Crime in Grand Island, Nebraska Genevieve Burch University of Nebraska at Omaha
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University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Publications Archives, 1963-2000 Center for Public Affairs Research 4-1982 Crime in Grand Island, Nebraska Genevieve Burch University of Nebraska at Omaha Kathleen Nicolini University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cparpubarchives Part of the Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, and the Public Affairs Commons Recommended Citation Burch, Genevieve and Nicolini, Kathleen, "Crime in Grand Island, Nebraska" (1982). Publications Archives, 1963-2000. 155. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cparpubarchives/155 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Public Affairs Research at DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications Archives, 1963-2000 by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CRIME IN GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA by Deborah Caulfield Kathleen Nicolini Rebecca S. Fahrlander, Ph.D. Vincent J. Webb, Ph.D. G;~u~ Center for Applied Urban Research University of Nebraska at Omaha April 1982 The UniversitY ol Nebra$ka-An Equal Opportunity/Atfirrnutive Action Educational Institution ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank all members of the CAUR staff who con tributed to this project. The final report was edited by Marian Meier and typed by Helen Noyes and Joyce Carson. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i LIST OF TABLES . iii LIST OF FIGURES iii INTRODUCTION . 1 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS 1 CRH1E TRENDS . 2 Grand Island 2 Hall County 5 Nebraska . 8 Summary 8 Comparison of Crime Trends in Other Nebraska Cities 9 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY 12 THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 15 Grand Island Police Personnel 15 Hall County Sheriff's Department 15 Probation System 15 COURTS . 18 Residents' Perceptions of Crime Trends 22 Conclusion 25 APPENDIX . 27 ii LIST OF TABLES Table Page l. CRIME IN GRAND ISLAND (1972-1980) . 3 2. CRIME IN HALL COUNTY (1972-1980). 6 3. CRIME IN NEBRASKA (1971-1979) . 7 4. COMPARISON OF CRH1E RATE CHANGES BY CITY, 1971-1980 . 10 5. NEBRASKA JUVENILE ARREST DATA (1977-1980) . 13 6. GRAND ISLAND JUVENILE JUSTICE DATA (1977-1980). 14 7. GRAND ISLAND LA\'1 ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEE DATA (1971-1980). 14 8. HALL COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT DATA (1971-1980) ......... 16 9. DISTRICT 8 PROBATION PERSONNEL (1971-1980) ... 16 10. DISTRICT 8 - PROBATION DEPARTMENT (1971-1980) . 17 ll. OFFENDERS SENTENCED TO PROBATION . ],9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure l. PRELIMINARY HEARINGS IN NEBRASKA AND HALL COUNTY COURTS . 20 2. MISDEMEANOR AND ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS IN NEBRASKA AND HALL COUNTY 1976-1979. 21 3. CRIMINAL CASES FILED AND DISPOSED OF IN NEBRASKA AND HALL COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS 1975-1979 .•...... 23 iii INTRODUCTION This study examined data on crime and the criminal justice system in Grand Island and Hall County, Nebraska. It was designed to address some of the questions raised by a Grand Island Chamber of Commerce task force on crime and the criminal justice system. This report is composed of three parts. The first part analyzes data on crime and juvenile delinquency, the second examines data on the criminal justice system, and the third section summarizes the results of a telephone survey of Grand Island area residents' perceptions of crime. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS The population of Hall County in 1980 was 47,6901 , an increase of 11.3 percent since 1970. The county popula- tion was predominantly white (98.1 percent). Blacks comprised .3 percent of the population while American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and others made up 1.6 percent. In the total Hall County population 2.8 percent were of Spanish origin. The City of Grand Island experienced a population increase of 2.5 percent from 1970 to 1980. The 1980 Census data showed a population of 33,180. As in Hall County, whites predominated (97.8 percent), and only a small proportion 1 Data on demographic characteristics were taken from The 1980 Census of Population and Housing Advance Reports. This source compares 1970 and 1980 Census data and differs in some instances from data compiled from Crime in Nebraska. - 2 - of the population was black (.3 percent) or were in the categories including American Indians, Pacific Islanders, or others (1.8 percent). Persons of Spanish origin totaled 3.2 percent of the population. CRIME TRENDS 1 Crime statistics from 1971 through 1980 were analyzed. These data included the seven index crimes: murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. Data for arson were included for 