The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office saw a significant increase in the number of narcotics violations and assaults between 2021 and 2022, according to the agency’s recently completed 2022 criminal statistical report.
Narcotic cases jumped from 494 in 2021 to 835 in 2022, and assaults rose from 478 in 2021 to 732 in 2022.
Domestic violence cases also increased, from 927 in 2021 to 1,092 in 2022, and weapons offenses climbed from 65 in 2021 to 139 in 2022, according to the report.
Sheriff Dave Marshak said the increase in those four criminal categories is concerning, especially since the Sheriff’s Office also saw a 747 percent increase in the number of fentanyl pills seized and a 45 percent increase in the amount of fentanyl powder seized between 2021 and 2022.
“The increased flood of drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our community coupled with the increased weapon offenses, assaults and domestic violence are areas of concern,” he said.
While the Sheriff’s Office saw an increase in those four crime categories, the Arnold, Byrnes Mill, De Soto and Festus police departments did not see similar upticks in narcotics violations, assaults, domestic violence and weapons offenses.
“I’m not seeing any spikes that really concerns me as something being more of a problem than it was last year,” Byrnes Mill Police Chief Frank Selvaggio said.
Marshak said despite concerns about some criminal categories, the county is a safe place to live and work and the Sheriff’s Office continues to make improvements to keep it that way.
“We have made critical investments in personnel, training and technology to counter the way criminals have evolved,” he said. “Our greatest investment in criminal identification and suspect accountability is underway with the construction of the new crime lab. It’s a game changer, and I think it will help us compete with St. Charles County as the safest county in the region. Once completed, we will need a new jail that has the capacity to hold those who continue to victimize our community.”
Sheriff’s Office
Marshak said because crime patterns are difficult to categorize, he is cautious about speculating on trends.
However, he pointed out that because the county does not have a crime lab of its own, the Sheriff’s Office sometimes must wait up to nine months for the Missouri State Highway Patrol to complete drug lab reports.
“(This) allows suspects to roam Jefferson County committing crimes until the results are back,” Marshak said. “Drug addicts play a major role in the crimes we see in our community, so we must (expedite addressing) any challenges that develop to complete the crime lab.”
Marshak said men were the primary aggressors in last year’s domestic violence cases, which were the highest they have been since 2017 when there were 1,100 of those incidents reported.
He said the Sheriff’s Office is studying ways to better tackle the problem.
“We recently coordinated a working group to create some actionable items that we believe can help reduce those numbers,” Marshak said. “I expect to see an educational campaign later this year after additional analysis.”
Marshak said criminologists can’t come to a consensus for why weapon offenses are increasing nationally, but he said people do seem to be more volatile than in the past.
“Weapons offenses encompass a wide variety of categories, but the availability of guns today coupled with more volatility could be a reason,” he said.
Arnold
Unlike the Sheriff’s Office, Arnold Police reported a drop in narcotics violation cases, which decreased from 298 in 2021 to 165 in 2022.
“The reduction in narcotics violations can be attributed to our road patrol division, which is complemented by specialized units, including the Crime Suppression Unit and the Business Resource Officers (unit),” Detective Lt. Jeremy Christopher said. “Our goal is to make it clear to the criminal element that these divisions conduct proactive policing in an effort to interrupt and halt all crimes to include possession of controlled substances.
“We are fortunate in our department to have several specialized units. We have a crime suppression unit that is able to focus on ‘hot-spot policing.’ We try to increase our police presence based on certain trends. For example, if we see an increase in catalytic converter thefts and stealing from motor vehicles we will adjust our manpower based on the time and location of these crimes.”
Arnold Police also reported a decrease in assaults, with 107 in 2022 after there were 123 in 2021.
Weapons offenses also were down, with 16 in 2022, which was a drop from 38 in 2021.
“I can’t say for certain why we had a significant drop in weapons violations,” Chief Brian Carroll said. “Part of this can be attributed to not only our policing efforts, but to our positive relationship with our prosecuting attorney’s office. When offenders are charged with these types of violations and our judges hold them accountable, there is a deterrence effect for these criminals.”
Arnold did, however, see a minimal increase in domestic violence cases, with 99 in 2022 after 96 were reported in 2021. The city also saw 19 sex offenses in 2022, up from 15 in 2021.
Byrnes Mill
In Byrnes Mill, Selvaggio said there was no change in narcotics arrests between 2021 and 2022, with 26 each of those two years.
However, he expects the number of arrests to increase this year as his young police roster becomes more seasoned.
“As they get more experience, they are starting to make more arrests,” Selvaggio said. “They may be more aware of what is going on around them and making more arrests.”
Selvaggio said the city saw an increase in weapons offense cases, with eight in 2022 versus two the previous year.
Assault cases, which include domestic assaults, remained the same at 30 in both 2021 and 2022.
Selvaggio said a key to keeping the city safe is a partnership between residents and the police.
“I try to remind people if they see suspicious activity, to call us right away,” he said. “I think that is key to keeping problems to a minimum.”
De Soto
In De Soto, drug arrests dropped from 75 in 2021 to 32 in 2022, Police Chief Jeff McCreary reported.
He said his department was shorthanded for large portions of 2022, which he attributes to the lower number of arrests last year.
“We had a transitional year as far as staffing,” McCreary said. “We were down four officers at one point last year.”
McCreary said the department currently has 16 officers, and the city is working to hire one more, which isn’t an easy task.
He said the city raised officers’ salaries in 2018, but after that, other law enforcement agencies also increased salaries.
“We attract good candidates, and then in three to four years, after they get great experience, they look elsewhere and see they can get more money,” he said. “We need to be competitive with departments our size, and we are struggling with that.”
McCreary said the biggest change in 2022 was the number of calls for service the De Soto Police received, with 26,791 calls in 2022 compared to fewer than 20,000 calls in 2021.
“I have noticed in De Soto that people call dispatch a lot,” McCreary said. “We like the fact that people call us when they have an issue.”
Still, he said a lot of crimes go unreported.
Festus
Former Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis, who retired April 30, reported decreases in nearly every criminal category last year.
Lewis said Festus saw assaults drop from 97 in 2021 to 91 in 2022.
Burglaries fell from 13 in 2021 to 11 last year; domestic violence cases decreased from 76 to 54 during the same period; narcotics cases dropped from 43 to 32; and weapons offenses fell from 10 to six.
However, he said the city had two murders last year after having none in 2021.
“I hate to see we had two murders last year,” Lewis said. “But, overall, we are down on all of the major crimes. I don’t have a reason other than good police work, but I don’t know if that is part of it. People may not be reporting crimes.”
Lewis said one of the main ways Festus Police help keep the city safe is by being visible.
“That is why we have a take-home program with our police cars,” he said. “I think the fact that you are visible means a lot. If there is someone who thinks they are going to rob 7-Eleven but sees a police car there, that person is probably going to move along.
“I think visibility is everything. It helps the citizens have a feeling of comfort to know that we are there and care. Also, it shows anyone coming through that they may want to go somewhere else because there are too many cops.”
Capt. Doug Wendell has been promoted to replace Lewis and take over as the Festus Police chief.