MONROE - The City of Monroe had a stable crime rate in 2012, with powered cocaine re-emerging as a problem drug and heroin use continuing to fuel crime, according to a recently released annual report from the Monroe Police Department.
Calls for service increased slightly in 2012, with dispatchers handling about 11,000 calls. Meanwhile, the department's budget remained flat, with no increase since 2000 besides wage increases bargained by the city council.
Many of the 11,000 calls "still involved violence in some way or another," but violent crimes like aggravated assault went down 57 percent and property crimes dipped 11 percent from 2011, possibly the result of an improving economy, according to the report. Offenses such as drunk driving, liquor law violations, fraud, disorderly conduct and vandalism remained steady.
Many calls are for what Chief Fred Kelley describes as "quality of life" complaints - property maintenance issues, barking dogs and other minor code violations.
"Very often, persons are more bothered by their neighbor parking a car in the front yard than if a crime was occurring that didn't affect them," he wrote in the report.
Heroin, narcotic painkillers and powered cocaine plagued the area, but "of course, the largest drug of abuse in the community continues to be alcohol," Kelley wrote in the report. Officers respond to a "huge amount of the calls for service" for incidents involving alcohol - "however, our culture fails to recognize this."
Crime was spread evenly throughout the city, though traffic accidents tended to occur downtown and along main thoroughfares.
"There's not some crime pit," Kelley said. "It's spread here and there."
The largest financial loss to city residents is not crime-related but from injuries and property loss in traffic accidents, according to Kelley. Local traffic statistics crunched by the Department of Transportation show traffic enforcement reduces the incidence of accidents.
"Our efforts over the last two years have actually reduced accidents, and thereby monetary loss," Kelley wrote.
Calls for service increased slightly in 2012, with dispatchers handling about 11,000 calls. Meanwhile, the department's budget remained flat, with no increase since 2000 besides wage increases bargained by the city council.
Many of the 11,000 calls "still involved violence in some way or another," but violent crimes like aggravated assault went down 57 percent and property crimes dipped 11 percent from 2011, possibly the result of an improving economy, according to the report. Offenses such as drunk driving, liquor law violations, fraud, disorderly conduct and vandalism remained steady.
Many calls are for what Chief Fred Kelley describes as "quality of life" complaints - property maintenance issues, barking dogs and other minor code violations.
"Very often, persons are more bothered by their neighbor parking a car in the front yard than if a crime was occurring that didn't affect them," he wrote in the report.
Heroin, narcotic painkillers and powered cocaine plagued the area, but "of course, the largest drug of abuse in the community continues to be alcohol," Kelley wrote in the report. Officers respond to a "huge amount of the calls for service" for incidents involving alcohol - "however, our culture fails to recognize this."
Crime was spread evenly throughout the city, though traffic accidents tended to occur downtown and along main thoroughfares.
"There's not some crime pit," Kelley said. "It's spread here and there."
The largest financial loss to city residents is not crime-related but from injuries and property loss in traffic accidents, according to Kelley. Local traffic statistics crunched by the Department of Transportation show traffic enforcement reduces the incidence of accidents.
"Our efforts over the last two years have actually reduced accidents, and thereby monetary loss," Kelley wrote.