What kept police busiest in 2020?

Year end stats get broken down

By RICK MORAIN For The Jefferson Herald

The most frequent arrest activity for the Jefferson Police Department in 2020 was speeding stops, according to a report presented recently to the Jefferson city council by the department.

Traffic violations were far the most common arrests.

Police reported excessive speed arrests 108 times in 2020, according to the report. The second most common arrest was for violation of the city’s snow ordinance for parked cars, with 63 calls. Third was 41 arrests for driving while suspended.

Other arrests with double-digit instances in 2020 were illegal parking for street sweeping, 28; failure to obey a stop sign, 25; driving under the influence of alcohol, 22; failure to provide proof of financial liability, 21; failure to possess valid license, 20; operate without registration, 17; driving while barred, 14; dark windows, 13; parked in wrong direction and violation of financial liability coverage, 11 each; and parked across sidewalk, 10.

Among arrests for reasons other than traffic violations, first offense possession of marijuana was the most common instance with 23 arrests. 

Fifth degree theft was next with 20 arrests. Next in line were violation of no contact/protective order with 19, violation of no contact order 18, first offense trespass 14, and interference with official acts 10. 

Although no single type of assault arrest achieved double digits, the various types of assault arrests in 2020 totaled 15, with simple assault leading that category with six arrests.

Selected other arrests, in no particular order, included four burglary arrests, two for carrying weapons, seven for child endangerment, controlled substance violation (marijuana) five, 12 arrests for various types of criminal mischief, five for curfew violation, one for defective or unauthorized muffler, and 16 for various types of domestic assaults.

Also one arrest for false imprisonment, three for false report to public entity, one for fireworks, seven for forgery, five for harassment, one for indecent contact (fondling) with a child, nine for minor using tobacco/vapor product, one for ongoing criminal conduct, seven for open container in vehicle, seven for possession of alcohol under age, and three for supplying alcohol to person under legal age.

Also nine for possession of methamphetamine, one for providing tobacco to minor, three for public intoxication, four for reckless driving, one for third degree sexual abuse, eight for thefts other than fifth degree, six for truck/RV/trailer parking, three for unlawful passing of school bus, five for unlawful possession of prescription drugs, three for use of electronic communication device while driving, one for wanton neglect of a health care facility resident, and two for willfully causing serious injury.

In terms of total calls, Jefferson police totaled 2,534 calls for service in 2020. 

That’s 439 fewer calls than the 2,973 calls reported the previous year in 2019, a drop of about 15 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic was likely a major reason for the decline, with residents frequently staying home in 2020.

A statistic that stands out starkly in comparing the two years is the 28 drug calls in 2020. The figure in 2019 was 204 calls involving drugs, many times higher than last year’s total.

On the other hand, domestic incident calls were up in 2020 compared to 2019 in Jefferson, with 60 in 2020 and 51 in 2019. Burglary calls almost doubled in 2020, with 39 that year compared to 20 in 2019.

The three main types of calls in 2020 broke out as 55 percent for public service, 30 percent for criminal activity, and 12 percent for traffic calls, about the same percentages as in 2019.

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