Parsons, Kansas Police Department release crime report. “Safest year since 2014”
The Parsons Annual report for 2021 has been released with data compiled from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) Crime in Kansas Report.
“2021 was a safer year in Parsons even with the crime challenges that face Southeast Kansas” according to Lieutenant Jason Ludwig who is responsible for gathering data for the Annual Report.
“This year’s Annual Report has 5 full pages dedicated to UCR data and to show that our per capita crime rate is the lowest it has been since 2014. Violent crime is the lowest it has been since 2016 and property crime is the lowest it has been since 2018. If that wasn’t enough to get you excited about the positivity of the department the total crime numbers show that 2021 is the lowest amount of total crime reported since we started collecting data in 2003. As I have mentioned in the past, our population has a lot to do with the way the crime statistics are calculated. I wish I was able to say that our population is climbing, and crime was going down, but I can’t. Crime is going down and that is a positive, but our population is also declining. The biggest takeaways are that we are doing our best to partner with citizens to reduce crime. This report shows that 2021 was a good year. We can only hope that 2022 also brings good news,” according to Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks.
Other Highlights in 2021 include:
- Aggravated Assaults declined
- Rapes declined
- Arsons were down
- Burglaries fell
- Thefts decreased
- Only Auto thefts increased
- 864 traffic citations were issued from 1,284 traffic stops
- There was an uptick in crashes with 168 in 2021 from 137 in 2020
Parsons Police has seen a drop in the crime reports taken from 2,088 in 2020 down to 1,993 in 2021 but have had an increase in overall calls for service from 18,782 in 2020 to 25,626 in 2021. That is almost 7,000 more calls for service for the year and it was done with less staff than they have had historically. The department had a huge jump in their dispatch phone calls as well, handling 34,724 administrative calls and 1,935 emergency 911 calls.
Chief Spinks said, “I am very pleased with the results that are displayed in the Annual Report and the KBI statistics. This shows that as a professional department and a progressive city we are on the right track. Our agency takes an occasional unfounded jab from social media trolls who may have nothing positive to say about the Department, my staff, or the City of Parsons. Having accurate crime and service data highlight the hard work of staff. We have lost officers to other agencies and private industry for higher wages and better benefits. That also hurts morale. This domino effect hurts overall all performance in most agencies, but Parsons is unique. This year’s Annual Report shows that even at the crisis level staffing we are at currently facing, we are still being proficient at our jobs.”
The 2021 Annual Report will be available online.