Arson, Kidnapping Among Crimes Reported in Farmington's Year-End Statistics

Farmington has a pretty good mix of crime and it looks like 2012 had only slightly less of it than previous years – mostly due to the decriminalization of marijuana.

“We have a lot of accidents, larcenies, we certainly have our share of domestics. Then throw in one or two burglaries a month and an occasional assault. It’s a pretty good mix,” explained Farmington Police Lt. Marshall Porter.

The year 2012 ended with a total of 968 adult arrests, down from 1,045 in 2011. Narcotics arrests were down to 96 from 208.

“The big change is in narcotics-related arrests and we attributed it to the new marijuana laws,” Porter said. “It’s not that we’re making less contacts, it’s just that marijuana possession is not classified as an arrest anymore. Simple possession is an infraction.”

Crime statistics were generally steady, or slightly decreased from 2011, with the exception of one arson and one kidnapping in 2012.

The arson, Porter said, was a car fire, during which someone reportedly set a car on fire in April at 163 Plainville Ave. 

The kidnapping case remains active, Porter said, but police are having difficulty getting victims to cooperate. In that case, a group of people in a car reportedly were forced to drive into New Britain, where people attempted to take money from them. Porter said the incident began at the mall on the New Britain line.

Fatal crashes were up from 2 to 4 in 2012 and crashes with injuries were down from 209 to 202. Police issued a total of 5,155 motor vehicle citations.

Incidents of minors with alcohol and hosting under 21 were also down slightly. Alcohol possession by a minor dropped from 147 in 2011 to 96 in 2012 and hosting from 8 to 6.

But that difference could be due to just one or two underage drinking parties, Porter said.

“If we have one giant underage drinking party, you could all of a sudden have 30 juveniles [cited]. One incident can change the numbers,” he said.

Juveniles are also frequently charged in larcenies and cited for marijuana possession, too, he said. 

But in Farmington, unlike some towns where crime happens mostly on the weekends or at night, it’s always a surprise.

“This is an interesting town. You can have a really, really quiet Friday night and then all of a sudden on Monday, you don’t get a chance to have your lunch,” Porter said.

The full report of local crime statistics is attached above.