Statistics show Flint crime down

FLINT (WJRT) -- (10/03/07)-- Flint's acting police chief says the city is a much safer place today than it was a year ago.

Acting Chief Gary Hagler today released crime statistics for the first nine months of the year, and they show a significant decline in a number of violent crime areas.

Hagler says they've begun using what he calls "Intelligence Driven Patrols," zoning in on where the crimes are taking place and the criminals behind them.

If the proof is in the numbers, then his tactic is working.

According to the report, homicides dropped the most -- down 53 percent from a year ago.  Rape is down 36 percent.  Aggravated felonious assault also declined, as did auto thefts, which were down 29 percent. Larcenies were down 15 percent.

Some crimes increased. Arsons were up 16 percent, burglaries were up four percent and robberies were up 11 percent.

The chief says there were a dozen fewer homicides between June and September of this year, a decline he says was due to the opening of the city jail.

The overall decrease in crime can be attributed to combination of things.

Chief Hagler says more than 4,000 people have been put in the city jail since it reopened this past May.

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