When compared to the first six months of 2018, statistics reveal that the local crime rate, as well as police response times, are trending in a positive direction.

So notes Pueblo Police Department Chief Troy Davenport in a letter to citizens.

When compared to the same period in 2018 — Jan. 1 to June 30 — the overall crime rate fell by 18 percent, with auto thefts dropping by 30 percent and burglaries by 27 percent.

Homicides, however, are up, which Davenport termed "sobering."

In the first six months of 2018, there were two homicides, as compared to the eight that have occurred to date. With the recent arrest of Emilio Hall in connection with a June 23 murder in Bessemer Park, seven of the eight homicides have been cleared by arrest.

"Homicide is typically an emotional or anger-driven crime that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to prevent," Davenport wrote. "In most instances, an officer would have to be in just the right place at just the right time to prevent these kinds of events.

"Homicides create a great deal of angst and they are tragic for the victim's family and the community. However, homicides are arguably the least reliable indicator of crime commission in any jurisdiction."

Although crime is falling, the chief said he is not satisfied with the rate, "as it is higher than anyone would like it to be. I would like it to be zero, but that is not realistic either. Your police department will continue to work with you to keep this positive trend going.

"I believe our community and our department are committed to continually reducing victimization and crime in general, and increasing the quality of life for all. It is extremely encouraging that we continue to trend in the right direction."

On another positive note, although the call volume is slightly up when compared to 2018, response times to calls continue to fall.

"Our goal is to continue to reduce the response times overall and to reduce the time to under 10 minutes, on the average, for Priority One calls, specifically," Davenport wrote. "Reducing response time will continue to be an important goal for the department."

One of the reasons for the quicker response times is extra officers made possible by voter approval of the 2B Public Safety Sales Tax, for which Davenport expressed gratitude.

"Additional staffing is significant and is one of the primary reasons for our successes," he wrote. "I want to give credit where credit is due. Our patrol officers have been responding quicker to those calls. We have been able to put out more bicycle patrol, foot patrol and other community-oriented policing efforts.

"We have engaged in community-oriented policing projects in several locations in our city. Detectives have followed up on a variety of crimes and solved several difficult cases. We have more Neighborhood Watch groups than ever before, and they are active and thriving organizations."

In addition to the ongoing work of department volunteers, the chief also praised the training unit personnel — "who have been tasked with a higher-than-ever number of recruit officers in back-to-back police academies" — and dispatchers, who receive and process a continually increasing number of calls for service.

"On June 10, we started our most recent Pueblo Police Academy," Davenport wrote. "This academy has 20 recruit officers in it and those officers fill vacancies funded by the general fund budget. They represent attrition caused by retirements, injuries, resignations, etc."

When these recruits finish the 24-week academy, and complete 15 weeks of field training, "It is anticipated that they will create yet another needed and appreciated shot in the arm to the department and to our community. I am optimistic that we will able to maintain this positive momentum," Davenport concluded.

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @jpompia