Through eight months of 2020 statistics, crime is down in Platte City by more than 20 percent compared to 2019 through the same time.
That was the word recently from Platte City Police Chief Joe Wellington, in a monthly report to staff and elected officials at the city.
“Year-to-date crime is down significantly, except for motor vehicle thefts,” Wellington said. “We did not have any auto thefts reported during August but remain cognizant this is still a metro area problem.”
There was a break-in at the local Ford dealership but there was no loss of vehicles “due to Ford’s diligence with locking all the keys up.”
Wellington said burglaries from car dealerships “are picking back up metro-wide” and Platte City officers “continue to remain visible in these areas of town.”
Stealing/larceny cases are down by 39% thus far in 2020, Wellington’s numbers show. There have been 20 cases of stealing this year compared to 33 at this time in 2019.
Burglaries are down from five in 2019 to four in 2020. Assaults are down from four in 2019 at this time to two in 2020.
On the other side of the coin, there has been an increase in thefts of vehicles in 2020. Through eight months this year, there have been 12 stolen vehicles, compared to eight at this time in 2019.
Motor vehicle crashes are down by nine percent in 2020.
Traffic stops are down by 44% through August compared to through August of 2019 and traffic citations are down 47%. This is in part due to less traffic during the pandemic.
Speaking of the pandemic, Wellington says police officers are noticing a return to normal levels of traffic recently.
“At this time calls for service have returned to the level preceding the COVID slowdown. We are seeing more traffic on roadways and in businesses. It appears the majority of people have returned to their normal lives and habits,” Wellington said.
“We continue to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our community. We are living in troubled times and support for law enforcement has waned in many areas but support in our area remains strong.”