Grand Forks Police release 2019 annual report

The following release is from the Grand Forks Police Department:

In 2019, officers of the Grand Forks Police Department responded to 47,401 calls for service which is a 3.5% decrease from the 49,141calls for service in 2018. 

In contrast with the decrease in overall calls for service, the Grand Forks Police Department saw an increase in criminal offenses reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system in 2019, reversing a two-year trend downward. In the eight main criminal offenses listed on page 6 of this report you will find an increase in Index offenses from the 1599 such crimes reported in 2018 to 1623 in 2019; a 1.5% increase. This is in contrast to the 21.4% decrease observed from 2016-2018. Items of note regarding 2019 UCR crimes: 

• The number of reported UCR crimes in 2019 was 6.8% below the 10-year average of 1741.
• Violent crime, which includes Murder, Rape, Robbery and Aggravated Assault, remained steady and elevated from 2015 through 2017. 2018 represented a general return to incident prevalence observed prior to that three year group. 2019 violent index crime prevalence represented a 12% increase from 2018, and is 5.3% above the 10-year average.
• Property crime, which includes Burglary, Larceny, Auto Theft and Arson, also remained relatively steady and elevated from 2015 to 2017. 2018 generally represented a return to incident prevalence observed prior to that three year group, and 2019 was nearly identical. Overall, the prevalence of 2019 UCR property crime decreased 0.5% from 2018, and represents a prevalence of 7.9% below the ten year average. 

The Grand Forks Police Department recognizes the importance of remaining ever vigilant regarding emerging and developing crime trends. In reviewing the 2019 data, while many local crime statistics trended downward or remained relatively stable, certain group patterns have continued. For the past several years, Grand Forks Police have seen elevated numbers of drug/narcotic crimes and citations, Aggravated Assaults, Suspicious Activity, and Welfare Checks. While things like Welfare Checks seem somewhat unimportant, it is interesting to note that those are the most common type of call that results in an assault on an officer. In fact, combined with Disturbance-related calls for service, the two accounted for two thirds of all assaults on GFPD officers in 2019,

Both also appear likely related to substance use and mental health. Both are community-wide issues. Both require the collaboration of a number of community resources, all working together cooperatively. Both require community engagement. The Grand Forks Police Department remains committed to enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of Grand Forks by actively working to mitigate the effects of these two issues.