Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick says overall crime in Garland County declined for the third year in a row, based on crime statistics released by the Arkansas Crime Information Center.
Overall crime in Garland County declined by 11.6 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, ACIC crime statistics show, the sheriff said in a news release.
"Lower overall crime for the third year in a row is the result of the hard work of members of the Garland County Sheriff's Office working closely with members of the community," McCormick said in the release.
"Credit must also go to County Judge Rick Davis and the quorum court for providing the resources the Sheriff's Office needs to make our communities safer."
McCormick said Garland County had fewer incidents of violent and property crimes in 2017 -- crimes against persons declined 14 percent and property crimes dropped 12.15 percent in 2017.
Narcotics offenses were slightly higher in 2017 than in 2016, McCormick said.
The ACIC statistics showed 157 incidents of possession of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia were reported in 2017 compared to 139 reported incidents in 2016.
McCormick said enforcement efforts increased in 2017, with a 22-percent increase in arrests for illegal drug violations.
"It is unfortunate that Illegal drug violations continue to plague our community and our country. Although we continue to expend more and more of our resources the amount of illegal drug use, especially opioids, continue to increase," McCormick said.
"The increase in drug-related arrests is a direct result of increased enforcement," McCormick said Friday.
"We are working closely with the Hot Springs Police Department, the Arkansas State Police, and other law enforcement agencies to clean up Garland County. The relationship between agencies is something for which I am very grateful and do not take for granted," he said.
The Arkansas Crime Information Center is an Arkansas state agency that provides technology services to the state's law enforcement agencies, the release said.
ACIC administers a comprehensive data system that is accessible to criminal justice agencies in Arkansas. ACIC collects and publishes statistics on crime, manages the crime victim notification system and the state sex offender registry.
Local on 07/15/2018