Good News for Ogden City: Crime Was Down in 2008

Kudos to Chief Greiner and the rest of Ogden's Finest

By Monotreme

Crime in Ogden was down in 2008, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Utah Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI):

• Crime in Utah - Preliminary Report

Violent crimes declined from 574 in 2007 to 395 in 2008, a 31% drop.
Property crimes declined from 5708 in 2007 to 4437 in 2008, a 22% drop.

Using the 2007 population figure for Ogden (82,702), the crime rate for violent crimes dropped from 6.9 per 1000 residents in 2007 to 4.8 per 1000 residents in 2008. The property crime rate was 53.7 for 2008, and total crimes reported to the BCI (violent + property) 58.4 per 1000 residents.

Utah BCI statistics have been the most reliable source of Ogden crime data over the past several years. (FBI statistics have tracked closely with the BCI statistics, and have not been released yet). Numbers released by Ogden City have not been as reliable.

It is likely that these numbers represent a real drop in crime. Perhaps the drop is due to increased policing in the gang unit. I just read the numbers, and am not a police officer or administrator, so I don't have a good speculation for the reason.

As a citizen, however, I am happy that crime is down in Ogden. I applaud Chief Greiner and his department for their dedication to public safety.

Editor's note: See also WCF's earlier published Mono's Crime Analysis Series. The crime situation in Ogden is happily now apparently changing for the better, according to the latest preliminary BCI data.