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Crime & Safety

Top Crimes in Geneva for 2011—So Far

The Police Department monthly reports show that the number of burglaries is up this year, but crime is dropping in several categories. It also shows that violent crimes are few here.

The monthly reports so far this year offer a Top 10 List that's almost as cheerful as a David Letterman bit.

This Top 10 is good news for Geneva residents, anyway, for the simple fact that the number of crimes in several categories is decreasing year over year, and the crimes that police most-often respond to aren't usually life threatening. And the extremely serious, dangerous crimes—like murder, aggravated sexual assault and armed robbery—continue to be few and far between.

One exception to the downward trend is in the category of burglary. In all of 2010, the total number of burglaries in the Geneva annual report is 23. Through the first 11 months of 2011, 41 burglaries have been reported.

Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We talked about this before in relation to the (recent) armed robberies," said Geneva police Cmdr. Julie Nash. "Those numbers will fluctuate. If we have a group of individuals or single person who comes in and does multiple burglaries, the numbers will go up until those persons either move to another area or we catch them and charge them."

On the other side of the statistical coin, thefts are down significantly so far in 2011. There were 255 thefts reported in 2010 and only 157 in the first 11 months of 2010. Vehicle thefts were down, as well, from three in 2010 to zip so far this year.

Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The nunber of very-serious crimes, through November 2011, is basically flat year over year. The Police Department is reporting:

  • Zero murders—same as 2010
  • 1 criminal sexual assault—up 1 from 2010
  • 1 arson—same as 2010
  • 8 assault/battery cases—down 1 from 2010
  • Zero robberies—same as 2010

That last category of numbers will change, of course, come the end of December. The Dec. 8, and the was robbed Dec. 5.

Here are the top 10 Geneva police actions in order of the total numbers of incidents from January through the end of November 2011:

1. Accidents—939

2. Vehicle Lockout—586

3. Burglar Alarm—510

4. Assist Fire Department—477

5. 911 Hang-Up Call—456

6. Assist Motorist—449

7. Animal Complaint—377

8. Driving Complaint—376

9. Check Well-Being—317

10. Domestic Dispute—268

Nash said the arson occurred in October and was a trash-container fire at Heartland Elementary School. The criminal sexual assault happened in November and is under investigation.

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