The City of Brownsville crime rate increased by less than 1% in 2021 and authorities are both surprised and pleased with the slight increase.
Surprised because they thought it might be higher because residents were venturing out of their homes after a year of lockdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and pleased because both the public and the city’s police department joined forces to help keep the city safe, said Investigator Martin Sandoval, spokesman for the Brownsville Police Department.
“In 2020 everybody was on lockdown, so the crime rate of course tends to go down when everybody is on lockdown. So, when 2021 came about and everybody was out, of course everyone was projecting that crime would rise because everything,” went back to normal, Sandoval said. “We actually maintained a good presence out there and the officers worked hard to make it an only less than one percent increase which is something that has not been seen here for awhile.”
The city’s estimated population is 186,738. The police department has 246 officers.
The police department releases it annual crime report at the beginning of the year. According to the 2021 report, major crimes increased by 0.91% in 2021 compared to 2020. There were 3,319 major crimes reported in 2021 compared to 3,289 in 2020, which is 30 more crimes reported.
Two murders were reported in 2021 compared to seven recorded in 2020. There were 132 robberies reported in 2021 compared to 152 recorded in 2020, and there were 358 burglaries reported in 2021 compared to 397 recorded in 2020.
However, the city did experience an increase in rapes, aggravated assaults, thefts and motor vehicle thefts.
There were 72 rapes reported in 2021 compared to 50 in 2020. There were 432 reported cases of aggravated assault reported in 2021 compared to 383 in 2020. There were 2,191 thefts reported in 2021 compared to 2,179 in 2020, and there were 132 motor vehicle thefts reported in 2021 compared to 121 in 2020.
According to the report, there were 108,421 calls for service, 3,784 people booked in jail with 2,986 of those being males.
From 2012 to 2021, major crimes have dropped dramatically. There were 8,810 crimes reported in 2012 compared to 3,319 in 2021.
Sandoval said the numbers indicate that both the police department and the city’s residents are doing their best to keep their city safe and to help reduce crimes.
“The greatest asset we have is our community. They are the ones that make a big difference when it comes to crime. They are the ones that can report the crime, they see it, they report it to us and we can get there and apply the help that we can there,” he said. “Without the community we can’t make this a safe city. Our job becomes successful with the community and the police department working together.”
Officers have increased patrols around the city during critical times and residents are more prone to calling the department if they witness something suspicious or see something happening that is against the law.
“The more presence that is out the less crime that is going to be committed, less crimes of opportunity,” such as murders, robberies, thefts and assaults, Sandoval said. “We started setting a lot of patrol bys for a lot of convenience stores, a lot of businesses where officers will pass there by the parking lot…the officers will pass by slowly and look and make sure everything is good. If they notice anything out of the ordinary they will act to it,” he said.
Commenting on the increase in rapes in 2021 —22 more than in 2020 — Sandoval said it’s because more people are coming forward to report them and that the department has made it easier for victims to file reports.
“We are getting away from that stigma where it’s bad (to report a rape), it’s not bad and we actually want people to come forward and report them so we can start investigating them…people started finding out that it’s out there and we are here to help,” Sandoval said. “People started reporting it a lot more than they use to.”
For 2022 the department hopes to continue its partnership with the community and start a downward trend on all crimes, Sandoval said.
