FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) – Mayor Tom Henry and Police Chief Steve Reed today have announced a decrease in many areas of crime including homicides, shootings and violent crimes.

The statistics are from the Fort Wayne Police Department’s first three quarters of 2019 and compared to the first three quarters of 2018.

The statistics are as follows:

• Homicides – down more than 44.44% with more than 75% of the homicides have had someone charged, was considered to be in self-defense or the victim of a homicide was a person of interest in a previous homicide.
• Non-fatal shootings – down 16.09%
• Violent crimes – down 7.3%
• Arrests for possession of a handgun without a license – up 27.03%
• Drug overdoses – down 30%
• Property crimes – up 1.5%

The Fort Wayne Police Department has also given an update on their efforts to increase their manpower: with the recent passing of the 2020 budget, The FWPD will have an academy class that will include 15 recruits. That will allow the department to have 480 officers to patrol the city’s streets. The FWPD will also be adding four replacement K-9s and a new explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) robot and x-ray system for the bomb unit.

“Fort Wayne is a safe city” Mayor Tom Henry said. “Our top priority is ensuring the safety and protection of residents, neighborhoods, businesses, and visitors.  We’re moving in the right direction, and the work being done by the men and women of the Fort Wayne Police department is to be commended.  We’re addressing challenges head-on and will continue to implement best practices as a community committed to being the very best.”