Crime rate drops in Fitchburg

FITCHBURG — With arrests and reports of serious crime trending downward, Police Chief Ernest Martineau said the department is cautiously optimistic when looking at the recent numbers across the city.

The acknowledgment of these positive changes came in the 2018 Annual Report compiled by the department and presented to the City Council last week.

“It really is a team, community effort,” said Martineau. “These numbers are reflective of us working as a police department with the community.”

Martineau said the numbers have been driven down in part by the department’s effort to increase training across the board.

Community engagement and involvement has also been a driving force for this year’s statistics, he said.

In 2018, the department received 49,297 calls for service, an overall decrease of 12% from last year, and 9% below the five-year average.

A total of 858 arrests were made last year, 23% of which were domestic-violence related arrests. The drop marks a fall of nearly 100 arrests from 2017.

“This is the first year we’re below 900 arrests in the city in decades,” said Martineau. “The same crimes are happening but now our officers are looking to other alternatives than just arresting someone. When we’re doing that type of policing, it shows that our training is paying dividends.”

Part 1 Offenses, or crimes categorized by the FBI as some of the most serious, decreased by 27%. That mark signifies a five-year average reduction of 41% in such offenses.

“That is astonishing when you think about the number of crimes,” said Martineau.

Violent offenses

The number of reports related to violent Part 1 Offenses — murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault — totalled 238 in 2018.

This shows a substantial 20% decrease from the previous year and 25% decrease from the five-year average.

Notably, there was a 23% drop in robberies reported, which are also down 35% from the average.

Meanwhile, there were two reported murders compared to none from the previous year. Suspects were identified and apprehended in both cases.

The number of reported rapes decreased last year to 32 from 45 in 2017. However, forcible rape saw an increase of 25% over last year.

Reports of aggravated assault also decreased from 207 in 2017 to 168 in 2018, which is 27% dip from the five-year average.

More than half of all reported incidents were related to domestic violence. Martineau said this is a common trend across the nation, but how the city deals with the crimes is significantly less common.

He said the department employs a full-time Domestic Violence Advocate, who serves the victims of those incidents. The Domestic Violence Advocate works closely with Battered Women’s Resources, Inc. and Safeplan to provide a support system for the victim.

Drug offenses

Martineau reported that there was an overall reduction of overdose calls and said the Drug Suppression Unit made over 100 arrests.

“We look for several ways in which we can have an impact on the opioid epidemic,” he said. “Addiction is a medical issue and we tackle it from that front, but also we put significant resource into trying to reduce the flow of illegal narcotics.”

In 2018, the department responded to 192 overdose calls, down 15% from the previous year.

Officers deployed the use of Narcan 77 times over the course of 2018. They have been using and carrying the overdose reversal drug since 2015.

In 2017, 22 Fitchburg residents died as a result of opioid overdoses, and 14 persons died in Fitchburg of opioid-related overdoses.

The Drug Suppression unit made over 100 arrests, executed 34 search warrants, seized over 3,400 grams of heroin, over 300 grams of cocaine, two illegal handguns, and $41,978 in cash off the street.

Martineau said education is another important piece to the puzzle, so the department also hosts educational events at the high school.

The department also responded to over 700 calls for service for people experiencing a mental health crisis, including suicide attempts.

Martineau said Fitchburg is one of five communities across the state to complete the One Mind Campaign, an initiative by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to promote successful interactions between police officers and people affected by mental illness.

According to the report, every Fitchburg police officer has received basic mental health training and over 30% of the department has attended an advanced mental health training course.

Property Offenses

“We saw a significant reduction in property crime as well,” said Martineau.

The rate of property crimes plunged in 2018 dropping 29% from the previous year and 47% from the five-year average.

Burglaries reported in the last five years have consistently trended downwards since 2016, according to the report. The number of reported burglaries decreased 35% from 2017, which marks the lowest number reported in over 20 years.

“Burglaries are at the lowest level we’ve seen in 17 years,” Martineau said. “You’re seeing that across the state, but not to this magnitude.

Martineau said the advent of new technology has helped reduce burglaries in the city.

“Technology has really caught up with the thief,” he said. “Where I don’t have 150 cops out there in the street, I have 150 residents that have bought cameras, who’ve all put in security systems.”

Technology, he says, has started to do to burglars what sprinkler systems did to fires.

Reports of larceny — which includes pick pocketing, theft, purse snatching and shoplifting — also decreased.

Reported motor vehicle theft decreased 29% from 2017, and decreased 38% from the average. According to the report, in many of these charges the person who stole the vehicle was likely known to the victim or the keys were left inside the vehicle.

Despite the overall downward trend, Martineau said he’d like to see a reduction in traffic accidents, which totaled 1,419 in 2018.

There was a 3 percent decrease in accidents from 2017, but he hopes to continue to reduce those numbers.

Martineau said the department recently hired an officer whose sole responsibility is traffic enforcement and, if there are resources to do so, he might hire another next year.

City Councilor Marcus DiNatale said the perception of Fitchburg as an unsafe community persists despite the positive trends.

“Our biggest problem is perception,” said Martineau. “We’ve had a lot more presence on Main Street with uniformed personnel in the last couple months, but I’m looking at other ways we can improve upon image.”

At the City Council meeting last week, Martineau said community engagement is a key to changing the perception.

“While it’s encouraging to see the statistical drop in crimes, we have to reevaluate how we police our citizens,” Martineau said.

“You’re seeing that change from our Community Engagement office.”

The Community Engagement Unit, led by Lt. Jeffrey Howe, is comprised of four school resource officers, two community policing officers, and two traffic officers, and a new K-9 unit that is currently in training.

Martineau said the overall reduction of crime in the city was made possible by the community itself. Just like the 12th man in a football game, he said, the citizens of Fitchburg help the Police Department get the job done.

“We can’t police the city alone with 79 people, but because we have the type of trust and transparency we have with our community we work well together,” he said. “We’re partners in this. I give the community credit for the success of this report as well.”

To reach Dan, email dmonahan@sentinelandenterprise.com