Despite the headlines, facts show city crime is down

On the eve of Rochester Night Out, a night of anti-crime awareness and drug-abuse prevention set for the Union Street parking lot, citizens of the city should know that despite what may appear to be a crime wave with a slew of armed robberies and a brazen daytime shooting the past couple of months, police are making strides and progress is being made.

Numbers in most crime categories are down, while arrests are up, Rochester Police Captain Gary Boudreau told The Lebanon Voice in an exclusive interview late last week.

For instance, Boudreau said, property crime arrests, including thefts, shoplifting, vandalism and burglaries are down 4 percent for 2014 through the month of June compared to the same months last year.

Last year there were 235 arrests for such crime compared to 285 arrests this year, a 21 percent increase.

Robberies were also down 46 percent, from 13 last year through the month of June to seven this year.

And the most violent crimes including homicide, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assaults were down 1 percent, with a 15 percent increase in arrests, from 142 to 164.

The city, however, did see an increase in homicides, two this year through June compared to none last year. Both deaths, however, were found to be in self-defense.

The figures don’t include July, which saw a string of burglaries at city convenience stores and a shooting in broad daylight on Lafayette Street.

Many of those July convenience store robberies have been attributed to the knife-wielding, still-at-large Gloved Bandit, who is suspected in three July heists and one on Sunday.

Boudreau said Tuesday night’s Rochester Night Out will showcase positive things happening in neighborhood throughout the city and put on display some of the tools Rochester Police have in place to combat crime and make the city a better place to live. There will also be plenty of games for children and informational booths for adults, plus the chance for someone to win a bike thanks to Walmart.

It should be a fun and informative night, and we encourage all who can to attend this worthwhile initiative. The activities on Tuesday run from 5-8 p.m.

There’s a lot the public can do to help police like locking their cars at night, reporting suspicious neighborhood activity and just being aware.

A rash of car break-ins recently in Lebanon were all reported as being overnight incidents on unlocked vehicles.

Last summer’s spate of house break-ins throughout Rochester and Lebanon were often carried out in homes that had been left unlocked.

In some states it is against the law to leave an unattended vehicle unlocked. That may be going too far, but the public must realize they have a stake in this.

And an obligation.

- HT