admin
The Perryville Police Department and the Perry County Sheriff’s office reported fewer arrests in 2019 than the year before, but both agencies reported higher clearance rates among open cases.
According to statistics from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the Perryville Police Department made 220 arrests during 2019, down from 376 in 2018.
Despite the drop in arrests, the department reported a higher clearance rate in 2019, something department spokesman Cpl. Jeri Cain attributed to the efforts of her fellow officers.
“We had a higher clearance rate this year thanks to the dedicated hard work of our patrol officers and our detectives,” Cain said.
Cain added that the numbers reported through the UCR only reflect actual arrests and don’t include citations issued by officers.
In Perry County, the sheriff’s office reported 689 arrests, down slightly from 764 in 2018.
Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf highlighted his department’s treatment of burglary and drug cases as a “good indication” of the work his deputies did during the year.
In 2019, the sheriff’s office received 25 reports of burglaries. Of those, 19 were solved and 6 are still under investigation.
“That’s a total of 76 percent clearance in reported burglaries for the year,” Schaaf said. “Our office has maintained a high percentage of cleared burglaries for the last several years, over 70 percent for the last six. This is a good indication of the hard work and dedication of the personnel here at the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.”
Drug cases in the county were also up this year, coming in at 321, up from 238 the previous year.
“That’s around a 26 percent increase” Schaaf said, “and another indication of the hard work and dedication of the personnel working these crimes.”
In the city of Perryville, the largest number of arrests came from what the UCR classes as Part I crimes, which include both violent crimes and property crimes. Violent crimes include criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crimes include burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
All told, 24 violent crimes were reported, a number which included 17 cases of aggravated assault and four forcible rapes.
There were 92 cases of assault reported in 2019. Of that number, 12 involved a weapon of some type, whether it be a knife or some other dangerous weapon, and five involved physical attacks. None involved firearms, and 75 did not involve any type of weapon and were classed as simple assault.
In addition, 197 property crimes were reported to the state, including 153 cases of larceny/theft, 35 burglaries and nine motor vehicle thefts.
City police also reported 73 cases of domestic violence, which included 19 cases that involved blood relatives, 17 that involved persons not married but living together, 12 between spouses and 11 between persons in a “continuing social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.”
Schaaf’s office reported 104 arrests for Part I crimes, including 38 cases of aggravated assault, one case of manslaughter by negligence and one forcible rape. Arrests for property crimes included 49 cases of larceny/theft, 12 burglaries and three motor vehicle thefts.
The sheriff’s office reported 107 cases of domestic violence during the year, including 27 involving persons not married but living together, 24 between blood relatives and 21 between spouses.
Schaaf, whose department also maintains the Perry County Jail, reported that the average daily jail population for 2019 was 34 inmates.
“A total of 1,146 people were booked into our facility last year,” Schaaf said. “That included people booked and released and people booked and held on warrants.”
