Valley Independent Sentinel

Drug Busts, Larcenies On The Rise In Seymour

by Caitlin Emma | Feb 3, 2012 9:03 am

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Posted to: Seymour

Burglaries and larcenies in Seymour went up substantially last year from 2010, according to crime statistics released by the Seymour Police Department.

The numbers also show a 16 percent increase in drug arrests, from 61 arrests in 2010 to 71 in 2011.

Police in Seymour and Shelton have already stated there is a correlation between the rises in property crimes and illegal drug use. Click here for more on the connection.

Burglaries in Seymour increased about 35 percent — from 46 in 2010 to 62 in 2011. Larcenies went up about 34 percent — from 125 in 2010 to 168 in 2011.

Luckily, Seymour police arrested suspects they believe are responsible for many of the burglaries.

Seymour police spokesman Lt. Paul Satkowski said Thursday that the department’s rates for solving burglaries and larcenies, currently 25 and 29 percent respectively, will likely increase after police complete currently active investigations, adding that residents can do the most to thwart would-be thieves.

“Burglaries and larcenies are crimes of opportunity that people will take advantage of when they can,” he said.

First Selectman Kurt Miller, on the job for two months, said police are doing a solid job, and pointed to the department’s investigation of a spate of home burglaries — so many between September and December town officials sent out a Code Red message to alert residents — as an illustration of its commitment.

“They quickly handled the burglary spree. That says a lot about the effort they are putting in and speaks to their professionalism,” Miller said.

In recent months, Seymour police arrested three men suspected of break-ins and larcenies in Seymour, Oxford, Shelton, and other towns. The cases proved unrelated, but were motivated by drug use.

While crimes against property, such as larcenies and burglaries, went up substantially, robberies (crimes against people) saw a less dramatic increase.

In Seymour, three robberies occurred in 2010 compared to four in 2011.

There were no homicides during either year, but there was one instance of kidnapping in 2011 compared to none in 2010.

Lesser crimes, such as simple assaults, also increased. Simple assaults rose about 25 percent — from 47 in 2010 to 59 in 2011.

Some Improvements

Despite the upticks in certain crimes, other numbers decreased or stayed about the same. Aggravated assaults and auto thefts both saw reductions, for example.

Aggravated assaults went from 12 in 2010 to 10 in 2011. Auto thefts decreased about 47 percent — from 15 in 2010 to 8 in 2011.

Auto accidents increased only marginally, by 1.7 percent, from 458 incidents in 2010 to 466 in 2011.

Overall, calls for service decreased about 7 percent — from 17,281 in 2010 to 15,998 in 2011.

“I would still say Seymour’s a safe community compared to other cities and towns,” Satkowski said.

Ethan Fry contributed to this report.

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