Calls for service to the Grand Forks Police went up seven-and-a-half percent in 2020, while criminal offenses saw an overall decrease.
According to the P-D’s annual report… there were 50,957 calls for service last year… up from 47,401 in 2019.
But Police Lt. Derik Zimmel said, “I would exercise some caution when comparing 2020 numbers to any other year just because 2020 was so different in so many respects.”
Zimmel says some things in the report were predictable, such as 454 fraud and forgery crimes, a high mark for the past 10 years.
“We expected those to go up. They did go up,” Zimmel said. “And I think a good number of that can be attributed to COVID-related fraud that we saw exhibited locally through false unemployment claims and other various CARES Act crimes that occurred throughout the year.”
The report shows three murders in 2020 – two more than 2019 … 31 rapes – five more than 2019… and 121 auto thefts – 12 more than the previous year.
Fourteen robberies were reported in 2020 – down nine from 2019.
Aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and arson crimes also decreased. (In fact, no arsons were reported.)
The P-D issued 6,961 citations… including 216 for DUI, and 684 for driving under suspension or restraint.
Parking tickets in Grand Forks were down nearly 39 percent from 2019.
