Despite jump in homicides, other crimes decline in Merced

Despite hitting an all-time high for homicides Merced, overall reports of crime fell in 2014 in the city, including significant declines in firearm assaults and car thefts, according to statistics released this week by the Police Department.

Crime statistics also fell in 2013, prompting police Chief Norman Andrade to say he was pleased with the overall trend.

“The staff, the volunteers, and the officers deserve all the credit; it’s all attributed to them,” Andrade said. “Merced is a relatively safe, good place to live and work, and it’s due to all their hard work.”

Still, Andrade said, the dramatic climb in homicides remains “troubling.” Merced in 2014 reported 15 homicides, compared with five the prior year.

“It’s not a record that anyone is proud of,” Andrade said in an interview this week. “There are staffing issues we’re dealing with; we’re still down two detective positions, and we need people to cooperate honestly with the investigators when these things happen.”

Andrade said it would take a combination of additional staff, continuing technological improvements and public cooperation to bring the homicide rate down. Andrade acknowledged the challenges of investigating mostly gang-related homicides, noting many people fear retaliation any time a crime involves street gangs.

“We’re trying to get the word out that there are plenty of ways to communicate with us confidentially and even anonymously through the various telephone tip lines,” Andrade said.

The statistical report also showed a slight increase in robbery cases, with six additional reports coming in 2014 compared with the preceding year. Theft cases also rose in 2014. Crime reports fell in every other category, including sexual assaults, aggravated assaults, burglary and vehicle theft.

The department reported a significant statistical decline in assaults with firearms, from 56 in 2013 to 43 last year; a drop of more than 23 percent, according to the report.

Arson reports fell from 103 in 2013 to 40 last year; a decline of more than 61 percent, the report says.

Andrade this week presented a formal report to the Merced City Council, including additional numbers regarding the department’s use of force. Andrade reported that cases involving use of force by officers have declined every year for the past four years.

In 2011, there were 101 use-of-force incidents; in 2012, 94 cases; in 2013, 72 cases; and last year, 66, Andrade said.

“We attribute that to officers receiving a lot of ongoing training; and we’ve been ahead of the curve on that kind of training, and we’ve been ahead of the curve on many improvements such as body cameras, audio recordings and things like that,” Andrade said.

The chief of police also described to the council what he called a troubling number of incidents in which officers were attacked. In 2014, Andrade said, there were 22 cases in which officers were physically assaulted.

Also of concern, the chief said, was the department’s overtime expense, which totaled more than $500,000 during the last six months of 2014.

Mayor Stan Thurston and others on the council have asked the chief to come up with a list of the things his department needs. Thurston on Tuesday was careful to note the city likely will not be able to fully fund everything the chief requests.

The chief’s list is likely to include a request for additional personnel, which he said he would like to use to reconstitute the department’s traffic unit. Police reported eight traffic deaths in 2014 and 901 crash reports, 74 of which involved bicycles.

Andrade said there were an alarming number of hit-and-run reports last year – 334.

“A traffic unit does a lot of things. The number of weapons and narcotics recovered during traffic stops has an impact on other areas of crime; it prevents a significant number of things from happening,” Andrade said.

Whether the city will be able to add any officers remains to be seen. He noted the department staff has been reduced from more than 110 officers several years ago to 88 positions now.

This story was originally published February 20, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Despite jump in homicides, other crimes decline in Merced."