Fort Worth crime down in third quarter
FORT WORTH -- The city's crime rate dropped in the third quarter, with property offenses down 11.8 percent and crimes against persons off 7.2 percent, Police Chief Jeff Halstead told City Council members Tuesday.
Property crimes were down by the same percentage for the first nine months of the year, and crimes against persons were off 1 percent.
"I guess we consider this a gift to the city of Fort Worth from all our police officers working extremely hard out there," Halstead told the council Tuesday.
He commended the city's Code Blue volunteers -- "the more involved and more engaged they are, the lower these property crimes are," he said -- and attributed part of the crime drop to sharing of intelligence within the Police Department.
"Excellent work, chief," Mayor Betsy Price told Halstead.
Crimes against persons totaled 3,296 in the third quarter. They were 10,063 for the year's first nine months.
Crimes against property totaled 11,781 for the quarter, and 33,619 for the year's first nine months.
Crimes against society -- drug, prostitution, weapons, gambling, pornography -- were 1,205 in the third quarter, off 3.1 percent. They totaled 3,763 for the first nine months, up 3 percent.
The Fort Worth Police Officers Association commended Fort Worth residents. "You are the key to a safer city," the association said on its Facebook page. "The year started out a little rocky, but things ended on a much better note," the association said.
The association said it will continue to press for better staffing, the planned creation of a far North Side patrol division to improve response times, and "exemplary customer service."
Of the nine homicides in the third quarter, four stemmed from arguments, three from domestic disputes, one from a drug case and one from a case of child abuse, police said.
Of aggravated assaults recorded in the quarter, 42 percent were domestic related, police said.
Of 121 "forcible rapes" in the quarter, off 21 percent from a year earlier, 65 percent were by people known to the victims, police said.
Fort Worth crime down
Crime's down through the year's first nine months. Here's a snapshot:
|
Crime |
3Q '12 |
% chg. |
Jan-Sept |
% chg. |
|
Assault |
2,994 |
-8.2 |
9,192 |
-1.5 |
|
Aggravated assault |
757 |
-11 |
2,187 |
-2.8 |
|
Kidnapping |
34 |
-5.6 |
101 |
+7.4 |
|
Murder, non-negligent manslaughter |
9 |
-40 |
37 |
+8.8 |
|
Sex offenses |
259 |
+8.4 |
733 |
+4.1 |
|
Arson |
24 |
-25 |
102 |
+8.5 |
|
Burglary |
2,152 |
-20.9 |
6,152 |
-17.6 |
|
Destruction of property |
2,074 |
-10.8 |
6,272 |
-11.2 |
|
Fraud |
602 |
-39.9 |
2,089 |
-35.3 |
|
Larceny/theft |
5,789 |
-5.6 |
16,095 |
-7.1 |
|
Motor vehicle theft |
645 |
+9.1 |
1,659 |
+0.2 |
|
Robbery |
345 |
-3.4 |
959 |
+5.2 |
|
Drug/narcotic |
1,014 |
+4.8 |
3,095 |
+8.9 |
|
Prostitution |
30 |
-77.9 |
237 |
-43.3 |
|
Weapons |
161 |
+15.8 |
431 |
+9.9 |
Source: Fort Worth Police
Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808
Twitter: @JScottNishimura
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