San Bernardino: Crime up, police spending up, arrests down

Houston, we may have a problem.

In a story set to run this weekend, we'll lay out an interesting series of statistics available at the San Bernardino Police Department's Web site.

Most people know that this fiscal year the Police Department was given its biggest raise in funds in one year in its 102-year history, from $55.7 million to $63.5 million. With that money, Police Chief Michael Billdt has filled new positions, secured funds for new bulletproof vests and put a helicopter in the air.

Still, crime is up this year from last, and arrests are down.

A preview:

SAN BERNARDINO — Through the first 10 months of 2007, violent crime in the city is up just over 6 percent from the same period last year, but still down by 10 percent from 2005, according to police statistics.
As of Oct. 31, 1,842 violent crimes have been committed in San Bernardino since January, up from 1,734 for the same period last year.