AKRON, OH (WOIO)- According to the eight major offenses tracked by the Akron Police Department and reported in the annual Uniform Crime Report to the FBI, the overall crime rate in Akron is down 12% from last year. After comparing the number of criminal incidents from last year (January 1 - December 31), to the number of criminal incidents this year during the same time period, Police Chief James Nice reported that overall tracked incidents have decreased significantly, from 13,448 incidents to 11,842 incidents.
"Although our police staffing remains reduced at this time because of budget constraints, as with all our departments, our police force is made up of dedicated officers who are working hard to serve our City," said Mayor Plusquellic.
Total reported crimes were compared in eight distinctive categories (murder, robbery, sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, total theft, motor vehicle theft and arson). Crime rates were down in all 8 categories: murder (-11%), robbery (-23%), sexual assault (-8%), burglary (-22%), aggravated assault (-4%), total theft (-5%), motor vehicle theft (-12%), and arson (-1%). Total offenses were down a total of -12%.
"We have a police test coming up, and my hope is to add more able men and women to our force," noted Police Chief Jim Nice. "Right now our force is mostly reactionary, meaning we solve crimes after they occur. Having more people on our force will allow us to be more proactive, so that we can aim to prevent some of these crimes from happening in the first place. "
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