The Missouri State Highway Patrol released their annual document analyzing crime data from the past year early last week.
In 2014, index crime offenses committed in Missouri was down about 8 percent from 2013. Crime has been steadily decreasing in Missouri since 2010, decreasing about 19.4 percent from 2010 to 2014.
Crime data is submitted to the Missouri Uniform Crime Reporting Program, a part of the Highway Patrol’s Statistical Analysis Center, throughout the year and is compiled into a crime statistics report each year. Although crime in Missouri continues to decrease, several high profile violent crimes in Columbia have pushed the creation of recommendations by the Mayor’s Community Violence task force.
The task force is not currently in session, but former task force co-chair Laura Nauser said she believes that although the crimes in being committed aren’t unique to Columbia, the ways they’re being addressed are.
“Our solutions are unique because we looked at it based upon our local conditions," Nauser said. "So that’s, where the task force recommendations I think will make a big impact.”
Highway Patrol spokesperson Lieutenant Paul Reinsch said lowering crime rates in Missouri can be attributed to several different factors.
“I think a lot of the time it’s just good police work, getting out there, making those contacts, investigating those crimes,” Reinsch said. “Another big part of that is education. We try to educate the public and ask for their help whenever they see a problem in the area, and a lot of times they provide information that helps solve a crime or even prevent it.”
Reinsch also said community policing efforts like the Mayor’s task force help lower crime rates across Missouri.
“Anytime you get the community involved, whether it’s a task force or just any individual citizen, it’s going to help with information and having the correct information goes a long way to help provide the answers to the crimes and to help solve them,” he said.
Nauser said one of the main focuses of the task force has been the community taking an active role in lowering crime.
“We’ve really taken on more of a focus on the community policing component of dealing with crime and social issues within our community and so the city council adjusted its last budget and allocated an additional $100,000 for that community policing philosophy and effort in our community," Nauser said. "Police are adopting new strategies and a more community policing model and a geographic policing model and that’s something that we’re in the very beginning stages of.”
The Highway Patrol crime report takes into account crime of all kinds including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and human trafficking.
