There were more burglaries, more DUIs and more thefts from buildings in Ansonia in 2010 than there were in 2009.
During the same period, the city had fewer drug violations, robberies, car thefts and murders.
Those are among the details from the 2010 crime statistics report for Ansonia.
“We keep an eye on it as it’s moving along,” Cota said about specific crimes in the city. “If we start to see a pattern, of stolen car stereos for example, we look into it.”
Cota said, for the most part, crime has stayed at about the same levels.
The Numbers
There were six aggravated assaults, three arson cases, 47 burglaries, and 31 car thefts in 2010.
Overall, police made 2,549 arrests in 2010, less than the 3,524 made in 2009.
Police also investigated 570 car accidents in 2010, compared to 515 in 2009.
Year-to-year numbers don’t always tell the full picture. Like, for example, the rate of “thefts from buildings.”
In 2010, there were more thefts from buildings reported in Ansonia — 71 in 2010 compared to 56 in 2009. But overall, that crime has seen a downward trend since 2002, when there were 89 reports of thefts from buildings.
The rate of other crimes, such as robberies, has fluctuated up and down over the past eight years.
There were 12 robberies reported in 2008, 24 reported in 2009 and 17 reported in 2010.
Still other rates stay steady — such as the murder rate, which has fluctuated between zero, one and two since 2002.
Manslaughter
In 2010, there were no murders, a drop from the two murders that happened in 2009. Both incidents were at the Riverside Apartment complex on Olson Drive, which has otherwise seen a dramatic decrease in the rate of serious crimes (the Valley Indy is preparing a separate story on the crime rate in that area).
The two people killed in 2009 were 22-year-old Jennifer Lewis, who was stabbed on a balcony at the apartments, and 39-year-old Bernice McFadden, who was shot by a stray bullet fired into a crowd at the complex.
Police arrested a suspect in the stabbing, but have yet to arrest anyone for the fatal shooting.
Counterfeits and Forgeries
One of the largest upticks in crime in Ansonia came in the counterfeit and forgeries category. Counterfeiting involves complaints of fake cash, while forgeries can include forged checks or prescriptions.
In 2009, there were only three incidents of counterfeiting and forgery in Ansonia. In 2010, that figure jumped to 12 — the highest level since 2002.
The Ansonia Police Department issued a warning to residents about counterfeit bills circulating in February 2010.
Other bank crimes — like writing bad checks and credit card fraud — stayed level in 2010.
Drug Crimes Down
The other significant downward trend in crime came in drug violations.
In 2009, Ansonia recorded 76 drug violations. In 2010, that number dropped to 58, despite a significant drug bust in December.
It was the lowest recorded number of drug violations since 2002, after a peak of 102 reported drug violations in 2004.
Cota said the department put officers into narcotics units to focus on drug cases in town in 2002, after receiving complaints from residents.
