DeKalb police attribute a 2-percent drop in serious crimes in 2002 from the previous year to proactive police officers.

Serious crimes are classified as part of the Part I crime index.

DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen expressed his pride in his department and in the community when the annual report was released.

“I am especially proud that those numbers are going down while our community is growing,” Feithen said.

When the community works with the police, and officers are proactive, those inclined to commit serious crimes notice, Feithen said.

Feithen attributed the 2-percent drop, which followed a 7-percent drop in 2001, to the abundance of officer-resident interaction. Feithen said his officers can be found all throughout town on bikes, in cars and on foot. Officers walk neighborhoods, talk to neighbors and are available for residents to voice concerns and suspicions to.

“That’s happening from myself through all ranks of the department,” Feithen said.

Not all numbers in the 2002 report dropped. While serious crimes declined, Part II crimes, which are considered less severe, increased from 6,047 to 7,176.

Feithen attributed this to a few main factors. It is not unusual for a suspect to commit a string of crimes, often in multiple jurisdictions. These strings of crimes cause the jumps in specific crimes. For instance, major motor vehicle offenses went up by about 350 from 2001 to 2002 and crimes of deception increased by 237.

Feithen said the large increase in deception, an increase of 67 percent, accounted for the major portion of the increase in the less-serious crime category. The increased numbers of deception cases, however, were attributed to an increase of referrals from the state’s attorney and could be a sign of the dismal economy.

Traffic arrests also increased by about 600, according to the annual report. With many of the categories increasing, Feithen said that an increased number of traffic stops done by the department’s younger officers are a part of the increase.

“I also think a big portion of [the increase] is that there are so many offenses now that people can get their licenses suspended for,” Feithen said.

Overall, however, Feithen was pleased with the outcome of the 2002 year.

Most importantly, Feithen said, “The numbers are not going down because of lack of enforcement.”