1980, the year it was first added to the list of index crimes by the Federal Uniform Crime Report. Grand Island Table l presents crime data for the City of Grand Island. As the data indicate, an increase of 246 percent (from 624 to 2,162) took place in the number of crimes from 1971 to 2 1980. The rate of crimes per 1,000 population also rose from 19.9 in 1971 to 65.2 in 1980 or an increase of 228 percent. Hurder rates remained stable over the decade. In the years 1972 and 1974 through 1978 no reported murders occurred. One murder per year was reported in the other years, a rate of .03 per 1,000 population. The number of reported rapes varied from 0 to 4 per year. The years 1975, 1976, and 1980 each had 4 reported 1 Crime in Nebraska, a publication of the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, did not begin publi cation of crime figures until 1971. 2 The numbers of crimes reported were those that are made known to law enforcement officials. For a detailed discussion see the Federal Uniform Crime P.eport, 198 0, Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Pr~nt~ng Office. - 4 - rapes, a rate of .1 per 1,000 population. Robbery rates over the decade were somewhat more variable than were those for murder or rape. The number of robberies ranged from 3 in 1971 to 19 in 1977, and the rates per 1,000 population from .1 to .45. Assault rates fluctuated from 1971 to 1980. The greatest increase (100 percent) occurred in 1979, when the rate jumped from .6 to 1.2. However, in 1980 only 4 ' assaults were reported bringing the rate down to .12. Burglary rates were higher than those for murder, rape, robbery, or assault. The number of burglaries varied from 175 in 1972 to 369 in 1980, and the rate per 1,000 popula tion varied from 5.6 in 1972 to 11.1 in 1980. The most significant increases in rates were from 1973 to 1974 when an increase of 37 percent from 6 cases to 8.2 took ,place. and from 1978 to 1979, an increase of 43 percent from 7 incidents to 10.03. The rate increased by 61 percent from 1971 to 1980. Larceny occurred more frequently than any other index crime. The rates increased steadily over the decade from 10.6 per 1,000 population in 1971 to 49.1 in 1980, an increase of 363 percent. The greatest increases occurred from 1972 to 1973, 11.5 to 22.4 or 95 percent and from 1978 to 1979, 31.8 to 45.5 or 43 percent. From 1976 to 1977, the larceny rate actually dropped by 24 percent from 32.2 to 24.5. Motor vehicle theft rates fluctuated from 1.6 per 1,000 - 5 - population to 2.5 until 1979 when the rate increased by 63 percent to 4. 08. In 1980, 128 motor vehicle thefts were reported, a rate of 3.9 per 1,000 population. Data on arson were available for 1980 only. In that year, 20 cases of arson were reported or .6 per 1,000 in habitants. Hall County Data for Hall County were examined and compared with Nebraska as a whole. (See Tables 2 and 3.) Data were avail able for Hall County for the years 1972 and later. The number of reported index crimes in Hall County increased substantially from 720 in 1972 to 2,499 in 1980. The rate of crimes per 1,000 population increased 212 percent from 16.8 in 1972 to 52.4 in 1980. Rates for murder, rape, and robbery remained at less than .5 per 1,000 inhabitants over the nine-year period. Assault rates fluctuated. Dramatic increases in assault rates were evident in 1974 (114 percent) and again in 1979 (100 percent). In 1980 the rate dropped by 66 percent from 1.0 to .34. From 1972 to 1980, the rate of assault increased 183 percent. Burglary increased 90 percent from a rate of 5.1 in 1972 to 9.7 in 1980. Motor vehicle theft increased 81 percent from 1.6 in 1972 to 2.9 in 1980. Larceny rates were higher than those for other index crimes and increased substantially (300 percent) over the period surveyed from 9.7 in 1972 to 38.8 in 1980. In 1980, 21 cases of arson were reported TABLE 2 CRIME IN HALL COUNTY (1972-1980) Number and Rate of Crimes Crime Index Motor Vehicle Total Murder RaEe Robbe!:Y Assault BurgliD: Larcen~ Theft Arson Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per Rate per 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 Year Population N Population N Population N Population N Population N Population N Population N Population N Population N Population 1972 42,851 720 16.8 2 .05 4 .09 8 .19 5 .12 219 5.1 415 9.7 67 1.6 * 1973 43,682 1,165 26.7 1 .02 4 .09 6 .14 6 .14 241 5.5 845 19.3 62 1.4 * 1974 43,550 1,511 34.7 0 .00 3 .07 9 .20 12 .30 333 7.6 1,091 25.1 63 1.4 * 1975 45,327 1,495 33.0 0 .00 6 .13 11 .20 14 .30 293 6.5 1,099 24.2 72 1.6 * 1976 44,526 1,627 36.5 0 .00 6 .13 7 .16 14 .31 294 6.6 1,237 27.8 69 1.5 • 1977 45,901 1,656 36.0 1 .02 5 .11 21 .46 15 .33 384 8.4 1,140 24.8 90 2.0 * 1978 45,865 1,839 40.1 1 .02 3 .07 9 .20 23 .so 361 7.9 1,342 29.3 100 2.2 * 1979 45,569 2,386 51.2 1 .02 2 .04 9 .19 46 1.00 419 9.0 1,746 37.5 163 3.5 * 1980 47,651 2,499 52.4 1 .02 5 .10 10 .21 16 .34 460 9.7 1,849 38.8 137 2.9 21 .4