The number of felony crimes charged in Dakota County continued to fall in 2010, reaching the lowest number in a decade, according to statistics released last week.
The number of adults charged with felonies inched downward by 3 percent last year, with 1,464 adults charged. In 2000, 1,325 adults were charged with felony offenses.
"Felony offenses were down by 3 percent, and that's a positive thing in a county of 400,000 people," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said. The statistics reflect the number of cases solved, not the overall number of crimes committed in the county, but law enforcement officials say crime trends appear comparable.
Murder rates remained extremely low in Dakota County, with two people charged and no unsolved homicides. Violent crime prosecutions, however, rose nearly 7 percent, from 539 to 576 offenses charged.
"While we had a slight increase in violent crime, Dakota County remains one of the safest places that you can live in the United States," Sheriff Dave Bellows said, noting that's the case even though the county butts up to two major urban counties, where there are more homicides per capita.
"We have one of the lowest homicide rates for a jurisdiction our size in the nation," Backstrom agreed in a separate interview.
"It's almost unheard of to have a county of 400,000 that averages three or four homicides a year," he said. "Obviously, one homicide is one too many, but it's very low, given the size of our community."
Led by methamphetamine offenses, felony crimes involving illicit drugs represented 27 percent of the caseload handled by the county's prosecutors.