Police Chief Gemme Addresses Recent Crime & Crime Trends in Worcester

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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Worcester Police Chief Gary Gemme has issued a response to recent crimes that have taken place in the City of Worcester as well as addressing current crime trends. 

Gemme issued a lengthy statement covering all of it. 

Read the Statement Below. 

"The double homicide that occurred last Thursday on Forbes Street continues to be actively investigated by our detectives and they are following up on a number of promising leads. Detectives believe that this shooting was not a random act and it appears that the victims were targeted. We are optimistic that an arrest will be made as a result of the tireless work and dedication of our detectives.

An overall review of crime in the city for the first two months of this year, are not showing any significant trends. However, there are pockets in the city based on the data reviewed that require redirecting resources.

In terms of violent crime, the number of aggravated assaults remains consistent with last year. There is one less non-fatal shooting reported in 2016 compared to 2015.

ShotSpotter Technology covers six square miles of the East side along with Central and Main South neighborhoods and was implemented in April of 2014. In the first year, there were 206 incidents of gunfire. From April of 2015 to today, there have been 163 incidents of gunfire detected. In effect, we are seeing a decrease in shots fired in the city.

As we’ve stated in the past, the last three months of 2015, we saw a decrease in gun violence with two shooting incidents reported. These numbers represent a significant reduction in gun violence that we saw over the summer months, and in part, is the result of a number of proactive and established law enforcement strategies.

However, in areas of property crimes there are pockets of the city where we are seeing an increase in breaking and entering, vandalism, and larceny from motor vehicles. These quality of life issues remain a priority for the department.

Recently, there were a number of house breaks reported in the Crown Hill neighborhood. We have designated this area as a Tactical Response Area (TRA) which is a geographical area of the city where we direct police resources in an attempt to reverse negative trends. Officers in these designated areas engage in proactive problem-solving and tailored responses to the specific issues that have been identified in those areas.

Through crime analysis, street intelligence and feedback from the community we continue to remain flexible in the assignment of personnel and are focused on reversing negative trends when they emerge.

The recent incident of shots fired on Arthur Street has resulted in TRA designation. It has been a long-term practice that when there are reported shots fired in a particular neighborhood, we assign police personnel to that area.

We understand and recognize that when there are reports of gunshots in an area, that there is a heightened perception and fear of crime. But when you look at the overall statistics and the information provided to the officer assigned to the Grafton Hill Neighborhood Watch Group over the past several months, the main concern of the residents has been quality of life issues and not violent crime.

Certainly the shooting incident on Arthur Street is a concern but not indicative of what we are seeing in the Grafton Hill neighborhood area. We continue assign an officer to attend the neighborhood watch meetings to gather and exchange information with residents. It is important for residents to know that we not only rely on statistics, but first-hand accounts of what residents are seeing in their neighborhood. If we are going to continue to be a safe community, then feedback is critical."

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