Thefts, burglaries up in Atwater, chief reports

ATWATER -- Crime rates in the city of Atwater held steady in most catagories during 2009, except for property crimes which increased, according to the Atwater Police Department's recently released statistics.

Burglary and theft jumped markedly in 2009 in contrast to all other crimes, according to the numbers.

While 2008 had 719 thefts reported, 2009 had 822. The same goes for burglary, which rose by 117 incidents in 2009 from 2008's 297 such crimes.

While both burglary and theft increased compared to 2008, that year had already seen a slight bump in such crimes compared to previous years.

While there were more property crimes in 2009, few got solved, said Atwater Police Chief Richard Hawthorne. Unlike many other crimes, property crimes often go unsolved since there is usually little evidence. Plus, few people identify their property so that it can be tracked after it has been stolen, even if it does get retrieved. Despite the low rate that such crimes are solved, Hawthrone said, the department has tried to increase its presence to deter criminals.

Hawthorne, who presented the crime statistics to the City Council on Monday night, said he attributes the increase in property crimes to the slow economy.

"I can very easily attribute that to the downturn in the economy," he said. Property crime always increases when people lose their jobs in large numbers, he said.

But, added Hawthorne, Atwater is not the only place seeing property crimes increase. "Our city is following the national crime trends," he said. Despite this recent bump, he said, over the last 20 years the trend has been a decrease in crime across the board.

When it came to violent crimes, the city saw a plateau in 2009. For instance, there were two murders and eight rapes reported in 2009. In 2008 there were two murders and seven rapes.

Each year the federal government collects local crime statistics and the numbers presented by Hawthorne will be part of the nationally compiled numbers.

In February, Hawthorne will present a more thorough look at crime in Atwater in 2009.

Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209) 385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.