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Sheriff presents October 2024 crime data showing mixed trends in Lancaster
Summary
Deputy Kit Grupey of the Lancaster Sheriff Station presented October 2024 crime statistics showing declines in some indexed crimes but increases in grand-theft-auto and arson; deputies offered to follow up with incident-level detail on specific rises.
Deputy Kit Grupey, Lancaster Sheriff Station, presented the commission with Part 1 crime statistics for October 2024 and year-to-date comparisons to 2023. Grupey reported 3,758 Part 1 incidents in the city of Lancaster and 745 in the unincorporated area for a combined total of 4,503 — an overall increase of 5.53% compared with the previous year.
Grupey walked through major categories and year-to-date percent changes reported in the station's slides. He said robberies and forcible-rate offenses showed decreases in the city while the unincorporated area experienced increases in some categories. He called grand-theft-auto a continuing issue: the presentation listed a combined total of 1,425 grand-theft-auto incidents with the city portion rising by 22.64% and the unincorporated portion showing a larger percentage increase.
Grupey also reported increases in arson — noting 41 arsons in the city and 23 in the unincorporated area, for a total of 64 — and said the percentage changes can be driven by relatively small numeric differences in annual comparisons. "I don't have that exact answer. I can find out for you," Grupey said when asked why grand-theft-auto, arson and Part 1 totals had risen; he offered to return with incident-level detail or present specific incident breakdowns at the next meeting.
The deputy also gave traffic-and-enforcement figures: for the month of October the presentation listed two fatal crashes, 60 injury collisions and 58 non-injury collisions, 189 citations issued and 36 DUI arrests for the month. Grupey said arrest totals and calls for service largely track the Part 1 crime maps and thanked the station's crime analyst for slide preparation.
Commissioners asked several follow-up questions about vehicle-theft recovery rates and whether cameras improved recovery; Grupey said many stolen vehicles are recovered days later and that parts are often stripped. He said specialized auto-theft teams and trap grants are operational in the area and that the station can provide clubs and other anti-theft devices to the public.
Grupey closed by offering to research the specific incidents that produced year-to-year percentage increases and provide a more detailed briefing at a future meeting.
