Crime statistics compiled by the Wilton Police Department for GOOD Morning Wilton seem to indicate that there were fewer crimes committed in Wilton in 2014. That’s GOOD news resulting from hard work from the police department, according to spokesman Lt. Donald Wakeman–despite what he called a “less than full authorized staff” in an email to GMW.com.
“The officers of the department continue to work hard enforcing motor vehicle violations and investigating criminal incidents, all while operating at less than full authorized staff. We have been short several authorized positions as of late, however with recent hires we are almost back to full strength. One of the key factors in reducing motor vehicle and criminal misconduct is having patrol officers visible on the roads and in the neighborhoods. With less officers available, the presence of patrol officers is stretched thin. At full staff we are able to provide a greater degree of visibility which acts as a deterrent against improper actions,” Wakeman wrote.
Taking a look at the numbers over the last decade, it’s interesting to compare 2014 figures to the previous years’ tallies, as well as the averages, going back to 2003.
Notably, there was a year-to-year drop in the number of domestic violence crimes: in 2014, Wilton saw 105 domestic incidents, down from 116. And while that number is still above the 10-year average of 93.9, it’s still a drop that reflects a downward trend from 2011. Sadly, it’s not close to the numbers Wilton saw in the early 2000’s, when the number of domestic incidents were at 45 in 2003, and 53 in 2004; nor is it close to 2008, the last year such crimes were in the double digits. However, at least the trend shows the number of reported domestic incidents has been dropping over the last few years.
Another figure that has dropped is the number of DUIs. Wilton Police report 53 DUIs in 2014, down from 67 in 2013 and down markedly from 86 in 2012. It’s also well below the 10-year average of 84.7 DUI arrests.
Motor vehicle accidents waned this past year too; in 2014 there were 756 accidents, compared to a spike in 2013 of 909. This reflected a below-average year as well for this kind of police event.
Wilton saw fewer burglaries and larcenies in 2014. There were 21 burglaries–five fewer than in 2013; it’s also the average number Wilton sees per year. The number of larcenies dropped almost in half from 2013 to 2014, falling to 88 larcenies from 151. Thankfully, once again, there were no robberies to report.
For violent crimes, there were no homicides, three sexual assaults and two assaults; these 2014 numbers mirrored those of 2013.
The numbers of breach of peace incidents dropped this year, from 62 in 2013 to 43 in 2014.
And finally, what stayed pretty flat–year-to-year as well as compared to the 10-year average–were the number of times the Wilton Police came to the aid of injured citizens, assisting EMS on 1117 calls in 2014.
Wakeman told GOOD Morning Wilton that the department works in various ways to address crime in town.
“Officers continue to provide increased support services for those involved in domestic related incidents, assisting victims with assessing their safety and providing important victim advocate information. Detectives continue to network with other investigators from surrounding departments to discuss crime patterns and suspects, as the sharing of information can be of considerable assistance when perpetrators cross into different towns to commit their crime.”
