JBLM: Crowded base posted highs for DUI, misdemeanor crimes in 2011

JBLM: Crowded base posted highs for DUI, misdemeanor crimes in 2011
By Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD — With a full base for the first time in a decade and more soldiers stationed here than ever before, Joint Base Lewis-McChord last year recorded new highs for misdemeanor crimes and for offenses involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to statistics provided to The News Tribune.

Felonies and domestic violence crimes were up in 2011 compared with the previous year but were down significantly compared with 2008.

The statistics reflect crimes committed on and off base.

The local numbers are not dramatically different than Armywide trends, although the Army last year did see a small decline in total misdemeanor offenses after a six-year high.

Commanders are reluctant to draw conclusions from the local numbers because Lewis-McChord has more active-duty soldiers than it’s had in recent memory. Its 34,000 active-duty soldiers represent 15,000 more service members than were stationed here in 2003.

“We did not see any increase in crime that we do not normally attribute to the increase in population,” Col. Bob Taradash, Lewis-McChord’s top military police officer, said in an interview before his latest deployment to Afghanistan.

However, the consequences of those crimes appear to be increasing, as the military enters a time of reducing its forces and tightens its standards for staying in uniform.

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