The Athens Police Department 2015 annual report shows calls for rape are at an 11 year high at 33 calls. Nuisance party calls have increased but arrest related to those complaints have decreased.
The Athens Police Department received 33 calls for rape in 2015, an 11-year high for crimes of that type, according to the department’s 2015 annual report.
The department saw nearly a 27 percent increase in rape calls between 2014 and 2015. During 2014, 26 calls related to rape were made. Crime numbers for party nuisances and drunk individuals fluctuated in 2015 as well, according to the report.
Sexual assault and sex-related crimes
APD received fewer calls for miscellaneous sex offenses in 2015 compared to the previous year. In 2014, 20 calls for miscellaneous sex offenses were made, while in 2015 only 17 were made.
Three arrests for sex crimes were made in 2015, up one from the previous year.
While rape calls were at an 11-year high in 2015, only eight were called in during 2008, the lowest recorded year for rape calls. The average amount of rape calls made to the department since 2004 is 20, the report showed.
The report stated that no arrests for rape were made in 2015, while one was made in 2014 and none in 2013.
“I hope victims are seeing the support that’s out there and making the decision to report because of that,” Ohio University Police Department Lt. Tim Ryan said in a previous Post report.
In January, APD revealed that three separate sexual assaults were connected to one predator with DNA evidence. That investigation is still ongoing.
“That person needs to turn himself in,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said in a previous Post report. “I can promise that … we will bring every resource … we have available to bring this person to justice.”
Parties and alcohol-related crimes
While APD received more nuisance party calls in 2015 than the previous year, less arrests were made related to those complaints, according to the department's report.
APD noted they received 80 percent more calls related to nuisance party violations, while there was about a 45 percent decrease in noise-related arrests, according to the report. Overall, noise-related arrests have been declining over the past 11 years with an average of 92 arrests.
On the other hand, only 569 noise complaints were called in, an 11-year low, the report showed.
Compliance related to noise complaints has improved as a result of less citations being issued, according to the report.
Some alcohol-related calls increased, while others saw a decrease in calls.
Calls to service for drunk incidents increased about 6 percent in 2015, while alcohol-related offenses decreased 27 percent. DUI’s decreased by about 9 percent.
Arrests for alcohol-related incidents decreased by about 16 percent.
Department goals
At the end of 2014, APD had two vacant police officer positions it wanted to fill. In 2015, APD filled those vacancies.
The department also provided more training for sexual assault investigations.
It also received the federal Violence Against Women Act grant, which provides $60,000 for the Athens VAWA Unit, which provides support and guidance for survivors of sexual assault.
In 2015, 148 new clients received services from the VAWA unit run by Molly Burchfield, the department’s social worker, according to the report.
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2016 goals
The department hopes to achieve full staffing at 26 officers in 2016; it had 23 as of February.
Hiring an additional officer to the criminal investigations unit and a part-time intern is also in its 2016 list of goals.
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