Preliminary crime statistics for 2021
Jeremy McClure
Chief Rex Mueller has presented the preliminary crime statistics for 2021 to the City Council. The preliminary statistics were compiled by the department’s Crime Analysis section and the official statistics may change slightly once the FBI has reviewed them.
Comparing 2021 to 2020, the department is reporting a 4% rise in overall violent crime with overall property crimes down by 4%. The department also looks at the trend of crimes reported over a five-year period.
“Clearly the continued rise in violent crime is a cause for concern,” said Mueller in his memo to the City Council on the statistics. “Many of these violent crimes are gun related, and current departmental initiatives are doing a very good job of identifying and prosecuting our most dangerous local offenders.”
The department continues to utilize a “major offender” approach to identify, investigate, and charge those committing violence in the community. The department also partners with other area agencies to share vital evidence and intelligence in these investigations. Finally, the department works with local and federal prosecutors to ensure that violent offenders receive appropriate sentences for their crimes.
Mueller credited increased efforts by residents and businesses to help reduce property crime rates. The department makes efforts to inform and educate the public on ways to prevent crime and reduce opportunities for thieves.
The department reports statistical data the FBI yearly and had bene reporting utilizing the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) system but is changing the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Whereas UCR utilized aggregates of the monthly tally of crimes, NIBRS is more detailed and provides circumstance and context for crimes like location, time of day, and whether the incident was cleared (https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs).
The official numbers for Sioux City will not be finalized until later in the year.
Correction: Chart was changed due to an error on the first chart, numbers were transposed. Highlighted area indicates where the correction was made.
