On Tuesday, February 9th, a Republican political forum was held at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center. Both Titus County Sheriff Tim Ingram and challenger Glenn Willis spoke to members of the public.After the debate I began receiving phone calls from Mount Pleasant residents who were concerned about statements made by Glenn Willis, related to the crime rate in the city of Mount Pleasant.
The debate was recorded by a member of the audience and published on YouTube. I was able to watch the debate and found statements by Glenn Willis inaccurate as it related to crime within the city.
Glenn Willis started off saying, “I cannot find where the Titus County Sheriff’s Office reports to the Uniform Crime data base. But, just in Titus County, these are the percentages over the national average.” Glenn Willis then reported the following numbers to the public.
• Property Crime, 30% over the national average
• Violent Crime, 10.83 % over the national average
• Aggravated Assault, 33% over
• Burglary, 60% over the national average
• Larceny-Theft, 66% over
• Forcible Rape, 204% over the national average
Glenn Willis then said, “This is just in Mount Pleasant because Titus County does not report it. We have 4,567 violent crimes in Texas, 737 happen just in Mount Pleasant. You’re looking at 16% or 4 out of every 25 violent crimes happen right here in Mount Pleasant. This is just Mount Pleasant, 16% of all violent crimes happen right here in the State of Texas.” Glenn Willis then quoted his sources as the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, stating, “I pulled this off this morning.”
As Police Chief of Mount Pleasant I am extremely troubled by Mr. Willis statements about crime within the city. Crime rates for both the city and county are reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety and can be reviewed online at http://dps.texas.gov/…/crime_reco…/pages/crimestatistics.htm.
Due to Mr. Willis’s political statements about crime in Mount Pleasant, I want to clarify how crime is measured nationally. There are many flaws with reporting crime numbers. Many law enforcement agencies don’t report crime numbers because the data can be misinterpreted. When agencies don’t report crime numbers it increases the US and State error rates. Although reporting crime data is important, the best measure of any agency crime trend is by evaluating the rate year to year and understanding the community dynamics that play into crime rates.
First let me tell all community members that the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the Titus County Sheriff’s Office have a very close relationship working together to resolve criminal and social issues within the city and county. We routinely share resources, intelligence and corroborate to handle matters that affect all of us. Our relationship is solid and I appreciate and respect the Sheriff’s Department employees for the work they do.
The Mount Pleasant Police Department takes crime seriously and violent crime victims are provided with resources to help then recover from a traumatic experience. When suspects involved are identified they are arrested and cases are prosecuted by the District Attorney.
Second, the 2014 statistics provided by Mr. Willis at the forum are misleading which is requiring me to address them in a public statement. In 2014 these are the Mount Pleasant Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) numbers reported by our agency to the Texas Department of Public Safety, who compiles UCR numbers for the entire State of Texas. Mount Pleasant Part I crime numbers are:
• Murder - 0
• Robbery – 10
• Aggravated Assault – 50
• Burglary – 143
• Larceny/Theft – 495
• Auto Theft – 21
• Sexual Assault/Rape – 18
When the Texas Department of Public Safety or Federal Government evaluates crime rates, they compare the rate to a 100,000 population for a reporting average. Basically, we are all lumped together across the nation even though our demographics, economic status, infrastructure and community issues and cultures are different.
The formula utilized by the Government is: Crime rate is calculated by dividing the number of reported crimes by the total population; the result is multiplied by 100,000. For example, in 2014 there were 21 auto thefts in Mount Pleasant and the population was 16,136. This equals an auto theft crime rate of 130.1 per 100,000 general population.
The Federal Government and criminal justice educational scholars warn against ranking crime statistics due to the many variables associated with each community the numbers represent. Media and politicians routinely compare cities and states against each other inappropriately to produce an outcome they desire. More about this topic can be found at https://www.fbi.gov/…/caution-against…/cautionagainstranking.
When evaluating crime categories in Mount Pleasant in most situations, nearly all aggravated assaults are committed by a known suspect to the victim. This is also true with sexual assaults. Sadly, most sexual assault crimes are committed by a family member against a child or involve a dating relationship. The definition of sexual assault is extremely broad compared to years past. The definition change increased reporting numbers nationally in 2014.
When it comes to thefts, a vast amount of these crimes are shoplifters from stores. Burglaries do happen but this category lumps commercial locations with residential locations. Many times the burglaries are related to each other with the same suspect repeating the crime over and over until caught. There are times when crimes do happen, including robberies, thefts and assaults that we have no leads and the case goes unsolved.
Crime is not rampant in Mount Pleasant. Sixteen percent of all violent crimes (Murder, Aggravated Assault, Sexual Assault and Robbery) in the State of Texas do not happen in Mount Pleasant as stated by Mr. Willis at the forum.
Here are the numbers reported by the Texas Department of Public Safety to the Federal Government and what the Uniform Crime Report has identified for the United States as a whole.
