Vehicle prowls went up, overall crime went down in Medical Lake - The year in review - top 10

MEDICAL LAKE —Medical Lake experienced a big spike vehicle prowls in late 2019, Spokane County Undersheriff Dave Ellis told the Medical Lake City Council in December.

While the three-year average is six, by that point in 2019 there had been 21 vehicle prowls, according to Sheriff’s Department data.

He noted that the perpetrators could be arrested, but not necessarily held — one person who was arrested and booked at 5:45 a.m. was released by the court by 7:15 a.m.

Working from a staff report, Ellis outlined the statistics of 14 different crimes against people, society and property, and while crime in Medical Lake is either steady or had decreased in most categories, there was a spike in one category that surprised no one: car prowls.

Crimes like aggravated assault were down 71 percent between 2018 and 2019-to-date with an average of six per year. Only two have been recorded at that point in the year.

Simple assault is also down with a year-over-year drop of 27 percent with many of the simple assault calls originating from Eastern State Hospital.

In the property crime category, there has been one robbery this year versus none in 2019 with a three-year average of two per year, while residential burglaries remained flat

But garage and commercial burglaries were up slightly.

Meanwhile, theft, vehicle thefts and malicious mischief — damage to property — were all down as well.

Ellis concluded that Medical Lake is relatively quiet when compared to unincorporated Spokane County and other cities and towns the Sheriff’s Office patrols.

Ellis closed by noting the city is comparatively quiet in terms of crime.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].