CRESTVIEW — Reported incidents have increased 8.7 percent as the city's population has grown, the Crestview Police Department reported.
There were 3,661 incidents in 2012, contrasted with 2,700 incidents two years ago, according to the department's February newsletter.
The city had 22,742 and 20,978 residents in 2012 and 2010, respectively, according to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
"With an increasing population, you have your good people and bad people coming in," Lt. Andrew Schneider, the department's public information officer, said.
The 50-officer squad has systems in place to deal with that "bad" contingent, he said, adding the department remapped patrol areas toward last year's end.
"The ways we have changed our enforcement … has made it easier for us to catch the criminal," Schneider said.
Last month's report showed decreases in some categories.
Arrests, 132, were down by nine, contrasted with January 2012; juvenile arrests, 12, were down by eight; incidents, 283, were down by 30.
"For the most part, the statistics we are trying to decrease obviously are the crime statistics and traffic accidents," Schneider said.
Overall, service calls have decreased from more than 113,000 in 2011 to below 85,000 in 2012, the department reported.
Schneider attributed the decrease to increased patrolling activity.
"The way the map has been restructured has made it a lot easier for us," he said. "With increased patrols, we have officers drive by these places all of the time."
The department also reported a decreasing trend in both the number of citations and traffic accidents from 2010 to last year.
"As enforcement increases, accidents decrease," Schneider said.
In addition to high-traffic areas, police patrol school zones and residential areas.
"Our main focus is school zones; you're not going to speed through a school zone and not get a ticket for it," Schneider said.
Officers also patrol residential areas, and residents with complaints about a neighborhood can contact the department to request service.
The department's newsletter — which began publication this month — will be "one of the mediums used to enhance our inner-agency communications, to keep everyone better apprised of agency activities and to report on our progress in various endeavors," police Chief Tony Taylor said in its introductory message.
Its first edition also includes crime reports, and child and travel safety tips.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Incidents jump 8 percent as Crestview's population grows