Did violent crime get better or worse in Merced last year? Here’s what the police chief said.
Violent crime in Merced rose by 3 percent in 2018 but overall crime was down by 12 points, according to statistics delivered this week by the chief of police.
A 12 percent increase in reports of rape (29) and a 9 percent increase in reports of assault (946) led to the increase in the violent crime number. The other six major crimes categories saw dips of 13 percent or more, according to the report delivered Tuesday.
A single criminal homicide case in 2018 was an improvement from the eight reported in 2017. Merced saw one other homicide in 2018 but it was considered justified, according to authorities.
In the past 11 years, Merced has seen 79 homicides and detectives have cleared 65 percent, according to Merced Chief Chris Goodwin.
“(Detectives) were able to solve six cold homicide cases and/or (obtain) arrest warrants,” he said of 2018. “Some of those were ‘07, ‘08 and ‘09. So we’re continuously working on those.”
Merced started 2019 with two homicides in separate incidents on Jan. 22, already surpassing last year’s criminal homicides.
Property crimes (burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson) declined by 22 percent, the report said. The overall crime rate is based on eight major crime categories every city is required to report to the state.
Police received 116 reports of robbery last year, a decrease of 27 percent from the previous year. Burglary reports (383) and larceny reports (1,395) last year were both dips of 18 percent from 2017.
Fifty-eight arson reports last year were 38 percent fewer than the previous year, and 425 auto theft reports last year were 13 percent fewer.
Firearms continue to be an issue in Merced, Goodwin said. Though last year saw fewer reports of “shots fired” at 357 — down by more than 200 in 2015 — officers have seized more than 200 firearms during arrests in each of the past three years.
Last year was particularly deadly for traffic collisions with 11 fatal accidents, which is more than the three previous years combined, numbers show. Of last year’s fatal crashes, seven victims were on foot, one was on a bicycle and another in a wheelchair.
“We then ramped up our patrol to deal with people that aren’t supposed to be on the street — jaywalking and anything like — to try to educate, persuade, deter people from walking in the middle of the street,” he said.
Merced police respond to the central district, which includes downtown Merced, more than its northern and southern districts, Goodwin said. The most common call for assistance is related to transients, he said.
Four people, who the chief did not name, were arrested more than 10 times in the downtown area on suspicion of trespassing, camping and other crimes often associated with homelessness. The most arrested person was picked up by police 24 times, Goodwin said.
The department had funding for 98 officers last year, one more than the previous year. There are 95 positions filled, Goodwin said, counting injured officers, recruits in the academy and others in various stages of the hiring process.
The department peaked at 111 officers in 2007, according to officials, before the economy tanked and the city made cuts to staffing.
Also on Tuesday, the Merced City Council approved a $789,899 six-year contract with Axon Enterprises Inc. that includes additional body cameras, Tasers, and related software and storage services.
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 2:58 PM.
