GROVES — Major crimes in the city of Groves are down for the fourth straight year with the exception of a small increase in robberies.

The Groves Police City Marshal Norman Reynolds Jr. presented the department’s 2018 Uniform Crime Report statistics to council on Monday adding that clearance rate, or crimes solved, continues to rise. And, with more investigators than in year’s past gives them more options and allows the department to concentrate on problem areas as they arise, being more proactive than reactive.

The report, which is also submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement annually, showed that the 2018 statistics are the lowest total of the seven index crimes in the past 17 years. The index crimes are murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and auto theft. In 2017 there were a total of 385 such crimes while 2017 had 461 total index crimes.

 

Here’s a look at the numbers 2017 and 2018

Murder — 0 in both 2017 and 2018

Rape — 13 in 2017 and 7 in 2018

Robbery — 10 in 2017 and 13 in 2018

Aggravated assault — 54 in 2017 and 51 in 2018

Burglary — 85 in 2017 and 63 in 2018

Theft — 268 in 2017 and 231 in 2018

Auto theft — 31 in 2017 and 20 in 2018

 

Reasons for the steady decline

Reynolds said there are a few possible reasons for the steady decline in index crimes.

“I suspect some of it is the trend we are seeing across the nation where some of these crimes had gone down,” Reynolds said. “And I have to give credit to our officers. Over the last several years we have hired officers with no experience, they are young and eager. I want to give them credit. They are out there working. That’s the most significant reason for the drop in our numbers.”

Groves Police Department currently has 23 officers and are looking to hire a few more, he said.

 

Racial Profiling Report

Besides the Uniform Crime Report, each agency in the state is required by law to file an annual Racial Profiling Report to their governing body. In 2011 the department also began submitting data to TCOLE, the regulatory state agency that establishes and enforces standards for law enforcement in Texas, he said.

Reynolds said there has never been a disproportionate number of stops, searches or arrests of minorities and that racism is not tolerated in the department not do they condone selective enforcement on any kind.

In his report Reynolds showed 3,636 non-resident stops, or 62.72 percent of all stops compared to 1,733 resident stops for 32.27 percent of all stops.

Reynolds said that due to the location of industry in Jefferson County, a large number of people travel extensively through Groves to their work in the petrochemical industry. The city has Texas 73, FM 366 and Texas 347 and a large amount of plants to the north and east borders of the city.

To better clarify this Reynolds compared the figures from his city to the county.

• African Americans made up 1,006 or 19.03 percent of the stops. This represents 4.1 percent of Groves and 34.3 percent of Jefferson County.
• Asians made up 126 or 2.38 percent of the stops. This represents 3 percent of Groves and 3.9 percent of Jefferson County.
• Caucasians made up 3,131 or 59.22 percent of the stops. This represents 75.4 percent of Groves or 42.5 percent of Jefferson County.
• Hispanics made up 1,006 or 19.03 percent of the stops. This represents 16.3 percent of Groves and 18.9 percent of Jefferson County.
• Native Americans made up 18 or 0.34 percent of the stops. This represents 0.3 percent of Groves or 1 percent of Jefferson County.