Domestic violence increases in Maine Overall crime rate down over decade

PORTLAND – Domestic violence arrests shot up by nearly a third over the past decade in Maine – reflecting the continuation of a troubling trend – even as Maine’s overall crime rate dropped over the same period, according to a report.

The 2004 Crime & Justice Data Book, published by the Maine Statistical Analysis Center, reports that the 5,364 domestic-violence assaults in 2003 was the highest number in a decade, and an 11.4 percent increase over the previous year.

Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara said some of the data is troubling but shows the state is focusing on the right areas.

“It confirms and corroborates what the Department of Public Safety has been observing for many years, specifically that while crime rates in general have been going down, the rate of reported domestic violence assaults continues to increase,” he said.

Crime, overall, decreased by 17 percent from 1994 to 2003, reflecting a national trend.

But the rise in drug crimes over the past decade – a 68 percent increase and almost four times that for heroin and cocaine – shows that law enforcement needs to maintain its efforts to interrupt the drug trade, Cantara said.

The center, a collaboration between the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service and the Maine Department of Corrections, analyzed crime numbers, arrests, court action and incarceration data in producing the document.

The report looked at changes from 2002 to 2003 and over the 10 years from 1994 to 2003.

Those who worked on the report hope it will be a useful reference for policy-makers in government, law enforcement and social service agencies.

“This is real important if you want to go with data rather than anecdotal stories,” said Paul Vestal, chairman of the Maine Criminal Justice Commission. “A lot of people react to incidents rather than what is true or consistent as a pattern.”

Vestal said the raw numbers for crimes, arrests and the prison population are encouraging.

“Looking at Maine, we might as well go to work for the tourist bureau, because, if anything, it shows Maine is probably one of the very best places to live, based on crime data,” he said.

Much of the information will not surprise people who work in fields related to criminal justice, said the report’s author, Mark Rubin.

“The numbers often give support to what a lot of folks have already seen or talked about anecdotally,” Rubin said.

The number of county inmates almost doubled over the 10 years, and the state prison population rose 44 percent. The number of women arrested grew 63 percent over the span, four times as fast as for men. Still, Maine’s rate of incarceration and spending on corrections is among the nation’s lowest, officials said.