2014
United States Population = 318,857,056
Murder – 14,249
Rape – 84,041
Robbery – 325,802
Aggravated Assault – 741,291
Burglary – 1,729,806
Larceny/Theft – 5,858,496
Auto Theft – 689,527
Total Part I Crimes = 9,443,212
2014
Texas Population = 26,956,958
Murder – 1,187
Rape – 11,466
Robbery – 30,857
Aggravated Assault – 65,338
Burglary – 166,429
Larceny/Theft – 570,385
Auto Theft – 67,741
Total Part I Crimes = 913,403
2014
Mount Pleasant Population = 16,136
Murder – 0
Rape – 18
Robbery - 10
Aggravated Assault – 50
Burglary – 143
Larceny/Theft – 495
Auto Theft – 21
Total Part I Crimes = 737
Based on these reported numbers, all violent crime (Murder, Aggravated Assault, Sexual Assault and Robbery) in Texas equals 108,848 offenses. Mr. Willis stated at the forum, “16% of violent crimes happen right here.” If this were the case then Mount Pleasant, who reported 78 violent crimes should have had 17,415 violent crime offenses in Mount Pleasant based on his percentage number.
Mr. Willis goes on to say, “There were 737 violent crimes in Mount Pleasant.” This information is not accurate. There were 737 UCR Part I crimes in Mount Pleasant in 2014 that included 78 violent crimes. Additionally Mr. Willis indicated crime rates were higher in Mount Pleasant than the national average, citing specific averages. In some cases rates are higher than the national average but in other areas this is false. Again, comparing our crime rates to another city, state or county is immensely flawed and should never be done according to the federal government.
Mount Pleasant is a regional hub for a five county region of over 88,000 people. On any given day this city swells to over 30,000 people. Many of those people are working, shopping, visiting, and some commit crimes. These numbers play a role in our community crime rate and profile. UCR only captures a city population when comparing crime rates, thus augmenting reporting flaws with the reporting system.
The men and women of the Mount Pleasant Police Department take our job very serious. As Chief of Police you need to know that no crime is acceptable to this department. Our community is not crime ridden. We have issues just like all other communities and we work to solve them. Our community members and law enforcement agencies work together to make this community a home to be enjoyed by all.
I have addressed some of the issues related to how Glenn Willis is erroneously misrepresenting information either for political gain or he simply does not have an understanding of the criminal justice system or law enforcement in general. The information he provided to community members at the forum is flawed and inaccurate. I spoke to Mr. Willis Wednesday and expressed my displeasure about the crime percentage numbers and other percentages he reported at the political forum. Discussing UCR numbers and what they mean to a community takes time. You cannot compare one city to another or our city to the country as a whole. Mr. Willis told me he is sticking to his numbers reported at the forum.
In the weekend Tribune Mr. Willis told the Tribune, "the 78 victims of violent crimes deserve justice. He stated they are not just numbers to be manipulated for political gain."
As Police Chief I am not elected, I am appointed. I have not nor do I endorse candidates in political races. The purpose of this press release is to clarify inaccurate information being spouted during a political forum, and now in the paper by Mr. Willis.
For more information about crime reporting numbers in Texas go to: http://dps.texas.gov/…/crime_reco…/pages/crimestatistics.htm
Federal Government cautions against ranking crime statistics:
Variables Affecting Crime - Excerpt
https://www.fbi.gov/…/caution-against…/cautionagainstranking
Each year when Crime in the United States is published, many entities that include news media, tourism agencies, politicians and other groups with an interest in crime use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rankings, however, are merely a quick choice made by the data user; they provide no insight into the many variables that mold the crime in a particular town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction.
Consequently, these rankings lead to simplistic or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents.
To assess criminality one must consider many variables, some of which, while having significant impact on crime, are not readily measurable or applicable pervasively among all locales. Geographic and demographic factors specific to each jurisdiction must be considered and applied if one is going to make an accurate and complete assessment of crime in that jurisdiction.
It is incumbent upon any analyst to become as well educated about how to understand and quantify the nature and extent of crime in any of the more than 18,000 jurisdictions represented by law enforcement who contribute to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.
Some factors that are known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are:
• Population density and degree of urbanization
• Commuter population
• Variations in composition of the population, particularly youth concentration
• Stability of the population with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors
• Modes of transportation and highway system
• Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and job availability
• Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics
• Family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness
• Regional climate conditions
• Policies of other components of the criminal justice system
• Citizens’ attitudes toward crime
• Crime reporting practices of the citizenry
Although many of the listed factors equally affect the crime of a particular area, the UCR Program makes no attempt to relate them to the data presented. The data user is, therefore, cautioned against comparing statistical data of individual reporting units from cities, counties or states. Until data users examine all the variables that affect crime in a town, city, county, state, region, or other jurisdiction, they can make no meaningful comparisons.
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