Medford, ore.- Medford police has released its annual crime stats for 2017.
Violent crimes such as murder and rape jumped 300 percent and 50 percent respectively. There were four murders in Medford last year, compared to just one the year before. And there were 33 reported rapes, up from 22.
The number of commercial burglaries also jumped. Derek Van Horn, owner of Vape Guys Vapors had his business broken into last month, and thinks thieves are learning to work the system.
“I would recommend a loud alarm. The silent alarms are great but the problem with this particular break in and a lot of future break ins is that he was using a police scanner app so when I called police he left within 30 seconds because what happens is when you call that police call will go on the scanner app.”
Traffic crimes have also risen; reckless driving rates were up 41 percent and eluding incidents increased 70 percent.
Meanwhile, police have seen a 16 percent decrease in drivers drinking under the influence. However, there was an 105 percent increase in people drinking in public.
You can find more information about Medford police crime stats here.
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