Kennewick Police Release 2013 Crime Statistics — 2013 Saw Improvement

According to the annual report released Thursday by Kennewick police, a number of crime catagories are down slightly, and only one area showed a marked increase.

The annual report details the total number of crimes reported and investigations,  ranging from drugs to assaults, robberies, burglaries etc.  The various catagories are broken down under the heading of "Crimes per 1,000 population."

Kennewick had 76,410 people in 2013, up some 1,350 from 2012.    Overall crimes per 1,000 were virtually unchanged, rising only .2% last year.

Overall violent crimes reported and investigated rose from 230 in 2012 to 241 last year.  These include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robberies.  Kennewick had 2 homicides, or murders, in 2013,  one in 2012.

Burglaries and arson were down in 2013, other catagories up only slightly.     The only crime statistic that showed any significant increase was auto theft,  rising from 129 in 2012 to 159 in 2013 - an increase of 30.  By comparison, Yakima reported 1,129 auto thefts in 2012, and 250 in the first quarter of 2013.

Kennewick police, working with the Tri-Cities Metro Drug Task Force and DEA seized in 2013 some 64.33 pounds of illegal drugs and prescription medications (these include meth, heroin, marijuana, marijuana plants, poppies and cocaine).   Of these over 42 pounds was marijuana.

A look at the long-term crimes per 1,000 population shows Kennewick's crime rate has dropped 5% from five years ago, 10% from a decade ago, and nearly 25% from 2001.