People are reacting to the surge in violent crime across Northern Nevada.
The Washoe County State of the Sheriff's Office report shows an increase in robberies, assaults, traffic citations and accidents.
“I would never want anybody to have to experience that. It's a scary situation to be in, not knowing if I’m going to make it home tonight or not,” Reno local Jay Turley describes a time when he was robbed as was delivering a pizza for Domino’s, several years ago.
That kind of crime is something that kept happening across Northern Nevada in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to deputies.
Robberies took the top spot with a 140% increase.
Sexual assaults rose by nearly 33%t.
Residential burglaries and assaults saw lingered near 21% jump.
These numbers are a scary reminder to Turley who says he's been robbed multiple times.
"I’ve been robbed at gun point a couple of times. That was several years back, but it definitely makes you more aware of your surroundings and you pay a little but more attention,” Turley added.
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam blames the issues on those experiencing mental health problems.
"It's mental health in the jail, it’s mental health in dealing with people in crisis out on the road [and] it evolves into those experiencing homelessness,” Balaam told 2News.
These violent crimes are forcing deputies to throw more resources into neighborhoods even after crimes are committed.
"We sent deputies or field services to those calls and then we canvas the area,” Balaam added,
As a result, he says more people are reporting crimes which may be factoring into their statistics, but notes it will take more from the community, something locals agree with.
“See something, say something. If something happens [and] if you don't do anything about it, you're not doing anything to help the problem. You're making the problem worse at that point," Turley said.
The sheriff's goal last year was to reduce burglaries by 15%, but came short of that.
This year, the department will be focusing on burglaries targeting vehicles and businesses.
