Crime rates decline in county

BONNERS FERRY — Like the state of Idaho, both the city and the county as a whole saw the number of reported crimes decrease in 2023, according to Idaho State Police uniform crime report published in July. 

Boundary County saw a 13.27% decrease in the number of reported crimes in 2023, according to ISP's data, with 183 offenses reported in total. The rate of reported offenses has varied in the past five years, from a high of 211 in 2022 to a low of 139 in 2021.

Crimes against society, which include crimes involving drugs, weapons and gambling, were the most frequently reported in the county, with 166 reported in total. Among them were 87 drug/narcotic violations and 79 “drug equipment” violations, as well as five weapons law offenses.  There were no reported cases of animal cruelty in Boundary County in 2023, according to ISP's data.

Unlike the neighboring counties of Bonner and Kootenai, the next largest group of reported offenses in the county were those that fell within the crimes against persons with aggravated and simple assaults making up the bulk of the crimes reported.

A total of 91 crimes against persons were reported in Boundary County last year, including nine rapes and 10 reported cases of fondling. The most frequently reported crime in this category was simple assault, with 46 cases, followed by 14 cases of aggravated assault. There were no reported cases of human trafficking in Boundary County last year but there were 10 reported cases of intimidation.

Boundary County saw 88 reported cases involving crimes against property. These include 32 reported cases of larceny or theft, 32 reported cases of destruction of property and three reported cases of arson. There were 11 reported cases of breaking and entering or burglary, one reported motor vehicle theft, one case of counterfeiting or forgery, one reported extortion or blackmailing case and seven reported fraud offenses.

The county saw 50 reported DUI cases in 2023, four of them involving juvenile drivers, as well as  seven liquor law violations, four of which involved juveniles; and three trespass of real property cases.

There were 223 arrests in the county last year, a slight increase —2.29% — over the previous year. Of those arrests, 181 were adults and 42 were juveniles. The county arrest rate is 1,610.69 per 100,009 population.

Within the last five years, the total number of arrests was highest in 2021 with 245 arrests occurring, up from 2019 and 2020 when the number of arrests totaled 176 and 190 respectively. The rate declined slightly in 2022 and 2023 when it totaled 218 and 223 respectively.

The city of Bonners Ferry saw a decrease of 24.43% in the total number of offenses reported in 2023 with 167 total offenses reported. A majority were crimes against society, with 68 drug or narcotic violations reported and 57 "drug equipment" violations. There were also two weapons law violations.

Crimes against persons and crimes against property were almost evenly split with 25 total crimes against persons reported in 2023 and 17 crimes against property reported. The largest number of cases in crimes against persons were those classified as simple assaults with 11 total cases reported in 2023. The largest number of crimes against property were those classified as larceny followed by destruction of property, with nine of the former and six of the latter.

Statewide, a total of 75,639 offenses were reported in 2023, a 4.6% decrease over the previous year. Crimes against society made up the bulk of these offenses, including 14,067 drug/narcotic violations and 12,524 drug equipment offenses. There were 103 reported cases of animal cruelty statewide, resulting in 48 arrests. 

Most reported crimes against property were larceny or theft offenses, 11,762 in total, followed by 5,959 destruction of property cases and 5,110 cases of fraud. There were 1,529 reported cases of motor vehicle theft in Idaho. 

Simple assault cases were the most frequently reported crime against persons, with 11,086 occurring statewide last year, followed by 3,463 reported cases of aggravated assault. 

There were 43 reported murders throughout the state — a number that equates to one murder occurring every 8.5 days, according to ISP — as well as 594 rapes and 40 statutory rapes. ISP estimates that rape occurs every 14.7 hours in Idaho.

Idaho saw 17 reported cases of human trafficking, including 14 cases involving commercial sex acts and three cases of “involuntary servitude.” 

Police arrested 51,746 people in Idaho last year, an increase of 353 over 2022, among them 5,439 juveniles. The statewide arrest rate is 2,644 per 100,000 population. 

Hagadone News Network reporter Kaye Thornbrugh contributed to this story.