MANSFIELD — Mansfield’s crime statistics have maintained a steady decrease since January, according to the Mansfield Police Department’s records.
The first half of the year, when compared to the same period in 2015, experienced a 2.6-percent decrease in overall crime.
“I’m always hesitant to grand-stand about crime rates only because crime is crime and it occasionally fluctuates. But I’m happy with any decrease,” Mansfield police chief Ken Coontz said.
The statistics include crimes like homicide, rape, robbery, assault, arson, burglary, larceny, auto theft and traffic-related incidents as determined by the FBI Uniform Crime Report Program.
In traffic accidents, MPD investigated 672 accidents compared to 752 within the same time period, a 10.6-percent decrease.
In January, MPD reported a 15-percent decrease in overall crime — and another 4-percent decrease in April. Both figures represented year-to-date comparisons.
Despite a decrease in the overall crime, however, the number of arrests made have increase by 5.2 percent. In June 2016, 2,392 people had been arrested since last June, compared to 2,272 in June 2015.
“That’s reflective on the work that these guys (police officers) are doing. They’re getting proactive and they’re arresting people before they continue to commit crimes. Because most of them a repeat offenders and we’re able to identify them before they keep committing crime,” Coontz said.
Most of those arrested are white adults.
Coontz said the increase in arrests have less to do with patterns and more to do with officers getting more proactive.
Although crimes like robberies, assaults, arson, larcenies have decreased, the numbers represent an increase in rapes, burglaries and auto thefts. Homicide rates stayed the same.
