Bleak crime report for Downtown Dover, officials respond

According to the Dover Police Department’s Annual Report, violent crime in Dover is down 18 percent.

Police chief Paul Bernat says he’s extremely proud that violent crime fell in 2014, but the report also has a glaring red flag. Downtown Dover did not see that decrease.

Chief Bernat goes on, “We had sporadic shootings throughout the year, we also had four bank robberies, and a couple homicides.”  

A couple homicides amount to a 200 percent increase because there were zero downtown in 2013.  

The report says burglaries downtown are up 93 percent. Theft is up 66 percent. Assaults rose 33 percent. Drug arrests were up 30 percent. Police say the criminal activity highlights the need for more resources.

Chief Bernat says, “We’re looking to get additional cadets in the downtown area. We’re hoping to get additional cameras.”

Right now the downtown area has 71 cameras recording at all times and storing the video for six months.

Police say the cameras are invaluable because they provide physical evidence, not just someone’s testimony.

Footage has helped catch criminals in the act. Examples of this include the exchange of illegal firearms and even a murder. The Department believes adding more cameras downtown will lower crime because people will know they’re being watched.

Mayor Robin Christiansen thinks it all starts with a sense of community, or lack thereof. He says 84 percent of downtown Dover residents rent. He believes if more people owned property, they would be more likely to protect it. The city is using grant money to push for more homeowners.   

Mayor Christiansen continues, “What we’re trying to foster through Habitat for Humanity in a grant that we received through a settlement with Bank of America is fostering home ownership.”  

The city is also working to bring back the Police Athletic League where officers play sports with kids in the community in an effort to create transparency, and build a relationship with the community’s youth.

 Click here to view the Dover Police Department’s Annual Report.