Reno crime changes with
the times
by Rhina Guidos, Outpost staff
As Reno grows, so does its crime rate. But county and city officials in northern Nevada say the rise is not alarming and it is not higher than the rest of the nation. The rise, they say, is a side effect of growth.
William Gardner is the chief prosecutor at the city attorney's office in Reno. His office handles misdemeanor cases involving crime, theft and domestic violence.
John Helzer, assistant district attorney for Washoe County crime division, said he has seen increases in the number of cases brought before county court, but the only thing certain is the unpredictability of the rise of crimes.
Reno suffers from the same ills as other cities: drugs, gangs and domestic violence. As the rest of the nation experiences rising crime trends, Reno starts seeing these trends in smaller numbers."White-collar crimes such as counterfeiting are increasing because of the technology in computers," Helzer said. "In our office, the biggest increase we've seen is the cases of domestic violence and child abuse."He said that even though more cases are being reported, it doesn't mean that particular type of crime is rising. Numbers can be tricky and some years see a surge of crimes that drops off inexplicably a year later, he said.
"We go up and down," Helzer said. "Four years ago we had several gang-related deaths, then we had three, now we are starting to see more."
Phone scams go largely unreported, Helzer said. Often, people don't know who they have talked to on the phone and they don't think they will be able to get help.
"People will not report crimes if they think it's futile," he said. "Sometimes these are crimes that embarrass them, so they go unreported."
Drug use involving marijuana, LSD, mushrooms and other psychedelic drugs has remained constant, Helzer said. But recently, the city has seen an increase in the use of heroin as the drug of choice.
One trend that worries both Helzer and Gardner is the number of younger criminals.
"Flat out, the number are up," Gardner said. "It's disturbing to see the increase of crimes involving juveniles. On the streets and in school the numbers are increasing."
A few years ago, Gardner had a murder case involving a 15-year-old. He said his office wanted to ask for the death penalty but could not because of the defendant's age.
Even though statistics may show an increase in crime, both Gardner and Helzer seem to accept the view that it is a typical occurrence in growing cities.
"We're probably no different than the rest of the nation," Helzer said.
For a further look at Reno's efforts to keep crime rates down, read these stories:
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Posted Aug. 26,
1999
Copyright 1999, Nevada Outpost
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