cedar City Police arrests for violation of liquor laws involved minors under the age of 21. "Not only is this a significant number by itself considering that these people should not have access to alcohol," stated Officer Holyoak, "butr we are also concerned with the relationship between alcohol and other types of crime." This concern was illustrated by an incident in August where two young people caused over $500 damage to private property after drinking a considerable amount of beer. Juveniles were not the only ones with troubles stemming from alcohol abuse. Arrest statistics indicate that where 51 people were taken into custody for driving under the influence in-fluence in 1977, 85 were arrested in 1978. Where DUI accounted for the largest single category of adult arrests, other types of alcohol-related violations ranked third as the cause of arrest. The 76 percent increase in reported thefts in Cedar City is reflected in the rise from 162 thefts in 1977 to 286 in 1978. Included in this number are 102 reports of shoplifting and 59 cases of thefts from vehicles. Chief Bolton reports that 107 arrests were made last year for theft. According to Officer Holyoak, the year's statistics for burglaries indicate in-dicate that crime can be reduced with the cooperation of the people of Cedar City. Although the statistics show that burglaries increased by 70 percent, over the previous year, 69 percent of 1978's burglaries and 82 percent of the dollar loss they caused, occurred in the first half of the year. This, stated Officer Holyoak, was before the community was made aware of the size of the burglary problem and before efforts were made by residents of Cedar City to make themselves less vulnerable to breaking and entering. Although residents have made an effort to increase the security measures around their homes and businesses, according to Officer Holyoak more needs to be done. Figures indicate that almost one third of last year's burglaries required no forced entry. This means that the burglar entered the building through an unlocked door or window. This problem is very similar to that of people leaving their cars and trucks unlocked. These two types of crime contributed greatly to the $144,791 lost to crime in the Cedar City area last year. In the area of traffic, Chief Bolton reported that Cedar City experienced a total of 342 traffic accidents with 36 causing personal injuries and one fatality. Property damage totalled an estimated $183,062. |