Cedar Rapids police see spike in identity theft

CEDAR RAPIDS - Reports of identity theft spiked during the first quarter of 2015 in Cedar Rapids.

According to data provided by the Cedar Rapids Police Department comparing the first quarter of the year with the same time frame in 2014, reported identity theft doubled so far this year, with 82 reported cases. There were 41 in 2014.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said that increase in identity theft can be attributed to an alleged breach in the tax filing software, Turbo Tax.

'They had filed by Turbo Tax and believed that was the means by which their identity was stolen,” Buelow said of a majority of the identity theft victims.

The city saw a 6.6 percent increase in all property crime through the first quarter of 2015, most of which can be attributed to the identity theft spike.

According to the statistics:

- Auto thefts increased nearly 16 percent, 69 to 80.

- Burglaries increased slightly, going from 233 to 238.

- Shoplifting cases rose by 7.5 percent, from 345 to 371.

- Attempted burglary decreased from 18 to 11, or 39 percent.

After a historically violent year, violent crime is off to a better start in 2015. Comparing the first quarter of the year with the same time frame in 2014, overall violent crime is down 11.73 percent. murders, robberies and aggravated assaults have all decreased, while assaults on officers and forcible fondlings have increased slightly.

Shots fired, which are tracked separately from violent crime, have decreased by 25 percent, dropping from 28 through April 2014 to 21 so far this year.

Buelow said the police department credits the increase in community policing, as well as partnerships forged with local, state and federal agencies.

Overall arrests are down 4.5 percent, 2,766 to 2,640; and calls for service are nearly identical - 47,432 in 2014 and 47,554 in 2015. Nearly half of those calls, 20,497 in 2015, were self-initiated, according to the statistics.