MANKATO, Minn. -
Crime statistics for 2011 have been released by the Mankato Public Safety and other local law enforcement agencies.
Depending on who you talk to, crime statistics for 2011 meant good new, bad news, or no news at all.
For many counties, including Faribault, Sibley, and Iowa's Emmet County, 2011 was like the years before.
Mankato Public safety, on the other hand, saw some ups and downs.
Cmdr. Amy Vokal with Mankato Public Safety says, "What we have found is our part 1 crimes are up that means serious crimes are up where other crimes have been down.
The most notable spikes in crime were burglaries. Commercial burglaries doubled (28 to 56) from 2010, and residential burglaries were up 52% (221 to 336), according to department statistics.
Vokal says, "Burglaries go up, we see property crimes go up in tougher times of the economy, it is easy for people to grab something out of the car, pawn it get some quick cash.
Traffic related crimes were down across the board with traffic citations down 34% (1,466 to 965) and parking citations down by 27% (4,647 to 3,399).
Over time, law enforcement agencies have seen an increase in something else... something statistics won't show: an increase in hostility toward officers.
Vokal says, "I have certainly noticed an up tick in aggressive behavior toward law enforcement, I think in all aspects of violence we are seeing more severe violence, I think it is very evident amongst violence toward our officers."
It's something Cmdr Vokal attributes to alcohol.
Vokal says, "We've definitely seen a rise in our blood alcohol contents, which is how we measure how intoxicated a person is, over the past several years and as that goes higher up I think...they are much more likely to commit a crime of violence where they normally wouldn't."
As usual, officers remind people in the community to follow the law, and give police a call if they see anything out of the ordinary.
For a total list of Mankato's year end statistic go Mankato Public Safety's Website.
