MPD officers responded to a total of 3,782 incidents in the West District during the month of December. This is an average of 122 incidents per day.
It is important to remember what an "incident" is. In most instances an incident is a call for service, where a citizen calls to request an officer for something. This might be a crime, but many times officers respond to things that are not criminal (traffic accidents, civil disputes, parking issues, etc.). Also, many self-initiated activities engaged in by officers result in an MPD incident being created. These includes traffic stops and foot patrol. So while incidents can be helpful to measure what MPD is doing, they aren't necessarily a great indicator of public safety or quality of life in our neighborhoods.
December incidents by day of the week:
December incidents by time of day:
The end of 2014 also allows us to look at the full year's incidents by month:
This is an increase of about 7% from 2013. However, as indicated above, this does not necessarily reflect an increase in crime in the district. As an illustration, a big portion of the increase in incidents is a result of officers conducting more traffic stops. This is in response to frequent citizen complaints about traffic and speeding, and reflects officers being responsive to community concerns.