Despite the Department’s relatively small size, we devote time and effort to accurately accounting for both the quantity and quality of services provided to the Community. One significant and consistent measurement of law enforcement service relates to the report of and response to criminal behavior over time. The Department’s Crime in Crete series is a comprehensive means of openly sharing this information with all concerned. This page represents a fraction of the material found within the mos recent edition of Crime in Crete (Click on link below).

Crime Reporting
To ensure crime data is comparable throughout the nation, the U.S. Department of Justice has identified particular crimes to be counted, under exacting definitions, by every law enforcement agency in America. These are called Part I Crimes and include the violent acts of Homicide, Forcible Rape, Robbery, and Aggravated Assault and also the property crimes of Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, Burglary, and Arson. Individual law enforcement agencies, including the Crete Police Department, report these crimes and other information to their respective States. The Nebraska Crime Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics consolidate and publish this data as Uniform Crime Reports (UCR).

Crime in Crete
Click on the Crime in Crete link above.

Crime Rate
A community’s crime rate is determined by a ratio of the number of Part I crimes to the number of people within the community during a given year. Changes in either reported crimes or population will cause a community’s crime rate to fluctuate over time. In 2009, Crete experienced 178 reported Part I property crimes and 14 reported Part I violent crimes. The Nebraska Crime Commission estimated Crete’s population to be 6,258 for the year: Therefore, Crete’s crime rate was 30.7 crimes per 1,000 people.

Calls for Service
The Department is responsible for much more than investigating Part I crimes. We work to proactively target the root causes of crime, maintain order, and provide a variety of other services to the Community while working with our many partner law enforcement agencies in Saline County and at the State and Federal level. Most all of our significant actions to meet the needs of the city are documented as Calls for Service.