Cities with populations between 10,000 to 24,999 saw a 1.7 increase in violent crime and a 3.8 increase in aggravated assault. According to this Security Systems News story, Chief Zeffrey Bingham of the Plattsburg Police Department suspects that some of that increase is due to Kansas City criminals going after easier targets.
Bingham is quoted:
"County agencies have seen rural burglaries increase because of the convenience -- there is no one out there," he said. In addition, a reduction of law enforcement manpower means there are fewer officers to cover large geographic jurisdictions.
Bingham also suggested the numbers for small towns may be higher than suspected, due to crimes going unreported.
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