SPRINGDALE -- Despite police assurances Springdale is safe, several residents said they remain afraid of what they see as a spike in gang-related crimes.
Crime isn't up in Northwest Arkansas, according to figures provided by police and available in the 2013 FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
By the Numbers
An FBI report shows estimated violent crimes in 2013 decreased 4.4 percent from 2012 in the United States. Estimated property crimes decreased 4.1 percent. About 1.16 million violent crimes and about 8.63 million property crimes were reported to law enforcement. The numbers are the most recent available.
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, 2013
Data Collection Fact
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program, of which the National Incident Based Reporting System is a part, is a city, county, state, and federal law enforcement program that provides a nationwide view of crime based on the submission of crime information by law enforcement agencies. The crime data are submitted either through a state program or directly to the national program, which is administered by the FBI. Since the 1930s, the data have been used in law enforcement administration, operation, management and to indicate the levels and nature of crime in the U.S.
Source: National Archive of Criminal Justice Data; www.icpsr.umich.edu…
Web Watch
For more on crime statistics in Springdale and Fayetteville, go to http://www.nwaonlin…">nwadg.com/crimestats.
Source: Staff Report
The number of violent crimes is nearly the same for the first six months of 2015 as it was in 2014, according to data released by the Springdale Police Department.
Police worked 1,009 calls of homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, robbery and sex offenses or rape through August this year, according to documents provided by Capt. Ron Hritz. For the same 8 months last year, police worked 1,002 incidents, documents show.
The number of killings police investigated isn't much different this year than 2014.
Police investigated two homicides last year January through August, compared to three for the same time period this year, according to police data.
"There is not a crime epidemic in Springdale," Hritz said. "All I can say is the numbers speak for themselves."
But, residents say gang-related shootings are new in Springdale. Shootings have happened in broad daylight, in public spaces and with other people nearby.
A man was shot to death standing in his uncle's driveway on a Saturday morning in April. Two others with him were injured.
A boy was shot while riding his bicycle at Crawford Avenue and Marylyn Street on a sunny summer evening in June.
A teenager shot another teen near Springdale High School after school had let out for the day. At least 12 people ran when the shooting started.
Springdale no longer feels as safe as Fayetteville, said Nikki Xaysanasy, 24.
Xaysanasy graduated from Springdale High School in 2009 and left the city for a job in Mansfield, Texas, roughly three months ago, he said. He keeps up with Springdale friends and has one friend whose car was shot at this past Christmas, he said.
"My mom watches the news, and she gets scared," he said.
The point isn't whether crime in Springdale is worse than in other cities -- it's that Springdale residents haven't seen this kind of crime before, said Francis Caceres, 19, who moved back to the city about a month ago. The city has become more dangerous than it was just a few years ago, she said.
"Of course crime is worse elsewhere, but to see it escalate here, in a place where it was never really known, it's disturbing," Caceres said.
There's no statistic on the number of gang-related shootings in Springdale per year.
Hritz said he only wanted to talk about overall crime -- not a specific segment of crime.
Other members of the police department confirmed six of the 10 gun-related crimes had links to gangs.
Caceres attended Springdale High School until her sophomore year, when her mother moved the family to Siloam Springs, she said. She always considered Springdale home and planned to move back, she said.
"A lot of things have changed," Caceres said. "I do think about my future, and I do think about having a family, and I feel like I do not want to raise a family here."
Overall crime low
Northwest Arkansas is following the national trend of declining violent crimes, according to FBI data.
About 1.16 million crimes occured nationwide in 2013, a decrease of 4.4 percent from the 2012 estimate, according to a 2013 report by the Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
The numbers are the most-recent available from the division.
The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan area had a crime rate of about 335 per 100,000 residents in 2013. The year before, the rate was about 375 per 100,000 residents.
Crime in Benton and Washington counties and cities fluctuates by category, months and geography, which is normal, police say. Population also affects crime rates, but crime statistics have stayed low throughout Northwest Arkansas despite a popuation boom, officials said. About 500,000 reside in the region compared to about 311,000 in 2000.
"Every (law enforcement) agency up here is just trying to do things right," said Capt. John Hubbard with the Bentonville Police Department.
The numbers don't show what is happening behind the scenes at police departments and sheriff's offices, law enforcement officials said.
For example, a couple of years ago Springdale police started reporting graffiti in an effort to make the city look better, Hritz said. That led to an increase in graffiti-related reports, but the incidents would have gone unreported before, he said.
In Rogers, total reported offenses increased nearly 18 percent from 2013 to 2014 after offenses declined the year before, according to records provided by police. Crimes that went up included assault or battery, thefts and drug possession, according to the documents.
