More crimes were solved and fewer committed in Gainesville last year. Gainesville Police Department Spokeswoman Tscharna Senn says this is the result of some specific action by the department, including increased patrols on the street and more community involvement.
“When we plugged those numbers in we were happily surprised. We knew that every month, we’ve kept an eye on it, and it seemed to go up some months more than others. When we got the numbers at the end of the year, we were very happy,” she says.
Senn says the crime rate dropped at three times the level they planned. Violent crimes dropped more than 21%. Crime declined overall more than 16%.