Sugar Land crime rate spikes, as thefts surge

In 2021, the crime rate for Sugar Land was 13.1 incidents per 1,000 people, whereas in 2022, it increased to 16.3 incidents per 1,000 people.

Preliminary crime data from 2022 indicates a 23% overall rise in crime in Sugar Land compared with the year before, Police Chief Mark Poland has reported.

"Unfortunately, our crime rate did go up, due to a high number of thefts," Poland told City Council on Tuesday. "Our surrounding cities are experiencing the same trends. We have seen a 22.64% increase in thefts alone from 2021 to 2022 — shoplifting, theft of motor vehicle parts, catalytic converters."

The crime rate refers to the number of reported crimes per 1,000 residents in a specific area. The Sugar Land crime rate in 2022 was 16.3 incidents per 1,000 people, up from a rate of 13.1 in 2021.

In 2022, the 57 reported commercial burglaries in the city were seven fewer than for 2021, while the 75 residential burglaries reported last year increased by 45 from the year before, according to the National Incident-Based Reporting System.

Based on the data, no cases of homicide, human trafficking, incest or statutory rape were reported in the city last year.

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

"There's good news too — even though our crime rate has gone up, so has our clearance rate," Poland said.

Clearing a crime can involve making an arrest or when a suspect is identified but prosecution is declined, which can happen if the suspect has died or the victim decides not to prosecute.

"In my experience, property crimes are some of the hardest to solve," Poland said. "There's hardly a trail at times to follow."

Data shows a noteworthy increase in the town's violent-crime clearance rate, which rose from 50.10% in 2021 to 54.60% in 2022, while the clearance rate for property crimes increased from 13.4% to 16% for the same period.

The city's police department aims to answer 80% of priority calls within seven minutes, with one minute allotted for dispatch and six minutes for police response. For the year 2022, the department achieved an 84% success rate in meeting this goal, Poland said.

Last year, the city saw 49 cases of jugging — crimes where thieves rob victims after following them from a bank or ATM.

Sugar Land's high quality of life, educated population and thriving business community have made it an attractive target for criminals, Poland said.

Improving officer training and leveraging technology will be keys to meeting department goals to enhance public safety and build community trust, the chief said.

"We recently trained six officers to be trainers for active-shooter training," Poland said. "That is a priority for me, as is mental-health training and crisis-intervention training."

He outlined the department's new mission statement, which emphasizes the importance of constitutional policing, community partnerships and innovative approaches to crime prevention.

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