Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Officials credit multiagency 'Safe Summer' efforts as Chester reports summer decline in violent crime
Summary
City presenters said Chester saw 'significant reductions' in violent crime between June–August 2024 and June–August 2025, attributing the change to a mix of community programs, curfew, 12‑hour patrols, and a 2025 expansion of a Safe Summer operation involving city staff, police and the Delaware County DA's office.
City officials told the MRAC the city experienced a notable drop in violent crime over the summer and emphasized that the reduction followed a multi‑agency approach. A presenter said Chester saw ‘‘significant reductions’’ in categories including arson, assault and homicide comparing June–August 2024 to June–August 2025, though the transcript records no precise counts or percentages.
Officials credited a package of efforts rather than a single measure: a mayoral Safe Summer Initiative launched in 2024, a curfew intended to keep young people home by 9 p.m., a move to 12‑hour patrol shifts to increase street coverage, expanded 2025 community policing under the Chester Safe Summer operation, and programming such as pool reopening, a summer food program and targeted neighborhood block parties. The presenter said the expanded 2025 effort included participation from the Delaware County district attorney’s office (DA Stoltzheimer was named).
Speakers said that Memorial Park pool attendance reached its highest recorded level and that summer food sites needed to scale up after higher-than-expected demand. The presenter and a council member said they will bring more complete statistics to future meetings. ‘‘These are significant,’’ the presenter said of the crime‑reduction numbers, while also cautioning that crime statistics can be fickle.
