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There’s recently been a rise in violent crime in Humboldt County and in the city of Eureka. In this LoCO Video Report we talk with Eureka’s Chief of Police, Andrew Mills, to inquire about the disturbing situation.

EPD reports that violent crime was up pretty much throughout 2016 with the biggest spike in armed robberies. Unfortunately, armed robberies are nothing new for Eureka, but in the last two months there were 12. Plus, there were 11 from July to August.

According to EPD’s uniform crime report, that’s higher than any other two consecutive months dating back to January 2013.

Mills believe the increase in crime is the result of heroin addiction rearing its ugly head.

“The bottom line is, when people are addicted to opiates, they’ve got to feed that monkey,” he says. “And people do desperate things when they’re trying to get their fix for the day.”

We also talk with Mills about the high number of guns the department is seizing on a regular basis, plans for 2017, prevention, and the criminal justice system.