Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer and Undersheriff Dennis Bonneville attribute at least part of the reduction in the Kitsap crime rate to a strong economy. Others who study the national trends say that demographics are in play in the crime statistics. A disproportionate number of crimes are committed by people between the ages of 16 and 25. And in the past decade, the number of Americans in that age range has declined. Boyer also cited other factors for affecting the crime rate.
More officers are on the streets.
All the local police agencies have crime prevention programs in place. And Kitsap County's Drug Court, designed to get treatment for first-time offenders with substance abuse problems, seems to be cutting into the problem of repeat offenders. But the reduction in the crime rate hasn't translated into less for the police to do. Bremerton Police Chief Rob Forbes says his officers are busier than ever before. Crimes in the first three months this year indicate the rate is still falling in Bremerton, Forbes said, but city police expect to have to respond to 2,500 more calls this year than in 1999.