Gainesville Police shared crime statistics, reflections of 2012 and plans for the future with residents at a town hall meeting last week.
The department showed a presentation to the public at the Gainesville High School Ninth Grade Center.
The first part of the slideshow presented crime rate changes from 2010 to 2012.
Property crime, which includes burglary, larceny and auto theft, decreased by 2.77 percent since 2010.
Homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault cases — all under the violent crime umbrella — saw a slight increase from 2010 to 2011, but a 6.06 percent decrease from 2011 to 2012.
In the first two months of 2013, violent and property crimes dropped 7.1 percent compared to the same time last year.
The presentation highlighted high-profile crimes from 2012, which included the Christian Aguilar investigation.
The department also unveiled a new citizen surveillance initiative called “Step Up, Stop Crime!,” which encourages citizens to dial 911 if they see suspicious activity.
“When you see something that you think is out of place or that may be suspicious, it probably is,” said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias. “We would rather you give us a call than to have suspicious activity turn into crime.”
GPD Chief Tony Jones said his department will spend the rest of the year focused on community outreach.
“I want to see our officers out of their cars and meeting people face to face,” he said. “Making these contacts with the citizens is very important in reducing crime.”
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.
