Number of felonies in La Crosse County slightly ahead of last year’s rate, way ahead from 3 years ago

La Crosse County is close to beating last year’s mark.

The county is almost to 990 felonies and a few days ahead of when it hit 1,000 back in 2017.

Just three years ago, it took until Thanksgiving to get 800 felonies.

“It’s getting close, I should say,” District attorney Tim Gruenke said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it were higher. I think it’s going to be very close to what it was last year.”

Drug-related crimes account for much of the increase, according to Gruenke, who says communities are doing what they can to crack down on drug abuse.

“Better treatment, expanding our capacity for our drug court, trying to be better on supervision and getting people into treatment,” Gruenke said. “It’s not just a criminal justice system, it’s also the medical system, the human services system.”

Gruenke says it’s drug crimes involving meth and heroin that are the main culprits for the spike, and the use of meth, especially, can start a ‘ripple effect’ of other crimes occurring.

But, while there’s a rise in crime here and around the country, Gruenke says communities are trying drug rehab and other programs to cut down on that crime rate.