Erie officials report declines in violent crime, warn ShotSpotter funding may end

At a weekly press conference, the Mayor of Erie and Chief Dan Spizarni of the Erie Police Department said major violent-crime indicators fell in the first half of 2025 compared with recent years, while property thefts and fraud increased. Officials warned that continued ShotSpotter service is uncertain once federal grant funds run out.

"Major crime continues to decline or remain at very low levels thanks to the leadership of our chief Dan Spizarni," the Mayor said, describing investments funded in part by ARP and other grants. Chief Dan Spizarni presented the department's statistics and recent ShotSpotter data and described where officials expect gaps if grant funding ends.

Why it matters: Erie officials said declines in homicides, people shot and shots-fired reports indicate progress on violent-crime reduction, while officials also signaled a possible service disruption for ShotSpotter, a gunfire-detection system that covers roughly 25% of the city and was paid for with federal grant money.

Chief Dan Spizarni reviewed the department's first-half 2025 figures, which he compared with the previous two years and with longer-term trends dating to 2014. He reported two homicides in the first six months of 2025 (compared with one in 2024 and seven in 2023) and said five people were shot in the first six months, the lowest total in many years. Shots-fired reports in the six-month window fell to 31 from 49 last year and from 76 three years earlier; the chief said the city recorded 379 shots-fired calls in 2014.

On other violent-crime measures, Spizarni said aggravated assaults stood at 45 through June 30 (43 in 2024, 83 in 2023) and robberies were “right around the 41 mark.” He said recovered firearms numbered 96 this year (97 in 2024, 133 in 2023) and stolen firearms were 25 in the first six months, matching 2024 and down from 88 in 2022.

The chief said property crimes are mixed: burglaries fell to 135 in the six-month period (from 183 last year), and thefts-from-motor-vehicles have declined over three years from 173 to 147 to 115. However, general thefts rose to 669 in the first six months of 2025 (606 in 2024, roughly 500 the year before). Fraud reports also increased, from 122 to 265, which Spizarni attributed in part to package thefts and a recent incident involving an illicit credit-card reader.

Spizarni summarized the top items reported stolen in the first six months of 2025: currency (314 reports), a misc. category labeled “other” (225), merchandise for sale/retail theft (167), household goods (141), consumable items such as food (125), tools (103), purses/wallets (90), cell phones (85), credit cards (76), clothing (69), motor vehicles (53) and identification documents (51).

About ShotSpotter, Spizarni said the system, which covers roughly one-quarter of Erie and was purchased with a federal grant of just over $900,000, has identified incidents the public often did not report. From the system's installation in July 2023 through July 22, the department received 722 ShotSpotter alerts reporting 1,630 rounds fired; officers confirmed gunfire in 178 of those incidents (about 24%). "Out of the 722 total incidents they called in, 178 were confirmed as gunfire," Spizarni said. He added that of the confirmed incidents, ShotSpotter led to five victims being found, six immediate arrests and six further arrests based on evidence the system produced.

Spizarni and the Mayor both warned that federal grant funding for the ShotSpotter service is close to expiring. "Particularly as the money from this grant is running out and we are close to losing the service of ShotSpotter," Spizarni said, he urged residents to call 911 if they hear gunfire; he noted that only about 15% of confirmed shootings during the stated period were reported by members of the public.

Officials also summarized policing and equipment investments funded since 2018, which the Mayor and chief said are tied to crime-prevention and enforcement work: reestablishing a crisis car and a juvenile unit; adding community policing officers; reinstating a K-9 unit; increasing certified bicycle officers from 2 to 35; funding crisis-team responders; purchasing equipment and technology worth "millions of dollars," acquiring two SWAT command/response vehicles and a regional bomb-squad vehicle, implementing body-worn cameras, installing license-plate readers on 38 frontline vehicles and at 12 intersections, expanding police athletic and school programs to more than 1,700 students in 28 locations with 120 officers involved, increasing the sworn complement to 194 officers, and purchasing the former Kohler Brewery/Miller Brothers building on State Street as a future public-safety complex and emergency operations center. The Mayor attributed these actions in part to ARP and other grant funding.

Officials framed the violence declines as the result of their combined strategies but did not present a formal causal analysis. Spizarni said the trends show violent crimes and burglaries have fallen over an 11-year span, while property-related thefts have risen in the short term. No formal policy vote or ordinance was announced at the press conference.

Less-critical community notes provided during the same event included neighborhood cleanup dates and upcoming free concert dates, which the Mayor listed as neighborhood outreach items for residents and volunteers.

Officials concluded by urging residents to report suspected gunfire and by thanking police staff, command staff and grant teams for securing funds and implementing the department's initiatives. "If citizens believe they hear gunfire, it will be important for them to notify us," Spizarni said.