Police chief: Overall crime drops, but violent crime still concern in Cape Girardeau

Cape Girardeau experienced a slight decrease in crime overall last year compared to the previous year, police chief Wes Blair told the city council Monday.

Blair said overall crime was down 4.62 percent, but some violent crimes showed significant increases.

Cape Girardeau had six homicides in 2016 and five last year, according to the report.

But the city experienced a spike in other violent crimes, the report said.

Rapes jumped from 11 in 2016 to 23 last year, an increase of more than 109 percent, according to the crime report presented to the council.

The number of cases of robbery with a firearm jumped from 17 to 27, a nearly 59 percent increase.

Police handled 47 cases of assault with a firearm in 2017 compared to 32 in 2016, an increase of nearly 47 percent, according to the report.

Motor-vehicle thefts increased from 66 to 82 during the same period, a 24 percent increase.

The number of arson cases rose from 6 to 14, a 133 percent jump, the report said.

�I think the violent crime thing is concerning to us,� Blair told the council during a study session.

After the meeting, Blair said illegal drugs and the view of offenders that others �disrespect� them are �the two biggest reasons� for violent crimes in the city.

The police department also handled more cases of illegal drugs in 2017 than the previous year.

Police dealt with 262 drug-possession cases compared to 192 in 2016, an increase of 36 percent, the report said. Officers also handled 41 drug-sales cases in 2017 compared to 23 the previous year, an increase of more than 78 percent.

Blair said the rise in drug cases handled by police last year reflected the adding of another Cape Girardeau police officer to the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force. That officer has concentrated on investigating drug crimes in the city, he said.

Liquor-law violations dropped by 44 percent, from 124 to 118. Blair credited stricter city regulations and enforcement for the decline.

The report also showed incidents of crime by council ward. More crimes were reported in Ward 2 on the city�s south side than in any of the five other wards.

In 2017, police dealt with 3,101 incidents in Ward 2. The total included 676 warrant arrests, 333 assaults, 280 motor-vehicle accidents and 250 thefts. In addition, police responded to 262 other crimes in Ward 2, according to the report.

Blair told the council the south part of the city remains �the high priority� for law enforcement.

By comparison, police handled 1,659 incidents in Ward 6; 1,168 in Ward 3; 948 in Ward 5; 625 in Ward 1; and 342 in Ward 4 in 2017.

Council members requested Blair report back to the council this summer on crime statistics for the first half of 2018.

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Cape council holds last-minute hearings on redevelopment plan, approves shipping-container permit

The Cape Girardeau City Council held two public hearings Monday but took no vote on measures that would allow a developer to establish a tax-levying community improvement district and receive property tax abatements.

The lack of action was prompted by an agenda issue, city officials said.

Establishment of a community improvement district would allow the developer to impose a 1 percent sales tax on purchases made at tenant businesses, city officials said.

Anand Patel, president of Cape Dogwood Redevelopment Corp., wants to redevelop a 10-acre tract of commercial buildings and parking lots and construct outdoor entertainment attractions such as miniature golf in part of the Town Plaza shopping area.

City officials added the hearings to the council agenda at the last minute. As a result, Mayor Harry Rediger said the council legally could not act on the requests until the March 19 meeting.

No one appeared at the public hearings to speak for or against the proposed development and its financing plan. The council continued the hearings to comply with legal requirements.

In other action, the council granted a special-use permit to allow part of a shipping container to be included in the Sugarfire Smoke House restaurant now under construction in Cape Girardeau.

The permit was required because of new city regulations that severely restrict the use of shipping containers.

Rediger said at the study session before the regular meeting that issuing the permit in this case was �a no brainer.� But he added he welcomed the ordinance�s permit requirement.

City planner Ryan Shrimplin said several cities around Missouri have expressed interest in Cape Girardeau�s ordinance as a model on how to regulate shipping containers.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.