Overall crime in Bloomington decreased by nearly five percent in 2019, according the city’s annual Public Safety Report.
Police Chief Mike Diekhoff announced the drop in crime rates at the fourth Annual Public Safety Report Tuesday.
Diekhoff says that despite a decline in overall crime, violent crimes increased by around 27 percent in 2019.
He says aggravated assault numbers have climbed for the last six years and that nearly half of these were for domestic or interpersonal relationship violence.
“It’s stuff that happens when the police aren’t around so it’s tough to prevent those types of crimes," he says.
Diekhoff says reports of rapes and sexual assaults are up by 55 percent. He says he thinks the spike in those cases can be credited in part to better reporting.
“We will be working with different partners to see what we can try to do to raise awareness and prevent these crimes from happening to begin with," he says.
Diekhoff also reports the number of crimes committed with a firearm rose by over 40 percent in 2019, while property crimes dropped by around 27 percent.
