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Fayetteville Police report citywide crime decline but flag juvenile crime and motor‑vehicle theft trends
Summary
Police Chief Braden told council total crime and homicides fell in 2024 but juvenile assaults, motor‑vehicle theft and organized retail theft increased; the department credited recruitment pay changes for reduced resignations and reported active federal partnerships.
Fayetteville Police Department Chief Braden presented the department’s 2024 report to the City Council on Feb. 24, highlighting a 10% decline in total crime compared with 2023 and reductions in person and property crimes over a ten‑year baseline. Council voted to receive the report unanimously.
Braden said person crimes were down roughly 8.4% and homicides were down about 48% year over year. He attributed some reductions to targeted enforcement and partnerships, noting over 24 individuals were federally sentenced and that federal task forces produced seizures of assets and firearms. "We've seen a 35% decrease in crime since 02/2014," Braden said, placing the department's long‑term trends in context.
The report also identified emerging concerns: juvenile crime rose in several categories, including assaults (245 juvenile assaults in 2024 versus 152 in 2023), motor‑vehicle B&Es and motor‑vehicle thefts. Braden said juvenile incidents are not limited to a single neighborhood and involve both local youth and groups that travel into the city. He urged a multi‑agency, prevention‑focused response that includes after‑school programming and community partners.
Police noted a continued problem with stolen firearms (385 firearms reported stolen year to date) and persistent shoplifting organized around big‑box retailers. The department reported 1,054 firearms seized in 2024 and large federal drug seizures in 2023 and 2024 through coordinated operations.
Recruitment and retention were addressed: the department reported 37 sworn vacancies frozen at the time of the report but said the July 2024 step‑pay plan reduced resignations by 65% in the second half of the year. Braden credited the pay plan with improving lateral hires and retention while noting the department continues active recruitment efforts.
Why it matters: the report shows both sustained declines in many crime categories and troubling increases in juvenile violence and vehicle thefts that the city and partner agencies will need to address through prevention programming, enforcement and interagency coordination.
