Crime In Sheridan: 2019 Overview

The residents of Sheridan and the surrounding area are part of a very special combination of location and community. At the base of the Big Horn Mountains the scenery here is something most folks only read about or see on t.v. or at the movies. The people here enjoy a sense of community that most can’t understand, wherein everyone knows each other and take a great amount of pride in being a part of Sheridan. Truly, the cowboy spirit is alive and well here and that’s what makes Sheridan such a wonderful place to live. Along with the good always comes the bad, and so when speaking on crime here in Sheridan over the last year in 2019 there are some interesting statistics to know. For starters, in 2019 violent crimes went down as opposed to 2016-2018. In fact Aggravated Assaults were down 62.5% and Simple Assaults were down 12.1%. Also in 2019, arrests for methamphetamines spiked higher with 29% more arrests made as compared to 2016-2018. Marijuana related arrests rose 7.1% in 2019. Property crimes saw a high increase here in Sheridan with Burglary up 59.2%, Larceny up 3.4% and Vehicle Theft was up 26%. When asked if there was any connection to crime rates going up or down, Lt. Travis Koltiska of the Sheridan Police Department shared this.

 With violent crimes being down in stark contrast to 2016-2018’s reported statistics, Lt. Koltiska went on to add.

By working together, the community and the police department have made Sheridan a safer place to live. That’s something to be proud of. With property crimes and methamphetamine and other illicit drug arrests having gone up so high as quickly as it did in 2019, the police department will have quite a job on their hands in 2020. With the community helping their police they can see crime reduced just as violent crimes were reduced in 2019. If you see something, say something. Have the courage to report suspicious activity or to step in when someone you know or love is addicted to drugs or alcohol to help them get the treatment they need. These are just a few of the things Lt. Koltiska said can help the Sheridan community to be the kind of place where folks want to raise their kids or to retire or to bring their business or industry. Ultimately it will take everyone working together and doing their part, doing it the cowboy way, doing it the Sheridan, WY way.