Crime Rate in Janesville Hits 35 Year Low

The crime rate in Janesville hit a 35 year low in 2019 according to the crime statistics released Friday. There were 9 nine deaths in the city from overdoses of heroin, fentanyl, pain pills and other opiates which is a reduction from previous years. Property crime is down as well and although that could point to less opiate addiction there was an increase in shoplifting which is a common way for low income drug users to pay for their habit. Preventive programs have also contributed to the lower crime rate with programs that put addicts in touch with recovery services, one that follows up with domestic violence victims to help them get safe and promote attendance for kids and teens where officers contact parents on ways to get their truant kids to attend school. Other facts in the departments report is animal complaints are down, the number of calls for intoxicated people has dropped from an average of 54 to 28, loud noise complaints are down, overdoses are down but only slightly from 160 to about 141, vandalism, juvenile arrests and suspicious persons and vehicles are all down. Calls for intoxicated drivers are up from about 250 in previous years to 330. There were no stats looking at arrests for people of different racial groups. The Department maintains advisory groups that focus on the concerns of Latinos and Blacks.