Chief Thompson reports 21% drop in crime through first quarter; police staffing up

Chief Thompson told the council that Greenville’s police department saw a 21% decline in overall crime in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year.

“Overall, crime is down, 21%,” Chief Thompson said, citing year-over-year declines in violent and property crimes: violent crimes down about 6% and property crimes down about 23%. He provided counts for specific categories shown on slides: robberies fell from 15 to 10; motor-vehicle theft fell from 36 to 29; shoplifting fell from 152 to 116; and thefts from vehicles fell from 162 to 108.

The chief credited proactive community policing and neighborhood engagement for part of the trend and said calls for service increased by roughly 1,200, which the department views as engagement rather than an adverse sign. He also said staffing levels have improved: the department rose from 212 to 226 sworn officers, with another seven to eight recruits expected to graduate from training in June or July.

Council members asked whether underreporting might skew the statistics. Chief Thompson said major crimes are generally reported and the department maintains both reported-case counts and internal incident records. He also said the department’s clearance rates are above national averages and that the department publishes its statistics on the city website.

Council discussion also touched on the proposed real-time crime center in the budget presentation; several council members and staff described visits to other cities’ centers and called the technology potentially transformative for coordinating response and dispatch.

The chief did not request any formal action at the workshop and said he would continue to provide regular updates to the council.