Crime numbers fluctuate in county

For a county with 19 towns and two cities, this makes for a heavy caseload for the Saratoga County Sheriff's office as well as District Attorney James Murphy.

"It would be wonderful to come in to work and have nothing to do, but that just isn't the case -- here or anywhere else in the country," Murphy said.

In 2008, Saratoga County oversaw 428 felony cases, up from 2007's 375 cases. A felony can be described as a crime in which the sentence, if convicted, is a year or more in state or federal prison. Misdemeanors typically have a sentence of less than a year in county jail.

Drug cases are going down in numbers as well with 41 felony cases in 2008, 57 in 2007 and 60 in 2006, Murphy said.

"We've really taken a strong position on drug cases," he said. "If people are dealing drugs for profit, we want them to go to prison. If someone is in trouble for using drugs because they are addicted, our hope is to send them to treatment court which helps them get the help they need to recover."

In 2008, 340 people were screened in treatment court, with 63 graduates from the program and 20 graduates on a road to recovery program.

"We try to divert people from jail if they have a drug problem," Murphy added. "People who are addicted to a drug shouldn't be sitting in a cell for $300 a day. They should be getting the help they need to be a functioning member of society."

He added that while drug crimes are typically dangerous crimes, the District Attorney's office is glad to handle them.

"Our goal is to get violent drug dealers off the streets and get addicts the help they need," Murphy said.

He added that in Saratoga County, weapons crimes are very rare, with one or two cases per year.

On the flip side, sexual offenses have risen over the past year, but Murphy attributes that to a stronger awareness of repercussions for the offender by the victim, less of a stigma attached to sexual offenses and the simple fact that more people are willing to come forward today than before.

There were 37 felony sex offenses cases in 2008, 25 in 2007 and 15 in 2006.

"I had to assign a second prosecutor because the numbers of cases are rising so quickly," Murphy said. "Our procedures are victim intensive, but it's hard to prove a sex offense case because they are mostly 'he said, she said' with little or no witnesses."

Saratoga County has seen a rise in burglaries in 2008. A burglary is when an object is taken from a building or home, whereas a robbery is when an object is forcibly taken from a person.

There were 32 burglaries and seven robberies in 2008, 25 burglaries and 11 robberies in 2007 and 24 burglaries and four robberies in 2006. A burglary or robbery would be classified as a petit larceny if the value of the taken object is $1,000 or less, and would be considered grand larceny if the value is more than $1,000. A petit larceny charge is a misdemeanor.

Cases of driving while intoxicated have slightly risen with 102 felony cases in 2008, 97 in 2007 and 98 in 2008.

"We do not plea bargain felony DWI cases," Murphy said. A felony driving while intoxicated charge occurs when a person is caught driving while intoxicated with a prior DWI arrest within 10 years.

"This is an offense we take very seriously in Saratoga County," Murphy added.

While some statistics are up and others are down, Murphy believes that Saratoga County residents live in a safe county.

"Our office is very busy year-round," he said. "We are not recession proof. Tough times provide different circumstances and when people are facing hardship, it drives crime. We do continue to live in one of the safest counties in New York State."