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Trotwood police report shows overall crime decline, notes violent-crime increase tied to statutory reclassification
Summary
Police Chief Eric Wilson told the Trotwood City Council that Part 1 crimes fell 10% in 2024 while a change in the domestic-violence statute that added strangulation raised violent-crime counts on paper; the department also flagged missing-juvenile reports linked to group homes and said internal affairs and training activity increased.
Police Chief Eric Wilson presented the Trotwood Police Department’s 2024 annual report to the Trotwood City Council, saying Part 1 crimes fell 10% from 918 incidents in 2023 to 827 in 2024.
Wilson told council that the drop “reflects the hard work and commitment of our officers, staff, and community partners.” He also said the department recorded a 9.6% increase in total calls for service driven primarily by a rise in officer-initiated activity.
Wilson said a notable uptick in violent-crime statistics requires context: “This rise is largely attributed to a change in the domestic violence statute that now includes strangulation as a qualifying offense,” he said, adding that the reclassification increased violent-crime counts on paper even as overall crime declined.
Council members pressed the chief on other trends. Wilson said property crimes and auto thefts trended down, and that Part 2 crimes rose modestly—about 2%—largely because of more missing-juvenile reports. He said those reports are “primarily linked to group homes within our jurisdiction,” and that the juveniles involved are often temporary placements from other agencies.
Wilson provided additional metrics: the detective section handled 1,531 cases in 2024 with a 63% felony filing rate; the department recorded nine internal-affairs cases in 2024, five of which were initiated internally; and traffic accidents rose 3% year over year but remain down compared with a five-year trend.
On recruitment and retention, Wilson said he did not have a precise retention-rate number and declined to speculate: “I don’t have a specific retention number for you,” he told council, and described active recruitment efforts and recent pay increases as helping hiring.
Wilson closed by saying the department is “seeing real results. Crime is down. Our officers are more engaged than ever, and proactive policing is making a measurable difference.”
