SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – Springfield’s police chief said the city has made strides toward slowing down violent crime and will continue to fight back against it.
New data showed violent crime in the city dropped by 4 percent in 2021 and is still dropping in 2022.
Getting illegal guns off the streets was the top priority of the police department in 2021.
“We made an emphasis very early on in 2021 that we were not going to tolerate violent crime, (and) specifically gun violence,” said new Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette. “That was as a result of an increase in shootings.”
Police recovered 421 firearms in 2021, which marked a 65 percent increase from the previous year. They also made 256 gun-related arrest, which was an increase of 174.
“”We made it known to the community right away that we needed the community support,” Scarlette said. “But that we going to go out and seek to recover as many guns and make as many arrests as we could related to violent crime. And that’s exactly what we did.”
The city plans to keep going with initiatives that have been working. They hope to get more officers out in the community.
According to Deputy Police Chief Josh Stuenkel, the public will see more officers out of their cars and walking in neighborhoods.
“Community engagement is a big piece in bringing down violent crime and improving trust in the community,” he said.
But staffing has presented problems. The department is down 25 officers from their budgeted manpower. This has led to recruiting becoming a top priority for Scarlette.