Child abuse increased; white collar crime decreased in Doa Ana County

While the number of homicides and thefts stayed stagnant from 2016 to 2017 in Doña Ana County, the number of child abuse cases increased and the number of white collar crimes decreased, according to data from the Third Judicial District Attorney’s office.

“For the last two or three years, we’ve been bucking all crimes statistically in the United States,” said District Attorney Mark D’Antonio.

From 2016 to 2017, child abuse cases increased from 97 to 135 reported cases in Doña Ana County, a 39% increase. D’Antonio told ABC-7 that his office has seen more and more children found with meth in their systems.

“That’s something that has certainly encountered a spike,” D’Antonio said. “That’s serious. That’s a serious event.”

Another trend in Doña Ana County’s data was white collar crime, which has decreased from 143 reported incidents in 2016 to 81 reported incidents in 2017: More than a 43% drop.

“The D.A. can’t prosecute the cases in a vacuum,” D’Antonio said. “We absolutely need and rely on our law enforcement officers. That’s working so far.”

D’Antonio also said his office will prioritize community initiatives in 2018 to encourage the public to report crimes to law enforcement.

“We think it’s important to continue our trend to get the information out to the community,” D’Antonio said. “We have a really stable and good community, but I think and I believe that more information is needed.”