FOX VALLEY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Fox Cities LIFE Study defines violent crime as “murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.” And, new data shows violent crime rates in the Valley are lower than the rest of Wisconsin.
In the Valley, Calumet and Outagamie Counties have seen violent crime slightly increase from 2014 to 2016. Winnebago County’s rate dropped slightly over the same time.
Per 100,000 people, Wisconsin 303 violent crimes in 2016. In the same year per 100,000 people, Calumet County had 50, Outagamie County had 161 and Winnebago County had 166 violent crimes.
Most violent crime in the three counties is from aggravated assault — an attempt to cause harm to another person.
The Fox Cities Victim Crisis Response Team (VCR) is there to help when that happens.
“We partner with 14 local police departments between Outagamie County and Winnebago County, and we assist on scene with victims of crime and those in crisis,” Fox Cities Victim Crisis Response Executive Director Emily Lewis said.
Lewis tells FOX the team responds to anything from suicide to sexual assault, domestic violence and more.
She says many times, VCR is helping families in crisis — and the children caught in the middle.
“It’s sometimes just holding them, it’s sometimes distracting them and reading a story or watching a movie or playing a game. It’s really answering their questions in an age-appropriate way to help them work through it.”
Nearly all of the LIFE Study’s “priorities” focus on children.
The latest numbers from August of 2017 show a significant rise in Hispanic children reading at a third-grade level, but the numbers still show a large gap between white students and other races.
The study shows no significant rise in child and overall poverty rates, but there is an increase in people receiving food stamps.
Another finding shows graduation rates falling across the board — except for black students and those who identify as multiple races.
