GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. The Grand Junction Police Department has released the 2012 crime report. The numbers reveal spikes in some crime areas and improvements in others.
"Pretty good dip in violent crime this year, that's great," GJPD Chief John Camper said, We unfortunately did see some increases in property crimes."
In addition to a property crime increase, there was also a five-year high in drug violations. Camper says that isn't a coincidence.
"It's not unusual when we see an increase in drug arrests, which we did this year, pretty good increase in drug arrests, that property crimes may be going up at the same time," he said.
Looking into drug violations further, 2012 numbers from across the county indicate meth/amphetamine as the highest drug confiscated in terms of value, $877,224.
"We can probably have a drug task force twice as big as it is and still keep them very busy," said Camper.
On a positive note, Chief Camper says an increase in drug arrests is not all bad news.
"We've got officers and drug task force out there making those arrests," Camper said. "There's not too many people that just call us with a drug report, like they might with a burglary or a robbery. That means our officers are out there proactively making those arrests."
Camper says so far trends are continuing for 2013. They'll be analyzing the most recent statistics to further determine causes and other factors.
