Reprint from the Progress Times - May 11, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Crime Rate Is Down 19 Percent In Mission

By Kathy Olivarez

According to the annual report of crime in Texas in 2006 compiled by the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, crime in the city of Mission dropped 19 percent, while the overall crime in the state of Texas dropped 5.3 percent in 2006.

UCR tracks crime in seven categories. Violent crimes including murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault were recorded. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft are also tracked.

The report stated in 2006 there were 1,081,274 crimes reported in the seven categories. This was a 2.6 percent decrease from the previous year. The Texas crime rate was 459.9 per 100,000 people.

In 2006 there were only two murders in Mission, down from four the previous year. There were two rapes, down from five the previous year. The number of robberies rose from 20 to 24 while aggravated assaulted dropped to 36 from 43.

The city had a substantial drop in the number of burglaries. In 2005 the city had 619 burglaries while the number dropped to only 275 in 2006. Larceny theft dropped to 2,206 from 2,497. Theft of motor vehicles dropped to 288 from 321 the previous year. In all there was a total of 2,833 crimes in Mission last year compared to 3,509 the previous year.

The Progress Times spoke with Mission Police Chief Leo Longoria and asked to what he attributed the large drop in Mission’s crime rate.

Longoria said the city had stepped up with preventative controls, particularly in the commercial areas. They had focused on vehicular theft in areas where there were lots of cars parked and this had been very effective.

The police chief also said that the police department worked very closely with other Valley police departments. He looked at the types of crimes being committed in other Valley cities. When certain types of crimes started in those communities, he began making preparations for how to deal with them in Mission because he knew it would only be a matter of time until someone started the same types of crimes in Mission.

The chief said the police department has continued to work closely with the local schools. Although some of the programs that funded having officers on school campuses are no longer in effect, he still maintains officers on some of the campuses. They are able to target the youth that may need a positive role model to keep them out of trouble.

Another thing that Longoria feels is a very important factor in the drop in crime is the neighborhood watches developed across the city to protect residential areas. When criminals know there is a crime watch in a certain neighborhood, they are most likely to go elsewhere to commit their crimes. Mission police work with neighborhoods to help them establish crime watches and to establish neighborhood liaisons for the police.

Longoria feels the 19 percent drop in crime is excellent in a community that has grown 31 percent in the seven years since the last census. Growing 1.5 percent a year means that many new people are moving into the city.

He hopes to keep the crime rate going down. One factor that will affect the city in the near future is the new bridge that will give Mission its first international entry soon. The bridge will bring a whole set of new problems for the police and he is already at work looking to see what needs to be done to deal with the problems it will bring. Being ready for the problems it will create before it opens will go a long way toward preventing the crime rate in the city from rising.

The Progress Times also spoke with Mission City Manager Julio Cerda, who also took a great deal of pride in the reported crime drop of 19 percent. Cerda attributes much of the success of the police department to the strong support given to the department by the mayor and city commissioners. They provide funding for the number of officers needed for a city the size of Mission along with the equipment, vehicles and training needed for each officer.

Cerda said that Mission’s crime rate is up to 30 percent lower than some Valley cities of a similar size and is 50 percent lower than cities of a similar size in Cameron County.