Robberies, burglaries boost crime numbers in Aurora

The number of major crimes reported last year in Aurora increased slightly from a 32-year low in 2010, according to statistics released this week.

Increases in the number of robberies and burglaries brought the total up, but fewer murders, criminal sexual assaults and aggravated batteries occurred in 2011 than the previous year.

While police always are aiming for a reduction in crime, Chief Greg Thomas said 2011 was far from a crime-ridden year and he’s satisfied with the results. A total of 4,462 major crimes were committed in 2011, up 30 from 4,432 in 2010.

“It’s such a small uptick,” Thomas said. “I’m satisfied, but in the other regard, we still have crime.”

In 2011, 621 of the 4,462 major crimes were violent acts such as criminal sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault or battery.

Two murders were committed in 2011, down from four in 2010; criminal sexual assaults decreased from 64 in 2010 to 58 last year; and aggravated batteries fell from 453 to 416.

The remaining 3,841 reports were property crimes, including burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

Robberies and burglaries were the only two categories to show increases in 2011, with robberies increasing 32, from 113 to 145 and burglaries increasing 127, from 820 to 947.

The slowly recovering economy may have played a somewhat indirect role in the increases, Thomas said.

Police analysis showed many burglaries reported in 2011 were to foreclosed homes. If the economy was better and fewer homes were abandoned, he said there would have been fewer sites for burglars to steal from.

“The economy created a target-rich environment,” Thomas said.

Aurora police started a couple initiatives last summer to try to crack down on people dealing in stolen goods.

In late June, police began requiring pawn brokers, secondhand stores and scrap dealers to report information about each item they buy or sell to an online database. By the end of the year, police made more than 20 arrests using information recorded on the site, Thomas said.

The department also created a burglary task force to specifically focus on reducing that type of crime. During its first six months, the task force made about 40 arrests, Thomas said.

“I am encouraged that new strategies being pursued by our police officers to combat robberies and burglaries are already proving to be effective,” Mayor Tom Weisner said in a news release.

To continue trying to prevent crime, police aren’t giving up on “good old, hard-nosed policing,” Thomas said.

“When I talk about the new initiatives,” he said, “we didn’t give up on the old initiatives.”