Police chief: 'Crime is down in Crestview'

Crestview Police Officer Mike Tingle places sealed evidence recovered from a stolen vehicle into a secured evidence locker. The number of vehicle thefts in the city were unchanged for the first half of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016, according to the CPD. [Brian Hughes | Crestview Police Department]

CRESTVIEW — An analysis of the Crestview Police Department's Uniform Crime Report for the first half of 2017 shows a decrease in documented crimes over the same period last year, according to the CPD.

Overall there was an almost 9 percent decrease in crime in Crestview as compared to January through June 2016, according to the CPD.

In the battery category, 128 cases were reported this year compared to 201 incidents last year, a 73 case decrease, or 36 percent.

Overall, there were 61 fewer crimes than the same period in 2016. Reported crimes totaled 634 incidents in the first half of this year, with 695 reported between January and June last year, Police Department Critical Systems Manager Kathy Duke reported.

Crime was down in three of the eight reporting categories defined by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, unchanged in one category and up slightly in the remaining categories, according to the CPD.

A reported rise in sexual batteries — up five cases from 2016's 23 cases — prompted Police Chief Tony Taylor to assign another domestic assault investigator, saying, "We want to be proactive and take this head-on."

This year's 300 percent decrease in Crestview's murder rate stems from a single case that included a triple homicide in January 2016, according to Taylor.

"Percentages and data can be manipulated to tell a different story without the background facts," Taylor said.

"The fact is crime is down in Crestview."

Crime committed: 2016 count, 2017 count, and the difference

Murder: 3, 0, -3

Rape: 13, 16, +3

Fondling: 10, 12, +2

Robbery: 8, 9, +1

Aggravated Battery: 40, 45, +5

Battery: 201, 128, -73

Burglary: 72, 78, +6

Larceny: 320, 318, +2

Vehicle theft: 28, 28, 0

Source: Crestview Police Department Uniform Crime Report to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, July 2017; represents January through June, 2016 vs. 2017

Crestview Uniform Crime Report

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Police chief: 'Crime is down in Crestview'