Community Government Police & Fire

Annual city crime report highlights increase in thefts — especially vehicle thefts

The bad news: Gig Harbor experienced a 34 percent increase in the most serious crimes against persons, property and society in 2022 compared to 2021. 

The good news: Relatively little of that was violent crime, no complaints were filed against Gig Harbor officers in 2022 and the Legislature approved measures this year that could give local law enforcement better tools to combat property crime.

Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey made his annual report on crime to the Gig Harbor City Council on July 10. He noted that the city saw large increases in auto thefts and stolen property reports in 2022, but added that “Gig Harbor is still very safe. Our violent crime is very low, in fact it went down this year.”

Chief Busey’s report starts at about the 17:20 mark of this recording of the July 10 council meeting.

Group A crimes 

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, which compiles statewide crime statistics annually, breaks down criminal activity into two categories.

Group A crimes are the most serious, running the gamut from counterfeiting and fraud to burglary and assault. WASPC and the city of Gig Harbor track reports of Group A crimes. 

Group B covers offenses like DUI, disorderly conduct and loitering. For these crimes, WASPC and the city track arrests. 

Reports of Group A crimes, the most serious, rose by 34.1 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, Busey said. Much that increase came in the categories of motor vehicle thefts (118 in 2022 vs. 46 in 2021), larceny and theft (564 vs. 436) and burglary (90 vs. 55). 

A Gig Harbor Police Department chart shows a dramatic spike in Group A crimes in 2022 compared to previous years.

Reform laws, Blake decision 

Busey attributed the increase to the Legislature’s 2020 police reform initiatives, which restricted officers’ ability to pursue and detain suspects. The state Supreme Court’s Blake decision and resulting legislation, which effectively legalized drug possession, is also a major factor. 

COVID restrictions at the Pierce County Jail, where Gig Harbor incarcerates suspects in the most serious cases, also limited officers’ ability to keep suspects off the streets. 

Gig Harbor Police Chief Kelly Busey

Those restrictions are beginning to ease at the Pierce County Jail and the Kitsap County Jail, which Gig Harbor uses on a contract basis. But now a staffing shortage at the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma poses a new challenge. 

This year, the Legislature loosened restrictions on police pursuits, though not to the extent that many law enforcement leaders sought. Notably, police still cannot chase suspects for driving stolen vehicles. Busey cited that restriction as a point of frustration for officers and the key reason behind the increase in car thefts. 

Drug laws 

During a brief special session, the 2023 Legislature also re-criminalized drug possession as a gross misdemeanor. Law enforcement leaders say decriminalization and addiction disorder generally are behind increases in retail theft and larceny.

The Legislature’s so-called “Blake fix” makes drug possession a gross misdemeanor while also attempting to expand access to treatment and diversion programs.

Busey told the council that the new laws “will give us some tools.”

“We don’t want to throw people in jail,” he said. “We hope that the diversion programs are successful and we want to see them get into treatment.” 

Crime rate  

Busey’s presentation noted that Gig Harbor’s crime rate of 88.8 comes in above the state average of 67.5. But because of the way the crime rate statistic is tabulated, Busey said it’s a poor reflection of the city’s reality. 

Crime rate tracks the number of crimes per 1,000 residents. But while Gig Harbor’s population is about 12,500, roughly twice that many people are typically in town during business hours — either as shoppers, workers or recreators. 

Accounting for that, Busey estimated that the real crime rate in Gig Harbor is about 47.3 percent. 

Crimes against property is more prevalent in Gig Harbor than the state average, likely a reflection of the town’s status as a retail hub. Crimes against property made up 90.8 percent of Group A offenses in Gig Harbor in 2022 versus 75.9 percent statewide.  

Conversely, crimes against persons comprised 7.0 percent of Group A offenses in Gig Harbor and 20.8 percent statewide. 

A slide from Chief Kelly Busey’s report to the Gig Harbor City Council highlights increases in crimes against property in 2022.

Other statistics 

• The department reported no citizen complaints against its officers in 2022. Gig Harbor officers have not received any sustained citizen complaints in over a decade.  “I can’t tell you how remarkable that is for a department of our size,” Busey told the council. 
• The department reported 14 use of force incidents in 2022, less than 1 percent of its more than 14,000 responses. Thirteen of them involved use of physical force; the other involved use of a Taser. 
• Officers drew their firearms just six times in 2022, which technically is not a use of force the department tracks.
• The department made just five juvenile arrests in 2022.
• Of those use of force incidents, only one resulted in a suspect needing emergency medical response. Medics flushed out a suspect’s eyes after an officer used pepper spray. 

Click here to read WASPC’s annual report on crime in Washington state.