State of North Carolina Uniform Crime Report 1994
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/stateofnorthcaro1994nort State of North Carolina Uniform Crime Report 1994 Michael F. Easley, Attorney General James J. Coman, Director State Bureau of Investigation Ronald P. Hawley, Assistant Director Division of Criminal Information Prepared By State Bureau of Investigation AOS m m Division of Criminal Information 407 North Blount Street N.C. STAH UBRAfiY Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 (919) 733-3171 Issued July, 1995 Please Note Figures used in this report are submitted voluntarily by law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolma. Individuals using these tabulations are cautioned against drawing conclusions by making direct comparisons between cities due to the existence of numerous factors which affect the amount and type of crime from place to place. Some of these factors are listed in this report. More valid use can be made of these figures by determining deviations from state averages and through comparisons with averages for cities in similar population groups. It is important to remember that crime is a social problem and, therefore, a concern of the entire community. The efforts of law enforcement are limited to factors within its control. North Carolina Department of Justice State Bureau of Investigation 407 North Blount Street Raleigh, North Carohna 27601 A total of 1,275 copies of this public document were printed by the North Carolina Department of Justice, State Bureau of Investigation, at a cost of $1.5,720.00 or $12 3.3 per copy. Thi.s j)ublication is printed on permanent, acid-free paper in compliance with the General Statutes of the State of North Carolina. ii Preface I am again pleased to provide you with the twenty- second edition of Crime in North Carolina. This index is an indicator of the problems our society faces. This document represents the diligent efforts of approximately 450 law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina. It is based upon monthly offense and arrest reports. We greatly appreciate the cooperation and support of personnel from each of the agencies involved. Reported crime in North Carolina increased one percent from 1993 to 1994. Violent crime (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) decreased 2 percent. Individually, murder and robbery both dropped 4 percent, rape went down 2 percent and aggravated assault decreased 1 percent. Property crime (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft) increased 2 percent across the state. While overall violent crime decreases are encouraging, there is much left to do in the fight against crime. The number of crimes committed in North Carolina is still much too high. Over the past five years, every single category of crime has risen, many by more than 10 and 20 percent. More alarming are the statistics that show our young people are becoming more violent. While adult arrests for violent crime decreased 7 percent, juvenile arrests of offenders 17 and under rose 3 percent. Our children are becoming armed and dangerous. Now, when a juvenile commits a violent crime, it is likely a gun or knife will be involved. Weapons violations increased 19 percent from 1993 to 1994 among juveniles 17 and under. These trends should concern every citizen and public official in North Carolina. Our commitment to meaningful prevention programs and a realistic and effective criminal justice system must be maintained. We must find innovative ways to meet the challenge of keeping our communities protected and our citizens safe. Michael F. Easley Attorney General iii Law Enforcement Code of Ethics As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives andproperty; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality andjustice. I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self- restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be exem- plary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my depart- ment. Whatever I see or hear ofa confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities orfriendships to influence my decisions. With no compro- misefor crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear orfavor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities. I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol ofpublic faith, and I accept it as a public trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before God to my chosen profession . law enforcement. iv Foreword In 1969 the Division of Criminal Information (DCI), then called the Police Information Network, was created to provide criminal justice information to all North Carolina law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. Since 1973, law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina have voluntarily submitted data to the DCI on specific crimes committed in their areas of jurisdiction. The information and statistics presented in this annual are an assessment of those reports submitted for 1994 and represent an overview of the statewide problems associated with those crimes. Once this data is compiled from monthly reports submitted to the DCI, it is furnished to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for tabulation in their national publication called Crime in the United States. This publication is printed with the hope that it will not only assist law enforcement administrators in determining their priorities in the fight against crime, but that it will prove to be a vital resource to researchers, educators and other public and private agencies involved with criminal justice in North Carolina. We believe that the collection of crime statistics will increase awareness for all citizens and by studying these statistics there will be a greater understanding of the problems facing law enforcement. Hopefully this will result in constructive improvement of our criminal justice system. James J. Coman SBI Director V Division of Criminal Information Statement of Policy For Release of Crime Reporting Data The following policy will be observed by the State Bureau of Investigation concerning the release of all crime data collected under the summary Uniform Crime Reporting and Incident Base Reporting standards. Employees of the SBI shall not deviate from this policy without the express consent of the SBI Assistant Director for DCI or the SBI Director. Public Access: 1. Any crime data submitted to the Division of Criminal Information will be made available for public release once that data has been edified, verified for accuracy and put in final form. 2. The SBI/DCI has the authority to charge for the release of crime data to non-criminal justice contributors to recover the costs in providing the information. 3. All crime data to be released will originate from the SBI's Division of Criminal Information due to periodic updating. Official Publications: 1. The SBI/DCI will publish an annual report reflecting crime in North Carolina. This report will be distributed to the Governor, to members of the Legislature, to the Attorney General, to law enforcement agencies or to any agency or committee dedicated to law enforcement or criminal justice work. The SBI/DCI and its Advisory Policy Board have the authority to place a charge on the annual publication, Crime in North Carolina, to recover the cost of publishing the document. 2. Law enforcement agencies are asked to comply with the release dates and times of official publications such as Crime in North Carolina, the Semi-Annual Report, and the Preliminary Annual Report. Law Enforcement Access: Criminal justice agencies will have their own data and other contributor's data available to them at all times for the purposes of crime prevention, crime pattern detection or other related needs in combating crime. vi Dedication This book is dedicated to all law enforcement officers and in particular to those law enforcement officers who were feloniously killed while endeavoring to uphold the laws and serving the citizens of North Carolina in the interest of all mankind. The following officers gave their life to this cause in 1994 on the data specified. The following officers were killed feloniously in the line of duty: Officer Robert Buitrago Officer Troy Douglas Carr Winston-Salem Police Department Alcohol Law Enforcement January 15, 1994 May 14, 1994 The following officers were killed accidentally in the line of duty: Officer Jackie Lamont Daniel Officer Gregory Lee Hawks Division of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Guilford County Sheriffs Department July 28, 1994 September 2, 1994 vii Table of Contents Page PREFACE — MICHAEL F. EASLEY, ATTORNEY GENERAL iii LAW ENFORCEMENT CODE OF ETHICS iv FOREWORD — JAMES J. COMAN, DIRECTOR v STATEMENT OF POLICY FOR RELEASE OF UCR STATISTICS vi DEDICATION vii SECTION I — N.C. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM 1 Historical Background 2 The Division of Criminal Information 3 Reporting Procedures 5 Verification Procedures 6 Field Representation 6 Incident Base Reporting 7 Hate Crime Reporting 8 Contributing Agencies and Population Coverage 8 SECTION II — CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTERPRETATION 9 UCR Limitations 10 The Index of Crime 12 Classification of Offenses 12 Scoring of Offenses , 12 Clearances 13 Property Stolen and Recovered 13 Arrests 13 Crime Factors 14 Offense Definitions 14 SECTION III — CRIME INDEX OFFENSES 17 The Crime Index 18, N.C. Crime Clock 19 Total Index Crime 20 Violent Crime 23 Murder 25 Forcible Rape 33 Robbery 41 Aggravated Assault 45 Property Crime 47 Burglary 49 Larceny 51 Motor Vehicle Theft 55 Arson 57 Index Crime Trends 59 N.C.