Crime totals for ‘08 shared

Editor's Note: The Alleghany Sheriff's Office and the Sparta Police Department recently provided information on their activities for 2008. The information for the Sheriff's Office follows the information from the Police Department.

The number of offenses and incidents to which members of the Sparta Police Department responded to, as a whole in 2008 appears to have decreased when compared to the numbers responded to during 2007.

The annual report, which highlights the activities of the Sparta Police Department, has statistics for many of the department's actions. The report was dated from Jan. 1, 2008 through Jan. 1.

Members of the department responded to a total of 66 accidents, down slightly from the 70 responded to in 2007. Other activities in the department include the issue of 235 citations (down from 323 issued in 2007); response to one statutory rape (as compared to response to one rape in 2007); 20 criminal damage to property charges (vandalism), up from 14 in 2007; seven larcenies from buildings; 20 driving while impaired involving alcohol and/or drugs (down significantly from 38 in 2007); and a total of 61 arrests on a total of 117 charges (down from 81 arrests in 2007.

Addressing the department's activity by category, in terms of incidents and investigations, forcible entry burglary and non-forced entry burglary resulted in a combined 10 investigations in 2008, while there were three incidents of motor vehicle theft of an automobile, two incidents of possessing or concealing stolen property and a combined six incidents involved some level of drug violation (which includes manufacturing, selling, possessing or concealing and others).

In the arrest category, 23 arrests were the result of all traffic violations for the exception of driving while impaired; while there were five arrests on simple assault charges and drug violations netted eight arrests.

During 2008, a total of 12 activities resulted in a single arrest. They are: larceny-from motor vehicle, larceny-from buildings, larceny-all other larceny, motor vehicle theft-automobile, simple non-physical assault, statutory rape (victim is under the age of 12), drug violations-equipment/paraphernalia-manufacturing, drug violations-selling, drug violations-equipment/paraphernalia-possessing/concealing, drug violations-all other drug violations, drunk and disruptive, and trespassing.

Of the citations issued in 2008, 85 of them had secondary charges.

 

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