Overall reported crime in Iowa City up in 2014 for first time since 2011

Reported crime in Iowa City was up in 2014 for the first time in three years, according to crime data from the Iowa City Police Department.

The total number of reported crimes in Iowa City increased from 4,142 in 2013 to 4,744 in 2014, a 14 percent jump. The increase is the first in the city since 2011, when reported crime increased 18 percent from 2010 rates.

Reported crime in 2014 was the highest since 2003, when 5,351 crimes were reported. Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine said the department is ready to react to the increase.

"When we find trends in stats, we do what we can to get on them," Hargadine said Thursday. "We see the numbers, and we can shift our attention to another issue."

One of the reported crimes that increased the most from 2013 to 2014 was fraud offenses defined as false pretenses, swindle and confidence game.

"No, there aren't people playing three-card Monte in the streets of Iowa City. This is more common fraud," Iowa City Police Sgt. Scott Gaarde said this week.

Reported fraud offenses increased from 196 in 2013 to 303 in 2014, a 54 percent jump, according to the data. Hargadine said the increase is due in large part to Internet-based identity theft and tax fraud.

"Like the issue we've had with the university with tax fraud, it's becoming more and more prevalent," Hargadine said.

Hargadine referred to a recent string of tax fraud cases reported by the University of Iowa in March. More then 200 UI employees reported federal or state tax fraud, the result of an apparent UI data breach.

"Last year, I knew a lot of people myself who were victims of this kind of fraud. This year, I know even more people," Hargadine said. "There's nothing people did wrong; it's just something we have to deal with in today's world."

R.A. Mebus, crime prevention officer for Iowa City police, said he has helped an increasing number of tax fraud victims in recent years.

"I've had older couples sit down with me and cry over the fact that they had their tax return stolen," Mebus said. "It can be tough for anyone."

Mebus said the police department is handing out fliers that explain what tax fraud victims need to do to get their tax returns back. Mebus advised that anyone who has experienced tax fraud should make a police report and report the fraud to the Internal Revenue Service.

The other biggest driver of the increase in reported crime, according to statistics, is shoplifting. Like fraud, shoplifting increased 55 percent, from 250 reported incidents in 2013 to 389 in 2014.

"We're a small enough town that one person, or one group, can affect the statistics a lot," Hargadine said.

Gaarde credited crime prevention efforts — such as that of the Waterfront Hy-Vee store, which hired an outside security firm to help spot shoplifters — as a reason for the uptick in some reported crimes in some neighborhoods.

"We never had an outside security firm before last year," Josh Frank, a store manager, said Friday. Since hiring a security firm, the Hilltop neighborhood, where the store is located, saw an increase in reported shoplifting from one incident in 2013 to 20 in 2014.

The two neighborhoods that usually have the highest rates of reported crime — Downtown and College Green — saw marginal decreases in reported crime in 2014. College Green saw an 8 percent decline in reported crime and Downtown saw a 3 percent decrease.

"What I've learned is that there are no two neighborhoods that are the same in Iowa City. You've got to treat each neighborhood differently," Hargadine said.

Hiring David Schwindt as a downtown beat officer in 2013, Hargadine said, helped spur a 23 percent decrease in burglary reports and a 25 percent decline in vandalism reports in the neighborhood from 2013 to 2014.

"You have to be willing to adjust to what you're doing to see any change," Hargadine said. "We're not adverse to change if it means a safer town."

Reach Zach Berg at 319-887-5412, zberg@press-citizen.com, or follow him on Twitter at @ZacharyBerg.

Crimes reported from 2003 to 2014

The total number of reported crimes in Iowa City from 2003 to 2014, according to Iowa City Police Department crime statistics. The numbers reflect reported crimes, not actual arrests.

Overall crime

2003 … 5,351

2004 … 4,607

2005 … 3,909

2006 … 4,072

2007 … 4,277

2008 … 4,567

2009 … 4,516

2010 … 3,622

2011 … 4,435

2012 … 4,401

2013 … 4,142

2014 … 4,744