2022 Idaho Crime Report released; how Twin Falls and Jerome Counties compared to 2021

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The 2022 Idaho State Crime report breaks down the crime statistics each year.

The annual Crime in Idaho report breaks down statewide crime statistics county by county each year, reporting if the overall crime rate went up or down, and which particular crimes were on the rise or decline.

In Jerome County, the crime rate went up 13.29% from 2021 to 2022, but according to Sheriff George Oppedyk statistics only tell part of the story.

“I think the uniform crime report is a fairly consistent, accurate way of portraying crime in Idaho and each county varies, based on population, demographics, terrain, all kinds of things lead into it, whether there is an interstate that goes through your interstate, there is a lot of things that come with the interstate,” said Oppedyk.

Sheriff Oppedyk says Jerome County’s stats were consistent with the past 5 years.

He says thefts were down, but drugs and narcotics were up 16.49%.

In 2021, they had 370 drug and narcotic arrests and in 2022, that number increased to 431.

“Where Jerome is located, it’s kind of a hub for drugs going other places, with the Interstate and Highway 93, we do what we can to combat the stuff coming through and one of our goals is for people who are victimized by theft because of drugs, getting their property back, that’s something we can affect that makes people feel like we’re doing our job and appreciate the sheriff’s office,” said Oppedyk.

Other crimes in Jerome County that increased were embezzlement, from 1 total in 2021 to 4 in 2022, and fraud from 36 in 2021 to 65 total in 2022.

Across the bridge in Twin Falls County, crime increased 11.24%.

Lori Stewart, the spokesperson for the Twin Falls Sheriff’s Office says drug arrests were up 29.03%, with 899 in 2021, and 1,160 in 2022.

She also says even though 2022 was higher than 2021, the crime rate is still lower than 5 years ago.

“Our officers are really doing a great job making drug arrests, and we’ve had some really large arrests this year, so I think that it goes into community policing, being in touch with our community, having those conversations, and you know, I think that statistics are hard and don’t show that full story,” said Stewart.

Twin Falls county also saw an increase in burglary, from 107 in 2021 to 173 in 2022, or a 61.68% increase. homicide increased from 1 in 2021 to 3 in 2022, and kidnapping increased 92.86%, with 14 in 2021 to 27 in 2022.

“Even with the influx of people in our community, our community is growing, and we certainly see people coming into the community on the weekends. Our numbers have become so large, but overall, we are better than we were 3, 4, or 5 years ago,” said Stewart.

For the full report and a look at all the counties in Idaho, visit this website.

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