We’re not Fresno
-July 29,2021-
We’re not Fresno when it comes to the sheer volume of murders, assaults and burglaries. The Fresno Bee reported a few days ago that homicides in Fresno through July 10 – number 38 so far this year, double what it was at this time in 2020.
Further south, Visalia’s crime picture is still not a pretty one but not as awful as our neighbor to the north. The number of homicides in Visalia are about what they were last year. Overall ,the trends are mixed with improvement in some categories and an uptick in others.
Visalia Police Dept figures including May 2021 are now posted.Through the first 4 months of 2021, the number of homicides is 4, the same as the first four months of 2020.
Meanwhile, rapes are down to 37 from 49 last year through May. Using another data base, State Dept of Justice figures show rape cases in Visalia over the past ten years have climbed to over 100 cases each year from the mid-30s earlier in the past decade.
As for assaults, they are up slightly from last year. Assaults through May 2021 number 617 compared to 586 through May of 2020.
Burglaries /property crimes down
Department of Justice figures show for the past 10 years there is a decline in the number of burglaries in Visalia by nearly one half, down to 600 annually in 2020. Through May of this year burglaries appear down again – 194 year to date compared to 305 through May 2020.
Motor Vehicle thefts are about what they were last year at this time -about 200 plus. Dept of Justice numbers show that annual motor vehicle thefts have declined from around 600 in 2013 to 417 in 2020.
Property crimes in Visalia are down from 10 years ago, says the Dept of Justice, when we suffered over 5000 cases, now averaging just over 3000 a year. Larceny-theft is down about one third from 10 years ago and down from 2021 numbers year to date.
What’s up in Visalia ? Arson.