Drug arrests, accidents up in 2007; DWI cases down, according to Marshall police report/Total number of crimes up, violent crime rate down from previous year

"Because of the overall harm caused by illegal drugs to society, strict enforcement of the drug laws remains a number one priority for the coming year," according to a summary in the 2007 annual report.

MPD apprehended 635 individuals in 2007, which is slightly higher than in 2006. But fewer arrests were made in 2006 and 2007 compared to all three years previous.

Traffic accidents investigated by MPD were higher than in the past five years. The department investigated 467 accidents.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) arrests have been steadily decreasing since 2004, after 139 individuals were arrested. In 2007, only 58 were arrested for DWI.

MPD filed 1,470 incident reports in 2007 and sent 1,895 municipal court cases through court, which includes traffic and all other violations. In fines, the city court collected $178,712 from police-related cases.

The department also issued 1,578 traffic tickets, which is higher than in 2006; however, it is at least 800 issued tickets lower than in years between 2003 and 2005.

The total crime rate in Marshall has increased from last year by 42 reported crimes. Larceny, burglary and auto theft contributed to the increase. The department reported 241 crimes of larceny, 53 of burglary and 10 of auto theft. Zero crimes were reported in the arson category.

Total violent crimes, which includes murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault, went down from 2006. In 2006, 29 violent crimes were reported by MPD. In 2007, the number decreased to 20.

Two forcible rapes were investigated, which is lower than the five from last year. Robbery crimes increased from one last year to four in 2007. Aggravated assaults decreased from 20 to 14 reported incidents. Zero murders were investigated in 2007 compared to three that were investigated in 2006.

"It is important to remember that crime is a social problem and a concern to the entire community," according to Chief of Police James Simmerman. "Efforts of law enforcement are limited to factors within its control."

MPD investigated 92 cases of child abuse, child neglect, endangering the welfare of a child and child molestation. In 2006, 91 cases were investigated, while in 2005, only 43 were investigated.

The department has achieved a 98.9 percent rating over the years for persons arrested, summoned or wanted in cases of adult abuse. In 2007, MPD investigated 121 victimization incidents and achieved 100 percent rating for persons arrested, summoned or wanted in cases. They have achieved this 100 percent rating for the past five years.

The department employs 23 full-time officers, seven full-time and six part-time dispatchers, and six full-time and four part-time civilian staff personnel. Throughout the employees at the department, they collectively spent 1,198 hours in various training courses.

MPD has also completed its 14th year of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) at St. Peter Elementary School and Bueker Middle School. This program is coordinated by Detective Corporal Jill Markes with the help of Detective Sergeant Brad Bartlett, Sergeant Michael Donnell, Reserve Officer Mark Henley and Reserve Officer Mark Gooden.

Also included in the annual police department report are statistics for the animal shelter.

The shelter impounded an all-time high of animals. The Animal Control Officer picked up 1,007 animals: 586 dogs and 421 cats.

The Saline Animal League was founded in June 1997 and has built a strong partnership with the city of Marshall. The organization strives towards reducing the number of neglected and homeless animals in Marshall. With the help of the strictly volunteer-based organization, 65 percent of the available animals impounded were adopted from the Marshall Animal Shelter during 2007.

The shelter was able to get 197 animals reclaimed by their owners, leaving 810 animals available for adoption. The Saline Animal League was able to get 525 of the 810 animals adopted.

The percentage of adopted animals decreased greatly from the past few years, but the number of animals collected played a big part in that percentage.

The Saline Animal League achieved over a 90 percent rating of adoption from 2003 to 2006 with anywhere between 800 to 900 animals brought to the shelter.

The Animal Control Officer issued 128 summons in 2007, which is up from 97 in 2006.

For more information and to read the complete annual report online, visit the Web at www.marshallpolice.com.

Contact Rachel Harper at marshallcity@socket.net