Statistics say violent crime up in Merced, nationwide

Violent crimes showed a notable increase in Merced County in the first half of 2015, according to preliminary law enforcement statistics that suggest the trend held true across the United States and particularly on the West Coast.

The FBI used nationwide crime numbers from January to June 2015 and compared them with the same period of 2014. The data showed all violent crimes increased nationwide in 2015. On the West Coast violent crime increased by 5.6 percent, the sharpest rise in the U.S.

Violent crimes include murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery.

In Merced County violent crimes rose by 7.35 percent, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office reported. The Merced Police Department reported a 3.56 percent increase in the first half of 2015, though that rate dropped to 2 percent for the year overall.

“A recipe of less police, more criminals on the street and less penalties and consequences” has led to the increase of crime, Merced police Chief Norm Andrade said.

Andrade particularly pointed to Assembly Bill 109, Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan on prison realignment, and Proposition 47, which reclassifies certain crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies.

Overall the number of murders for both agencies decreased. The biggest difference was in the county areas. In 2014 from January to June the sheriff’s office investigated nine homicides; that number fell to four in 2015. The Merced Police Department’s total decreased by one, from six to five. Merced police investigated 11 murders for the entire year.

Andrade said four of those murders were gang-related and five occurred in south Merced. Two murders occurred in central Merced, and four were in north Merced.

Rapes and aggravated assault were up in both the city and county jurisdictions, while assaults were down in Merced.

Andrade said rape victims are not afraid to report the crimes, though reporting still is slow. The police department works closely with the Valley Crisis Center and UC Merced to double up on prevention and education efforts.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has found that community policing and civic engagement are a sure way to reduce crime, Sgt. Delray Shelton said.

“Hard and swift policing does reduce the amount of criminal activity,” Shelton said.

Friday served as an example of that philosophy when a sheriff’s SWAT team targeted gang activity by raiding areas in Delhi and conducting probation sweeps.

Andrade said the Merced Police Department’s gang task force alone made 242 arrests, and confiscated 75 guns and $35,000 in cash.

Nomtsia Xiong, executive director of the Merced Organizing Project, said he wasn’t surprised about the increase in violent crime. The Merced Organizing Project is a local collaboration that tackles policy issues related to the well-being of Merced residents.

Xiong pointed to high vacancy rates in local law enforcement agencies and the lagging economy as contributing factors to a rising crime rate.

Prevention, intervention and enforcement are the equation to reducing crime, Andrade said. New technologies and officer training also are important, he added.

“We always like to see the numbers go the other way,” Andrade said.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Statistics say violent crime up in Merced, nationwide."