The Danville Police Department reported at a Thursday news conference that crime continued to trend down in Danville in 2019.
Police Chief Scott Booth discussed preliminary 2019 crime statistics in major crime categories and outlined several of the department strategies that led to significant crime reduction.
“We have had some pretty good successes with our crime decline in the city of Danville in 2019,” Booth said during a news conference. “We want to talk about those numbers and give an accurate picture of what is going on here in our city.”
Crime is down across the board with several categories showing significant reductions in 2019 compared to 2018:
- Burglary – down 19 percent from 225 in 2018 to 182 this year.
- Aggravated assaults - down 44 percent from 122 in 2018 to 68 this year.
- Robbery - down 62 percent from 60 to 22.
- Murder - down 27 percent from 11 to 8.
Booth also acknowledged Dr. Rachel Santos and Dr. Roberto Santos from Radford University who helped the Department implement an organizational model known as Stratified Policing. This model helped the police department formulate internal accountability processes, increase internal communication and focus problems solving efforts.
Booth said he believes the police department is taking a strong leadership role in the City of Danville.
“When you look at crime reduction or the opioid epidemic that has swept the nation…when we [Danville Police Department] see an issue, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a crime…we are going to be leaders."
The full news conference is available for viewing on the Facebook page of the Danville Police Department.
The full presentation with the crime figures is available on the Danville Police Department website.