The city of 61,464 had a crime rate of 37 per 1,000 residents for the categories of murder, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, theft of vehicles, aggravated assault and arson last year, documents show.
Rogers Police Chief Hayes Minor described the crime rate as low in email via spokesman Keith Foster. Foster said if other law enforcement agencies in Northwest Arkansas have a similar crime rate as Rogers, then it is "manageable" throughout the two-county area.
Fayetteville, the largest city in the region with a population of 80,621, had a crime rate of 54 per 1,000 people for the same list of offenses as Rogers. The crime rate in Fayetteville is low compared to other cities nationally, said Sgt. Craig Stout in email.
Crime rates for Fayetteville and Springdale were calculated by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette using 2014 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates and statistics provided by police departments.
The numbers are the most recent available from the agencies and are the most comparable available between the four largest Northwest Arkansas cities. Some law enforcement agencies categorize crimes differently.
All four police departments reported numbers to the federal government.
Violent crime reported to the 2013 FBI Uniform Crime Reports shows Bentonville police worked 61 violent crimes; Rogers, 208; Fayetteville, 339; and Springdale, 354. In 2012, Bentonville police reported 82 violent crimes; Rogers, 202; Fayetteville, 388; and Springdale 332.
Violent crime categories listed in the FBI reports are: Murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. The numbers are the most recent available.
Based on a 2013 annual Springdale police report, crimes committed against people had a crime rate of 22 per 1,000 people in 2013. A report for 2014 or 2015 has not been released by the Police Department.
Benton County reported 356 crimes against people and a population of 49,443, according to the 2014 Arkansas Uniform Crime Reporting Program through the Arkansas Crime Information Center. Washington County reported reported 788 offenses and a population of 45,800. County figures exlude cities.
Crimes against people in the state report are: Murder, negligent manslaughter, justifiable homicide, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, sexual assault, forcible fondling, incest, aggravated assault, simple assault and intimidation.
The 2014 report is preliminary and is the most-recent available.
The two county's figures are not much different from the 2013 report.
Benton County reported 367 crimes against people with a population of 50,612 in its unincorporated area. Washington County showed 779 incidents with 45,263 residents.
Even though statistics show crime isn't increasing in Northwest Arkansas, easy access to information may be creating a perception among residents crime is up or not as low as it used to be, Jay Cantrell, chief deputy at the Washington County Sheriff's Office said via email.
"Perhaps with our instant access to information, we now know more about our area -- both good and bad -- than ever before," Cantrell wrote.
'Surge of gang activity'
Springdale's gang activity has caught the attention of other law enforcement agencies, spokesmen said.
The Benton County Sheriff's Office released a mid-year report that says: "In the last 6 months, there has been an enormous surge of gang activity in the Springdale area. To our knowledge, three new gangs have risen and each is believed to contain 20-plus members."
Hritz wouldn't comment on the report.
The report points out a gang threat in Rogers, where police fought with known gang members in February.
Rogers police are watching carefully, Foster wrote in email.
"We do not see the types of violent crime or other activities that one normally associates with gangs," Foster wrote. "However, the recent events in Springdale would seem to indicate that gangs have the potential to become a bigger issue in the future."
Rogers, Bentonville and Fayetteville police spokesmen said their cities don't see much gang-related crime, although Hubbard said some crime in Bentonville might be related.
Crimes in other cities have been linked to gangs in Springdale, according to court and police documents.
A gun stolen from a Rogers home in January was used by teens in a drive-by, gang-related shooting in Springdale overnight March 14-15.
On Sept. 9, police searched the home of a "known" gang member and found a gun they think may have been used in the shooting near the high school, according to a probable cause affidavit. The gun was reported stolen in Siloam Springs.
Criminal gangs usually are in the inner cities, not rural areas, but Cantrell called the gang issue a "regional problem." Law enforcement agencies will work together, he said.
The shootings in Springdale spurred community action.
The School District revised its policy about gang activities earlier this month. In June, two men said they planned to start a gang intervention and prevention program this year. Earlier this year, about 900 people walked during a peace march in the wake of the two fatal shootings.
Police have met with community leaders, given presentations about gangs to teachers and at churches and met with school officials.
The Police Department plans to expand its crime suppression unit to include more officers. The expansion is to meet staffing needs and not in response to a specific type of crime, Hritz said.
Community leader Irvin Camacho said he plans to meet with school officials to talk about extra programs the school might need to help keep kids out of gangs. Maybe something with the arts, he said.
A community unity event is also being discussed, Camacho said.
People need to realize Springdale is safe, Camacho said. Some crime is bound to occur because of a growing population, he said. The danger is out of proportion, he said.
"I feel that I'm not in danger," Camacho said.
NW News on 09/20/2015