AUGUSTA — Despite the growing opioid epidemic in Maine, crime levels decreased 8.7 percent in 2016, for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety’s Uniform Crime Statistics report issued Oct. 18.

The Uniform Crime Statistics Report was released Oct. 19. (See attached PDF)

The total decrease in the number of crimes over the past five years was 38.6 percent, said the state. Besides the crime level decrease of 8.7 percent in 2016, crime dropped 7.1 percent in 2015, 13 percent in 2014, 8.3 percent in 2013 and 1.5 percent in 2012.

The crime statistics in the 2016 report issued by the Department of Public Safety in October, however, indicate that arson increased 129.7 percent, primarily due to a new reporting system by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The crime of arson was added to the list of reportable index crimes in 1980, the report said. During 2016 there were 209 arsons reported, up 118 (129.7 percent) from the 91 arsons reported for 2015. Estimated property loss caused by arson totaled nearly $3.5 million during 2016 — up 123.1 percent.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is a nationwide cooperative effort of more than 16,000 city, county and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crime brought to their attention, according to the Maine Dept. of Public Safety.

“The monthly contributions of Maine's 150 law enforcement agencies represent the initial step in establishing an efficient statewide criminal justice information system (CJIS). Ideally, the UCR data will eventually merge with that of the other major components of the criminal justice system (i.e., prosecutors, courts, corrections) to form an integrated system for the exchange of vital management information.”

The Crime Rate is based on the occurrence of an Index Offense per 1,000 residents of the state, the report said. Local and county rates are based on their individual populations. The State Crime Rate for 2016 was 17.84 per 1,000. The comparable rate for 2015 was 19.56. The 2016 state population is estimated at 1,331,479 persons

The Uniform Crime Statistics Report also said that the number of rape crimes grew by 2.7 percent and aggravated assaults increased by 9.4 percent.

But, crimes in other categories were down in 2016. They included robberies, burglary, larceny-theft, simple assault, homicides, motor vehicle thefts and domestic violence.

Crime in the rural areas showed a decrease of 9.8 percent and crimes reported in cities and towns dropped 8.3 percent.

“The fifth consecutive annual drop in crime is encouraging but drugs are still the driving force behind most crime in Maine,” said Public Safety Commissioner John Morris, in a press release.

He said: “Drugs still affect all Maine law enforcement, with much of the drugs coming to Maine from out of staters affiliated with gangs.”

The Uniform Crime Statistics Report does not include drug crimes, only the total number of arrests recorded.

Drug arrests were down by 9 percent in 2016 with 5,029 adults and 382 juveniles charged with drug offenses.

An analysis of 2016 deaths, released by the Attorney General’s Office in April 2017, expands on the opioid epidemic in Maine. The expanded Maine Drug Death Report for 2016 was conducted by Marcella Sorg, PhD for the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

The Office reported that there was nearly a 40 percent increase in deaths from 2015 due to a drug overdose. According to the report, 84 percent of these deaths were caused alone or in combination with an opioid.

“The number of deaths caused by heroin and fentanyl is unprecedented,” said Attorney General Janet T. Mills in the 2016 drug death report issued in April 2017. 

“Yet the danger of prescription opioids remains unabated,” she said. “It is time to fully fund treatment services for those affected by this deadly disorder and to fully engage in prevention and education efforts. Using these drugs, alone or in combination, is playing with fire.”

Mills called for physicians across the state to limit their opiate prescribing practices and for more doctors to become suboxone prescribers.

The summary in the 2016 drug death report from the Attorney General’s Office also highlights how the numbers of drug deaths are expanding across the state. Only five counties in Maine had more than 10 deaths in 2015, and in 2016 that number increased to 10 counties.

And, certain cities are bearing a heavy load of the drug epidemic. While Portland has five percent of the state’s total population, 11 percent of the overdose deaths were recorded there in 2016. Bangor is home to just two percent of the total population, but it recorded nine percent of the 2016 overdose deaths, according to the Office of the Attorney General.

“This epidemic is not limited to one area or region of Maine,” said Attorney General Mills. “Our cities are being hit hard by this, but rural regions are not immune. It cannot be stressed enough that this epidemic is hitting all across Maine and is not confined to big city across the country. This is happening to your friends and family, and it is happening in your neighborhood.”

The analysis shows that while deaths due to pharmaceutical opioids have been surpassed by fentanyl and heroin, the number of deaths from prescription painkillers increased last year to 123 – the highest level since 2010.

An analysis conducted by Dr. Sorg of the cases in 2015, in which a pharmaceutical opioid was implicated as a cause of death, observed that only seven percent had a prescription for that drug at the time of their death.

Other highlights of the 2016 Crime Report include:

• Beginning in 1992, Hate Crime was added as a new reporting requirement. During 2016, police reported 40 incidents involving 40 victims and resulting in a total of 42 offenses. This figure represented a 5 percent increase from the 2015 total of 40 offenses (38 incidents involving 58 victims).

• During 2016 law enforcement agencies recorded $17,906,593 worth of property stolen during the commission of index crimes — a decrease of 12 percent from the $20,346,695 stolen during 2015. Police were able to recover 28.5 percent ($5,106,200) of stolen property during 2016.

• Statewide there were 2,310 full-time sworn law enforcement officers representing a ratio of 1.73 officers per 1,000 population. Nationally (in 2015) the average rate per 1,000 was 2.1. 

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com