Knox County saw increase crime during 2020 - Courier-Gazette & Camden Herald

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The pandemic-driven 2020 saw an end to the trend of declining crime in the region.

The Maine Department of Public Safety issued Nov. 29 its annual “Crime in Maine” report. The report is based on statistics filed by individual police agencies across the state.

The report details what are called index crimes that are eight of the more serious offenses — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. For index crimes, Knox County saw a nine percent increase from a record low of 372 in 2019 to 407 in 2020.

The 407 index crimes is the most reported in Knox County since 2017, when 484 were reported.

There were 62 police officers in total for the departments in Knox County, according to the state report.

Rockland

The Rockland department was the only one in the region to have the more detailed “national incident-based reporting system” statistics included in the 2020 Crime in Maine report.

During 2020, Rockland reported 129 index crimes. That included one rape reported, six aggravated assaults, 15 burglaries, 104 larcenies, two stolen motor vehicles, and one arson. The 129 crimes is up from a record low of 123 in 2019. There were 151 index crimes in Rockland during 2018, and 173 in 2017.

The uniform crime reports have been compiled annually since 1973.

The uniform crime reporting program is a nationwide cooperative effort of more 16,000 city, county and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crime brought to their attention, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

In 2010, Rockland had 427 index crimes, fueled largely by larcenies, which includes shoplifting. Rockland saw a sharp drop in larcenies when Walmart relocated to Thomaston in October 2013.

Rockland’s crime rate peaked in 1980 when there were 749 index crimes reported.

The more detailed national incident-based reporting system also shows other offenses reported in Rockland. That includes 45 simple assaults — no injuries and no weapons involved — including: 101 cases of intimidation, 69 cases of vandalism, 31 reports of fraud, 48 operating under the influence, 10 disorderly conduct, 33 drug violations, and one child pornography case.

The department arrested 183 people during 2020.

Thomaston

The Crime in Maine report shows Thomaston had 94 index crimes during 2020, up from 65 in 2019 and 44 in 2018. Ninety-four is the second most on record for Thomaston. The most came in 2014 — the first year with Walmart in town for the full year — when there were 159 index crimes.

Larcenies were by far the largest number of offenses in Thomaston for each of those years. In 2020, there were 77 larcenies out of the total of 94 index crimes. There were also six burglaries reported in 2020, seven stolen vehicles, two rapes, one aggravated assault, and one arson.

Camden

Camden reported 12 index crimes in 2020, according to the Maine Public Safety report. All 12 of the crimes were larcenies.

That represents an increase from the three index crimes reported in 2019, There were 14 crimes reported in 2018, 30 in 2017, and 36 in 2016.

Rockport

Rockport reported 12 index crimes in 2020. All 12 were also larcenies.

This represents a decline from 19 in 2019, 15 in 2018, 14 in 2017, and 27 in 2016.

Knox County Sheriff’s Office

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, which handles cases in towns without police departments in addition to assisting towns with their own departments, reported 160 index crimes during 2020. This is down from 162 in 2019, 163 in 2018, 184 in 2017, and 186 in 2016.

The crimes during 2020 included one rape, one robbery, two aggravated assaults, 24 burglaries, 119 larcenies, 12 stolen vehicles, and one arson.

The Sheriff’s Office arrested 39 people during 2020, according to the state report.

Waldoboro

In the adjacent Lincoln County town of Waldoboro, its police department reported 38 index crimes during 2020.

This included 31 larcenies, four burglaries, two aggravated assaults, and one stolen vehicle.

Maine State Police Col. John Cote noted in the state report Maine continues to be one of the safest states in the country. He credited cooperation between departments and the public for the low crime rate.

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