“For Urbana specifically, the one thing that troubles me most is the level of violence right now,” Lingrell said. “We are seeing more acts of violence and more actual infliction of violence and injuries than we have in my 33-year career in Urbana.”
No homicides were recorded in the city of Urbana, according to statistics from the police division analyzed by the Springfield News-Sun. Champaign County Sheriff’s Office data also shows no major uptick in violent crime.
MORE: Violent crime rates decline in Springfield in 2017
Lingrell said although there were no homicides in Urbana last year, the city recorded only two homicides between 1994 and 2010 and since then it’s seen five. That’s too much, he said.
“That is troubling for everyone,” Lingrell said.
The division made 215 more arrests last year than it did in 2016, according to the statistics. That can be contributed to the way the division handles drug crimes, Lingrell said.
“Most of the crime that we and any other agency are facing can be tied directly to narcotics and the drug trade,” he said. “One of the things we do is we have a very strict drug enforcement policy, even with the current status throughout the state trying to come up with help programs, our policy here is to seek out all drug crimes, low level and high level, and charge those people.”
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Getting drug offenders in the criminal court system is the best way to keep track of who have problems and getting them off the street, Lingrell said.
“Our first look at things is not to get people help, it is getting them into the criminal justice system and if the court has programs that they will believe will help them, we are for it,” he said.
The Urbana Police Division made 529 drug-related arrests last year compared to 417 drug-related arrests in 2016, according to the crime statistics.
In Champaign County, violent crime went down from 146 reported cases in 2016 to 133 reported cases in 2017. However, there was a school shooting at West Liberty-Salem High School and 15-year-old Donovan Nicholas has been charged with murder in connection with a violent attack on his father’s fiancee.
RELATED: Champaign County teen to be tried as adult in murder case
Champaign County deputies are working hard to stop crime before it happens, Sheriff Matthew Melvin said.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to implement a couple of community involvement programs that recruit the help of citizens in crime fighting throughout Champaign County,” he said.
The sheriff’s office has started a farm-watch program by working with the Champaign County Farm Bureau, Melvin said, and creating the organization SCENE with county residents to expand a neighborhood watch program.
Though violent crime is down, the sheriff said drug crime is up.
EXTRA: 1 dead after Champaign County shooting: What we know now
The county saw 13 more drug possession arrests last year than in 2016, according to the sheriff’s office statistics.
“Champaign County continues to fight the opioid epidemic as does Ohio and the nation,” he said. “This epidemic has affected not only the opioid user but also the innocent victims of this county.”
By the numbers
160: Violent crimes recorded in the city of Urbana in 2017
133: Violent crimes recorded in Champaign County in 2017
597: Drug-related arrests in Champaign County in 2017
Continuing Coverage
The Springfield News-Sun digs into important public safety issues in Clark and Champaign counties, including recent stories on a decline in violent crime in Springfield and the affects of the ongoing drug crisis on first responders.
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