Opinion: Crime increasing in South Lake Tahoe
By Brian Uhler
Community outreach: The Meet the Police outreach campaign is going well. As a reminder, Coffee with a Cop happens on Thursdays and ends on Aug. 27. The Police Open House was well attended and we look forward to doing it again next year.
Operation Chill: To make connections with younger people in situations which are not related to law enforcement, the department has partnered with 7-Eleven in something called Operation Chill. Our officers will look for young people doing something positive and “ticket” them with a coupon for a free Slurpee. Such good acts might be things like wearing bike helmets, using crosswalks, being nice, or just as a way for police staff to start a conversation with young people.
Brian Uhler
General summer information: So far, the community has fared very well this summer from a police perspective. Our July 4 festivities went very well with our visitors only being minimally mischievous. While traffic flow has been difficult with summer construction and a high number of tourists, we have had only a few serious accidents. Tragically, one accident was a motorcycle accident where a young female passenger died from a head injury. Motorcyclists are reminded to always wear a proper helmet with the DOT sticker.
Live at Lakeview: The summer music events have been going smoothly. While we would prefer to have those attending follow the simple rules, it has been necessary for our officers to write three or four citations during each of our Thursday events (mostly for open alcohol container or smoking). Let’s work together to make sure these events remain family friendly.
Crime: While we are pleased to see rape and motor vehicle thefts are down, our community has seen large increases in the numbers of assaults and thefts this year. Overall, this year’s crime rate is up 12 percent. Essentially, the positive results for 2014 compared to 2013 have been reversed. In 2014, we saw a decrease in violent crime (down 3.4 percent) and a decrease in property crime (down 11.8 percent). The following chart compares the first seven months of last year against the first seven months of this year:
Crime 2014 2015 % change
Homicide 0 0 N/A
Rape 6 4 -33%
Robbery 8 10 +20%
Assault 229 255 +10%
Burglary 59 59 0%
Theft 187 234 +20%
Motor Vehicle Theft 27 21 -22%
Total 516 583 12%
Crime prevention: In light of the above information, please lock-up your things and avoid situations which might lead to an assault. While this may seem overly simple, we see many occasions where these simple measures might have prevented a crime altogether. Lastly, do your part to report suspicious activity so we might have a better chance at catching those who commit crime.
Brian Uhler is the police chief in South Lake Tahoe.
An ever increasing ghetto, inner city, Sacto and central valley mutts coming up here. Then add the usual (ghetto acting) tourists and it’s no wonder.
I saw in the EDSO Recent Inmate List today two fine sophisticates Car-jacked and kidnapped someone on South Shore. We are being infested.
those two guys were locked up in (PV) Placerville, not South Lake Tahoe. They committed they’re crimes somewhere on the West Slope. Allegedly.
Kits is usually spot on with their facts. This must be an anomaly. Links?
Chief Uhler deserves credit for bringing this increase in crime to our attention. However, I believe the performance of the SLTPD is far more positive than the Chief has indicated. The fact is that South Lake Tahoe is one of the safest towns around. Furthermore, our police are respectful and focus on real crime with real victims. Best of all, the SLTPD has an impressive record of catching violent criminals, even for crimes that are decades old. Thank you Chief Uhler and the officers of the SLTPD for a job well done!
is there any minorities on the police force not including women because they are a majority of the population?
@ John Hogan: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”
Our population has always been primarily white, then hispanic, asian, black. There are several very nice women on the police force. Seeing a significant rise in the black population over the past couple years, I dont recall many of those being in law enforcement.
Interesting comment Dogula. Tell us, is it meant as a backhanded compliment aimed at your perceived ‘character’ of minorities? Knowing the general tone and temperament of your posts, where you say something really insulting in a carefully crafted manner so that when someone calls you on it you can proclaim your innocence…methinks it is a jab.
Regarding the issue of minorities entering law enforcement is probably a PhD level discussion, looking at multiple sides and aspects of a multi-tiered and multi-faceted situation. So much depends on social circumstance…if I grew up in a family where abuses by law enforcement impacted me personally, through self or family or friends, would I be as willing to consider entering the field in a noble act of ‘taking the long view’ in the hopes of changing things from within. We need to look at media, film, television and music. we need to look at neighborhoods and we need to look at economics.
Fighting a culture of abuse and corruption(and make no mistake-law enforcement has had to grapple with this issue for generations) may not be a realistic goal. Then we need to look at educational opportunities, or lack thereof, post-high school career counseling(or lack thereof). Perhaps looking at how many minorities apply for both training and then work in law enforcement, how many are accepted and what the criteria for hiring or not hiring are would be helpful. as we all know, I can discriminate for ANY reason, as long as I substitute the real reason for something else that is accepted by those in power.
So, as I write, think, re-read and revise, cut and paste and chase typo’s…edit and delete drafts, I’m thinking about your post, the post that your comment was responding to, and I have come to realize what a nasty, bitter little piece of work it is.
Cue the feigned innocence…
Wondering what the definitions of “Burglary”, “Theft” and “Robbery” are and how they differ.
Lisa, here ya go. wonder no more:
.findlaw.com/blotter/2015/01/whats-the-difference-between-burglary-robbery-and-theft.html
seems to me that their was 1 homicide back around June 15th.