Crime statistics for FY2021 released in most recent Statistical Yearbook

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Larceny, burglary, and assault were the top three crimes committed in American Samoa during fiscal year 2021 — Oct. 01, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021, as reported by the Department of Public Safety data in the American Samoa 2021 Statistical Yearbook, released last week by the Commerce Department’s Statistical Division. (The Yearbook is for the calendar year 2021)

The data is included under the “Law Enforcement” section of the Yearbook and provides statistics on Law and Order, containing data on crime, traffic accidents, firearm registration, correctional facility population, fire, and court activities.

According to the Yearbook, DPS reported a total of 222 cases of Part I offenses in FY2021. Part I Offenses include eight crime categories: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape (legacy & revised), robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson.

The most crimes committed during FY2021 were larceny (with 109 cases), burglary (55 cases), and assault — 1st and 2nd degree (with 32 cases). The Yearbook also included data provided by DPS on the breakdown on each crime/offense category going back to 2011.

(Larceny is the theft of personal property.)

In FY 2020, DPS reported a total of 222 Part 1 Offense cases — with 97 cases of larceny, 64 for burglary and 39 for assault.

The Yearbook noted that the DPS also reported 2,219 Part II Offenses in FY2021, an increase of 22.3% (or 1,814 cases) from FY2020.

Part II Offenses are other assaults, forgery and counterfeiting, fraud, embezzlement, stolen property (buying, receiving possessing), vandalism, weapons (carrying, possessing, etc.), drug abuse violations, gambling, offenses against the family and children, driving under the influence, liquor laws, drunkenness, disorderly conduct, vagrancy, suspicion, curfew violation, loitering laws (person under age 18), runaways (person under age 18) and all other offenses not specified.

Reporting on the Juvenile population — based on data from DPS — the Yearbook says that Part I Offenses reported in FY2021 amounted to 35 while Part II Offenses registered at 63. The two leading offenses by the Juvenile population for all crimes reported were Assault and Disorderly Conduct.

Samoa News notes that rape cases were reported in FY 2021 but none were reported in the previous fiscal years.

According to the Yearbook, traffic accidents again went up in FY2021 by about 7.5%. There were 714 traffic accidents reported in FY2021 compared to 664 in FY2020, and 24 people suffered injuries with only one fatality.

Furthermore, a total of 138 firearms were registered in FY2021 with a high percent of pistol registrations. DPS data reported in the Yearbook shows that of the total registered firearms, 51 were shot guns — which include 12, 16 and 20 gauge models; 21 pistols — which includes pistols 22, 38, and 45 caliber models; and 22 rifles.

“Pistols are only used for police work,” according to a footnote in the Yearbook.

INMATE POPULATION

There are always reports in the community alleging that many of the inmates at the Tafuna Correctional Facility are citizens of Samoa, who have or are alleged to have committed crimes in the territory. According to the 2021 Yearbook that is probably not the case.

It states that the average monthly inmate population in FY2021 was 258 compared to a monthly average of 240 in FY2020.

Breakdown of inmate citizenship is: over 50% of the inmates (for a total of 121 inmates) were US Nationals, 29% were Samoa citizens (64 inmates), 12% Tonga citizens and 9% others citizens.

OTHER ISSUES:

•           There were 72 fires reported in FY 2021: 63 Residential, 6 Commercial and 3 Industrial. There were 33 “major” fires involving residents and two “major” fires involving commercial structure.

•           The High Court reported 328 cases filed in FY2021 and most of the cases were criminal matters. There were 1,075 cases pending from FY2020 and 210 cases were disposed of in FY 2021.

Samoa News notes that each subject area covered under law enforcement includes data break- downs as provided to DOC by ASG agencies involved.