The Petersburg Police Department’s annual report indicates that many categories of violent crime in the community are down from previous years.
The department’s data shows a significant decrease in calls for help over the last six years. Theft and domestic violence calls have nearly halved since 2018. And police were getting called out to do about four times as many welfare checks six years ago as they were last year. The number of calls to report trespassing, car accidents, and sexual assault is also significantly down from the previous six years.
Petersburg Police Chief Jim Kerr said crime spiked in the community around 2018, when the survey started. He thinks a small handful of repeat offenders account for that spike.
“It’s amazing how one or two people can definitely affect a category in those classes there,” said Kerr. “I think with the police department addressing certain people, the police department getting involved in the community, the community trusting the police department, and working with the police department — I think you put all that stuff together, and that’s what’s contributing to the decrease in crime here.”
But some types of calls have picked up. More people reported “suspicious circumstances” last year than they had in the previous six. Kerr said he sees that as a good thing.
”I also think that’s the community having trust in their police department, and calling the police department to report these incidents,” said Kerr. “So, when you have the trust between the community and the police department, you have more of an interaction — and so seeing that suspicious circumstances category climb, I actually look at that as a positive note for the police department and the community.”
Kerr also attributes the crime drop-off to his officers’ investment in local schools. He said his officers regularly try to attend school functions and interact with students, which helps build trust in the small-town environment.
