Crime in Syracuse has been on the decline, according to recently released data by the FBI.

Between 2013 and 2014, violent crimes and property crimes in the city dropped to a five-year low, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Report. Despite a population increase, violent crime dropped 2.3 percent between 2013 and 2014 and property crime dropped 11.1 percent.

The FBI report defines a violent crime as one in which an offender uses or threatens force upon a victim. Examples of a violent crime would be murder, robbery and aggravated assault.

Property crime involves the stealing of another’s property, and does not include force in any way, according to the report. Examples of this type of crime are burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson.

“All the force we put in to combat crime is based on data,” said police spokesman Lt. Eric Carr. “We look at data in areas where crime occurs and decide how best to handle the crime in that particular area.”

According to the Syracuse Police Department’s 2014 annual report, the law enforcement crime reduction team recorded all-time highs in the following categories: firearm recoveries, heroin recoveries, uniform traffic tickets issued, total amount of money confiscated and total drug recoveries.

“We attribute any success in the continuing decrease in crime to the dedicated and hard work of men and women of the Syracuse Police Department who work every day to try to make Syracuse a better place to live,” Carr said later in an emailed statement.

Carr said keeping crime down is an ongoing effort on the part of the SPD.

From May through September, law enforcement for the city of Syracuse has made more than 200 arrests, half of which were arrests of gang members. These arrests are the result of a combined effort between federal, state and local law enforcements, called “Operation Salt City”.

More than 20 guns and $200,000 dollars in cash were confiscated during the operation.

Rep. John Katko (R-Syracuse) said in a Sept. 14 press conference about the operation that, in the future, he hopes law enforcement maintains its funding in order to continue its work to drive down crime in the city, as there has been an addition of about 700 residents to the city over the past two years.

Published on October 13, 2015 at 10:09 pm

Contact Hanna: [email protected]