Crime rate decreases

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

McCOOK, Nebraska -- The McCook Police Department was pleased to report a decrease in the crime rate, arrests and accidents during 2009 at Monday evening's second of three budget workshops at Memorial Auditorium.

McCook Police of Chief Isaac Brown said the number of violent and non-violent crimes decreased, as did serious criminal violations of state statutes and the only increase being in less serious violations of state statutes. "Our officers have been very busy working on security and quality of life issues, which brings the other calls down," said Brown.

While those same numbers also showed an increase in the amount of theft and not a lot of recovery, McCook Police Chief Isaac Brown said it "was largely due to three to four cases that had an unusually large amount of money stolen or embezzled." He also explained that the amount stolen will be reflected in the budget as a lump sum, but the restitution is often spread out over many years.

The police department's proposed 2010-11 budget total of $1,489,807 is a total increase of only $49,769 compared to the 2009-10 budget total of $1,440,038.

The increases were primarily due to a $52,624 increase in the salaries category; supplies were increased by $1,500 and the Police Department cut expenses by $3,660 in the "Other Services" category and projected a savings of $6450 in "Machinery and Equipment" compared to the prior budget.

While reflecting an overall decrease in the budgeted amount in the "Machinery and Equipment" category the "Police Department" was still able to allow for some key equipment upgrades or purchases.

Included was the acquisition of two new police vehicle/graphic packages at $22,500, four new Tasers at $4,000 and $7,000 for bulletproof vests.

Brown said that the vests were part of a federal grant request that would fund 50 percent of their expense, leaving only $3,500 funded out of the general fund.

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