RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Crime statistics for 2015 indicate that illegal drug use is fueling a rise in violent crime in Rapid City.

Police Chief Karl Jegeris tells the Rapid City Journal that substantial jumps in the number of robberies and murders last year can be linked to a corresponding rise in drug arrests.

For the third straight year, arrests for drug violations outnumbered those for drunken driving. Drug-related arrests rose 3 percent to 1,349. That is more than double the number of arrests five years earlier.

There were seven murders in Rapid City last year, more than double the recent annual average of three. Robberies increased nearly 29 percent.

Rapid City police officers responded to a record 127,712 calls for service overall, up nearly 8 percent from 2014.

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