Chief: Rio Grande Crime Down 29%

RIO GRANDE – A 28 percent decrease in the crime rate in one year is significant news for the residents of  Rio Grande. The drop was across all categories of offenses in the Uniform Crime Report nation-wide system. In the subcategories of violent crime, which for Middle Township as a whole were flat from 2015 to 2016, Rio Grande saw a 29 percent decrease. 
In 2016, Rio Grande accounted for only 20 percent of the township’s total violent offenses.
Police Chief Christopher Leusner gave a report on progress in public safety during 2016 to the township’s Chamber of Commerce March 9.
He was able to announce that the entire township saw a decrease of 13 percent in its crime rate. The numbers in Rio Grande show that special efforts aimed at this specific community paid off, he said.
Perhaps the most visible symbol of added police attention in Rio Grande is the substation opened in May 2016.
With Rio Grande serving as the township’s major retail hub, police sought to reduce non-violent crimes in the retail area while also moving to gain better control over the illicit drug trade.
The substation gave the community a highly visible police presence which itself dampens crime in the area, he believes. It also complimented the newly-established Street Crimes Unit which launched in January.
Leusner points to the fact that success in small numbers can have big impacts. Taking repeat offenders off the street has a multiplying effect on reducing crime since those individuals account for a high percentage of the offenses.
Getting just a handful of addicts to the right services to aid them removes individuals whose dependency would otherwise lead them to crime.
Stepped up enforcement in Rio Grande was only part of the picture. Leusner’s commitment to community policing places a great deal of stress on proactive strategies which address issues that give rise to public safety concerns before enforcement is needed.
The substation itself is more than a focal point of the police department’s enforcement efforts. It represents a location where citizens can interact with police for assistance or services.
The lobby of the substation is a safe place for completing online transactions like the exchange of goods purchased via the internet.
One reason is that the site is under constant surveillance by police dispatchers in Court House.
Intervention and education programs each play their role in impacting the crime statistics.
The department’s partnership with faith-based groups seeks to direct drug and alcohol dependent individuals to resources that help them deal with their addictions. That is one example of such proactive efforts.
Others include educational programs offered in township schools and community outreach programs aimed at influencing the way some members of the community perceive police officers.
A way for interested residents to see the full spectrum of proactive efforts undertaken by the department is to download the comprehensive annual report available here. 
Leusner is appreciative of the support the department has received from the Middle Township Committee. Following the financial crisis of 2008, the department was substantially reduced from its manpower peak of 52 officers.
In 2010, the department was policing the 72 square miles of the township with 46 officers. That left little flexibility to staff the Special Service Unit. “We needed to use our people to respond to 911 calls,” Leusner said.
The department has gradually rebuilt its manpower base. Currently, there are 55 officers, but seven are Class II officers, allowed under a special arrangement with the County Prosecutor’s Office.
Leusner said the department would be hiring six officers which they hope to have fully trained and ready for independent duty by May 2018. 
This move would bring the department to 53 full-time officers, one greater than its high water mark before the crisis. It would also allow the use of Class II officers to return to a more traditional pattern.
A look at the department’s organization shows how the department makes use of the added manpower to fight crime.
In 2010, when personnel levels were sharply reduced, the Special Service Unit had half the manpower it now has.
It is that unit that plays an important role in the broader definition of policing. Here is the leadership for many of the department community relations efforts, its community outreach and participation in community events.
This unit has a special role to play in the schools through the school resource officers and is tasked with oversight of training for the department.
Added manpower makes possible a broad attack on crime through a balanced approach to enforcement, intervention, education and community outreach.
Pair that approach with the increase in the enforcement focus in Rio Grande in 2016 and the township gets a dramatically reduced crime rate.
It is not magic. It is adequate resources, focused and concentrated where the data show it is most required and, perhaps most importantly, all of it organized for a well-rounded approach to the community’s needs.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.