Some crimes decrease in Columbiana County

By D.a. Wilkinson

The county prosecutor said most of his indictments are for break-ins and burglaries.

SALEM — Hard times haven’t increased crime in Columbiana County.

Annual reports by the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office, which has the largest area to enforce, and Salem Police Department, which is the largest city in the northern part of the county, show that crime is down in some categories.

The reason may be that people in need aren’t turning to crime because they don’t have to.

Kathleen Chaffee, the associate director of the county’s Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, said there were 11 pantries from Salem to East Liverpool that distributed food Tuesday.

Such aid programs are part of the county.

“It’s a very generous community,” Chaffee said.

She is heading up a plan to create a group that would work long-term to fight chemical abuse in the county. Many counties in Ohio already have such programs that can target specific drug abuse in specific areas.

County Prosecutor Robert Herron, who began warning the county about the increasing drug trade, said break-ins and burglaries remain the bulk of his indictments.

Herron said he isn’t sure why there was a drop in crime, and deferred to Chaffee’s observation.

Chaffee said she has interviewed many officers from many of the departments throughout the county. They described the increase in drug use in the last five years.

The sheriff’s office said it served 388 indictments in 2008, just one more than in 2007.

Salem Police Chief Robert Floor said he expected his report would show an increase in crime this year and was surprised by the drop. Floor said Chaffee’s belief is possible.

Here are some of the statistics:

UThe county made 1,322 arrests in 2007 and 1,290 in 2008. Salem made 1,083 arrests in 2007 and 955 in 2008.

UThe county had 100 assaults in 2007 and 141 in 2008. Salem had seven assaults in 2007 and five in 2008.

UThe county had 546 thefts in 2007 and 639 thefts in 2008. Salem, however, saw a decrease from 75 thefts in 2007 to 56 in 2008.

UDomestic violence cases dropped in both jurisdictions. The county saw a drop from 369 in 2007 to 334 in 2008. Salem had 25 domestic abuse cases in 2007 and 21 in 2008.

wilkinson@vindy.com