FeedsPlymouth communities see decline in major crimes
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Crime statisticsPlymouth municipalities continue to be among the safest in Michigan and throughout the country, according to a recently released federal report on crime statistics.
In the report entitled Crime in the United States 2007, released by the Federal Bureau of Justice (FBI) and Department of Justice, the City of Plymouth, a municipality with 9,046 residents last year, reported 10 violent crimes with no murders or negligent manslaughters. Plymouth Township with 26,751 recorded 15 violent crimes with one murder. That was the shooting death of Scott Correctional Facility corrections officer Lt. Joseph Tyrone Candie by a fellow prison guard at a Plymouth Township gas station last December.
The Plymouth municipalities had a total of 28 violent crimes in 2006.
The Crime in the United States Report is an annual analysis of the number of murders, aggravated assaults, sexual assaults and property crimes including burglaries, motor-vehicle thefts and arsons reported in each municipality across the country. The numbers are generated from statistics submitted to federal law enforcement officials by municipal police departments. The report does not include the number of arrests and/or convictions associated with the crimes.
Of the 15 violent crimes reported in Plymouth Township 13 involved aggravated assault or robbery with one forcible rape. The 10 violent crimes in Plymouth consisted of nine robberies and one aggravated assault.
As with much of the country, property crimes have gone up slightly in the community. In 2006, the Plymouth Police Department reported a combined 602 crimes on property. In 2007, the municipalities combined for 630.
Plymouth Township Police Chief Tom Tiderington said the bump in thefts and robberies, particularly items stolen from vehicles, is related to a slowdown in the regional and national economy.
Tiderington said his department is focused on apprehending those responsible for those crimes in order to protect residents from robberies in the future.
“It’s important to investigate crimes and bring closure to them,” he said
Considering the Plymouth communities have more than 36,000, Plymouth Police Chief Wayne Carroll said residents and local law enforcement together do a good job of keeping the community safe.
“We have a very low crime rate and we work very hard to keep it that way,” said Carroll. “We have a great community.”
