WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) -- In Marathon County, 2019 had the lowest number of criminal arrests in five years of reporting, according to newly-updated UCR data from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, at about 4,700 arrests down from more than 6,000. However, the number itself doesn’t necessarily mean a decrease in law enforcement actions or people’s behavior, law enforcement officials say—it’s representative of shifts in both reporting systems and changes in the criminal justice system.
“The difference between 2015 and 2019 is we have a diversion program that’s established, we have drug courts and OWI courts,” Wausau police deputy chief Matt Barnes said, describing alternative justice measures that have taken root in Marathon County. The diversion program seeks to reduce arrests for low-level crimes, resulting instead in citations, rehabilitation, and reduced recidivism.
“Our system is overburdened,” Marathon County district attorney Theresa Wetzsteon noted. “So we’re trying to pull out the cases that we can in the forefront and try to get them dealt with in a more constructive and progressive way.”
A transition last year in crime reporting systems for two of Marathon County’s largest law enforcement agencies means the statewide UCR-based statistics might not represent local data effectively, officials say. Nationwide, law enforcement agencies were given until 2021 to adopt the National Incident Based Reporting System (IBRS). According to the DOJ’s UCR-system dashboard, violent crime is apparently up by 46% in Marathon County from the average for the preceding four years. But Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Captain Jason Plaza says that’s because of a difference in how some crimes are now categorized under IBRS, the system now used at MCSO and WPD.
“Some totals may be higher in one category but lower in another,” Plaza wrote in an email to NewsChannel 7. “Overall, the violent crimes in Marathon County has stayed the same over the past 5-7 years.”
Under the UCR system, a referral for charges would be included in arrest numbers, but under the IBRS system, those referrals aren’t included until charges are formally filed—which means law enforcement actions can be the same, Barnes said, but the numbers won’t reflect it.
“It’s not necessarily that there’s less crime—it’s what’s being measured and reported to be a crime in these reporting systems,” Barnes said. Additionally, policy shifts mean different actions for different behaviors.
“In 2015, if you had marijuana on your person, there was a criminal arrest,” Barnes said. “Today, that might be a municipal citation or an ordinance violation.”
In the big picture, Weztsteon says it’s best to watch the numbers and trends over time.
“It gives us a big picture, it gives us trends over the years, and also helps spur a conversation like this.”
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May 01, 2020 at 08:33AM
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Shifts in Marathon County crime data highlight changes in criminal justice, crime reporting - WSAW
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