Here’s how your Pierce County community, including Tacoma, fared with crime in 2020
There was no rhyme or reason with crime trends in Pierce County in 2020.
Most law enforcement jurisdictions saw an overall increase in crime, but six jurisdictions saw a drop from 2019. Homicides and car thefts ticked upward in most of the populated areas, but there was a countywide decrease in rapes, drug violations and prostitution.
Police officials believe the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the fluctuations of certain crimes.
“We know that the ongoing pandemic had an impact on health and safety in our community,” Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer said, adding that that county also saw increases in domestic violent incidents, mental health calls and overdoses.
When the pandemic hit, only the most serious offenders could be booked into Pierce County Jail to slow the spread of the virus. People were asked to stay home for long periods. Daily lives were disrupted and habits and patterns changed.
Criminologists are studying how the pandemic affected crime, but it’s clear the answer is complicated.
There are 19 law enforcement jurisdictions in Pierce County and all but Buckley, Eatonville, Gig Harbor, Ruston, Tacoma and Sumner saw an overall increase in crime.
Rape and other types of sexual assault took one of the biggest dips in Pierce County, according to an annual crime report recently released by the Washington State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
In unincorporated Pierce County, rape was down 45 percent. It dropped 33 percent in Lakewood and 17 percent in Tacoma, data shows.
Other sexual assaults were down as much as 78 percent in Tacoma, 60 percent in Lakewood and 35 percent in Puyallup.
Drug violations also sharply declined. They were down 53.5 percent in Pierce County, 43.5 percent in Tacoma, 26 percent in Puyallup and 19 percent in Lakewood.
That may in part be explained by a state Supreme Court ruling in State v. Blake that found Washington’s simple drug possession law unconstitutional. The high court found the law unconstitutional because it didn’t require prosecutors to prove someone knowingly had drugs.
At a time when background checks for firearms surged to unprecedented levels across the country, the number of weapons violations varied across Pierce County.
They went up in Lakewood (25 percent) and Puyallup (18 percent), but down in Tacoma (11 percent), Pierce County (18 percent) and Fife (19 percent).
Motor vehicle thefts increased in Pierce County.
There was a 22 percent increase in Tacoma, from 1,784 in 2019 to 2,180 in 2020. Lakewood saw a 48 percent increase from 318 in 2019 to 472 in 2020.
Lakewood Police Chief Mike Zaro said the pandemic might have played a role in car thefts because officers were not able to book people for car theft or possession of a stolen vehicle.
“So people who were either caught stealing cars or caught in stolen cars were usually released from the scene. When thieves are out, they’re stealing. It’s what they do,” Zaro said.
He added that most car thefts in the region were done by a small handful of people.
Department breakdown
Pierce County Sheriff’s Department
Criminal offenses: 18,383
Offenses cleared: 3,356 or 18 percent
Arrests: 2,435
Bonney Lake Police Department
Criminal offenses: 1,000
Offenses cleared: 352 or 35 percent
Arrests: 322
Buckley Police Department
Criminal offenses: 259
Offenses cleared: 123 or 47.5 percent
Arrests: 96
DuPont Police Department
Criminal offenses: 346
Offenses cleared: 42 or 12 percent
Arrests: 33
Eatonville Police Department
Criminal offenses: 94
Offenses cleared: 14 or 15 percent
Arrests: 11
Edgewood Police Department
Criminal offenses: 669
Offenses cleared: 64 or 10 percent
Arrests: 40
Fife Police Department
Criminal offenses: 2,035
Offenses cleared: 420 or 21 percent
Arrests: 330
Fircrest Police Department
Criminal offenses: 291
Offenses cleared: 42 or 14 percent
Arrests: 35
Gig Harbor Police Department
Criminal offenses: 846
Offenses cleared: 264 or 31 percent
Arrests: 205
Lakewood Police Department
Criminal offenses: 6,544
Offenses cleared: 1,217 or 19 percent
Arrests: 900
Milton Police Department
Criminal offenses: 547
Offenses cleared: 166 or 30 percent
Arrests: 142
Orting Police Department
Criminal offenses: 381
Offenses cleared: 100 or 26 percent
Arrests: 79
Puyallup Police Department
Criminal offenses: 5,221
Offenses cleared: 1,768 or 34 percent
Arrests: 1,437
Roy Police Department
Criminal offenses: 42
Offenses cleared: 14 or 33 percent
Arrests: 8
Ruston Police Department
Criminal offenses: 75
Offenses cleared: 17 or 23 percent
Arrests: 15
Steilacoom Police Department
Criminal offenses: 219
Offenses cleared: 29 or 13 percent
Arrests: 22
Sumner Police Department
Criminal offenses: 853
Offenses cleared: 129 or 15 percent
Arrests: 112
Tacoma Police Department
Criminal offenses: 27,587
Offenses cleared: 4,378 or 16 percent
Arrests: 2,745
University Place Police Department
Criminal offenses: 2,036
Offenses cleared: 324 or 16 percent
Arrests: 224
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
