Crime slightly up, police calls down in 2018

Larcenies were once again the majority of crimes in Wilton during 2018, according to the police department’s annual report. There were 135 larcenies last year, compared to 125 in 2017, 50 in 2016, and 57 the year before.

Overall, there were 263 offenses classified as “crime against property” according to the preliminary data for 2018, slightly up from 254 in 2017 and 156 in 2016.

There were 38 narcotic or drug-related crimes, up from 20 the year before. There were also three weapons violations, no cases of prostitution and one case of porn or obscene material, for a total of 42 crimes against society. This was an increase from the 23 in 2017.

These were among the 15,674 calls for service logged by the police department in 2018, a 3.7-percent decrease from 16,276 in 2017. This was also the first decrease in calls since 2014. According to the report, the main driver of the overall decrease is due to a decrease in traffic stops from 2017.

Motor vehicle investigations made up 36 percent of the calls received, according to the report. A bulk of the calls were for an assortment of other services, such as vehicle lockouts, at 39 percent. Criminal investigations and emergency medical service made up seven percent of calls. Alarms made up the remainder at 11 percent.

Arrests

In 2018, the department was involved in 187 incidents that resulted in arrests. Twenty-three of the arrests were for drugrelated charges, according to the report. In addition, a total of 62 infractions for possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana and/or paraphernalia were issued.

Domestic incidents

In 2018, there were 82 domestic incidents, of which 35 were cases of family violence. This was down from the 100 domestic incidents in 2017. The bulk of the violent cases were incidents involving intimate partner relationships, at 25, according to the report. There were 14 cases of spousal incidents.

There were four parent/child incidents, with three arrests accounted for. There were also five cases involving siblings.

Of the cases of violence, there were five cases of assault, five of threatening, and five violations of a protective order.

Motor vehicles

In 2018, police made 4,308 traffic stops, 1,007 of which were the result of strategic enforcement, related to citizen complaints, in areas of frequent crashes, and grants related to distracted driving, seat belt enforcement, and DUI. This total was down from 5,224 stops in 2017.

Police made 42 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. This continues a downward trend since the five-year high of 67 in 2015.

Of the 4,308 traffic stops made, the vast majority of motorists were white males — 2,273. White motorists accounted for 83.19 percent of the stops, blacks 11.26 percent, Indians, 2.88 percent, and Asians 2.67 percent.

Force

Officers used force in nine incidents, a 10-percent decrease from the previous year when there were 10. Seven of the incidents involved male subjects ranging in age from 14 to 68. Seven of the subjects were white, one was black, and one was was Indian.

Two incidents when force was used involved a police pointing a gun at a subject, down from four in 2017.

In two incidents, the subject was in possession of or had recently used an instrument as a weapon. This included a box cutter and a vehicle.