Crime report lists Polson number one for violent crimes
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POLSON — A Montana Board of Crime Control report indicates that Polson, as compared to other towns of similar size, has the highest number of violent crimes.
According to civilian police assistant Brian Kunz, the report compared Polson’s law enforcement agency to 15 other state law enforcement agencies serving populations of 4,555 to 6,439 with seven to 15 sworn fulltime officers.
Out of the 16 agencies, the Polson Police Department has the highest number of violent class A crimes.
Examples of class A crimes are homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
“One good thing — case numbers went up but so did the arrests,” Kunz said.
Kunz added that our area has a “huge exploding prescription drug problem … mirroring the nation.” Burglars sometimes just clean out a victim’s medicine cabinets, Kunz said.
The Polson Police Department has also seen an increase in alcohol-related crimes that might be related to the economy.
The department has taken a proactive approach to deal with the added calls including: applying for a COP grant, reserve officers pitching in and an officer promoted to detective. Kunz has also has taken on more duties.
The Polson Police Department has received the COP grant which awaits approval by Polson City Council. The grant would provide three years of salary for a 13th officer for the Polson Police Department to the tune of $150,000 and would require the City of Polson to fund the officer’s salary for a fourth year. The grant must be accepted or declined by December 31.
