It seemed like 2009 was a year just chock-full of bad news. Everywhere you looked it was doom and gloom.
But apparently there was some pretty good news in the Village of Oxford ? the crime rate was down.
‘We had a fantastic year as far as keeping crime in check here in the community,? said village Police Chief Mike Neymanowski. ‘I think the areas we had issues with, we kept on them.?
When comparing 2008 and 2009 statistics regarding criminal offenses, the number of assaults dropped from 40 to 25 (37.5 percent); larceny violations declined from 61 to 35 (42.6 percent); the instances of property damage decreased from 43 to 26 (39.5 percent); and the cases of fraud went from 14 to 4 (71.4 percent).
Even the incidents of people operating motor vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs dropped from 41 to 37 (9.8 percent).
Neymanowski believes incidents of larceny and vandalism declined due to the constant presence of police patrols throughout the community.
‘Visibility, I think, plays an important role,? he said.
The chief was pleased to see the number of juvenile offenses and complaints decreased from 187 to 125 (33.7 percent).
He believes having officers patrol the community on bicycles during the warmer months has served as a deterrent for young people, who now think the police are everywhere they turn.
‘The bike patrol, I’ve heard, has been a very big influence. . .in reducing things crime-wise in the area,? Neymanowski said.
Neymanowski noted his officers can’t take all of the credit for the village’s lower crime rate. He acknowledged the role village residents played through their cooperation and willingness to be the department’s eyes and ears.
‘This is a law-abiding community and when people see things, they report it to us,? the chief said.
Despite the many decreases in criminal offenses, the village did experience increases in some areas such as disorderly conduct/vagrancy, which went from 73 to 84 incident (15.1 percent), and drug/narcotic violations, which rose by 15.4 percent from 13 to 15 incidents.
Overall, the number of noncriminal complaints reported to the village police decreased from 4,142 calls in 2008 to 3,788 last year, a drop of 8.5 percent.