Statistics from the most recent year show that crime dropped two percent overall in St. Paul in 2016, but it didn’t drop across the board.
According to the statistics that were released Sunday, total crime dropped two percent overall last year, led most notably by an eight percent decrease in aggravated assaults and a 12 percent decrease in domestic violence. The statistics show that there was one less homicide in St. Paul in 2016, and property crimes were down two percent as well. On the flip side, auto thefts increased by seven percent and commercial burglaries increased 30 percent in 2016.
Concern Over Gunfire
One area of concern for St. Paul police is preventing gunfire throughout the city. On a positive note, eight fewer people were injured by gunfire in 2016 (95 vs. 103), but St. Paul experienced a 28 percent increase in reports of gunfire. With such a big increase in reports of shots fired, we can’t expect the number of gunshot victims to decline again unless preventative measures are taken.
The recent report suggests that the Central District experienced the biggest increase in reports of shots fired, noting a 65 percent increase in 2016, and the Western District also reported a significant increase. However, police stated that the number of actual reported gunshots may be inflated because they encourage the public to report anything that may be gunshots, even if it’s unconfirmed.
“We have been asking the community … to call if they don’t know if it’s fireworks or a gunshot. We want them to err on the side of caution and call the police,” St. Paul Police Chief Paul Axtell. “Many of those reports we can’t verify … but we are taking a cautious approach, making sure we document all of those calls so that we can better track the locations in the city and the times that they’re occurring so we can adjust our deployment into those areas.”
2016 was certainly an interesting year for police in St. Paul, as they came under the microscope after the Philando Castile shooting. Considering all the protests that followed, it’s a wonder that crime rates as a whole dropped in 2016. Hopefully officers can work to re-establish credibility with the community and work together with communities to continue to work on improving these crime statistics.
