ANVILLE — More than half of all criminal charges filed in Danville in 2007 were filed against juveniles, according to the recently released Danville Annual Police Activity Report. Fifty-nine percent of the 113 criminal charges were juvenile related. This is a 25 percent increase in juvenile crime since 2006, and a 28 percent increase since 2005.
The most common juvenile crimes are charges of delinquency (any felony offense) with 21 charges filed, unruliness (truancy, domestic, etc.) with 15 charges and disorderly conduct with 11 charges filed.
Overall, the report states that the total number of criminal charges filed has remained relatively constant for the past three years; however, the total service calls and arrests made have declined for the third year in a row. In 2005, Danville police arrested 33 people on various charges. In 2007, that number had dropped to 20.
Danville police issued 83 traffic citations, 80 percent of which were speeding tickets. Aside from delinquent and unruly children, the two most common criminal offenses in Danville were disorderly conduct (17 charges) and domestic violence (10 charges).
Danville police responded to 729 total calls last year. Incidents where police were called but criminal charges may or may not have been filed include 72 calls to assist businesses, 21 calls to assist motorists, 59 reports of disturbance, 11 thefts and 143 business checks.
The Danville Police Department has an active roster of 10 personnel, including the chief of police, one full-time patrol sergeant, three part-time patrol officers, four volunteer patrol officers and one noncommissioned volunteer.
The department operates three police cruisers: A 2007 Crown Victoria driven by the police chief, a 2001 Crown Victoria driven by the police sergeant, and a 1996 Crown Victoria driven by the part-time and auxiliary officers.
Danville Chief of Police Monte L. Vance said the department maintains three community youth programs: The Twisted Spokes program, the Truancy Diversion program and the Kids Against Drugs program. It started a fourth program, called Klowning with Kids.
Vance said the department was again certified by the Ohio Criminal Justice Services in 2007 for meeting the standards of the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System. Those statistics were the basis of the 2007 report, and forwarded to the state of Ohio and FBI to be included in national statistics.
The complete report is available for public viewing at the Danville Municipal Building during regular business hours.
