KINSTON, N.C. (WITN) – An Eastern Carolina city says crime has taken a sizeable drop in the first half of this year.
Kinston police today released their biannual crime report for 2024.
It shows felony crimes dropped by 18% compared to the first half of 2023, while minor or misdemeanor crimes saw a significant drop of 66%.
“These improvements are attributed to precision policing strategies and proactive enforcement efforts, which have resulted in the seizure of illegal firearms and the arrest of individuals carrying weapons unlawfully,” the police department said.
Breaking down the numbers, arsons dropped 25%, aggravated assaults decreased 44%, burglaries declined 20%, drug offenses 38%, car thefts dropped 17%, robberies dropped 59%, while murders increased 38%, from 2 to 3 for the first half of the year. According to Chief Keith Goyette, two of the murders this year were results of car crashes that were classified as second-degree murder.
While most misdemeanor crimes took a sizeable drop, DWI arrests in Kinston jumped from 12 to 66, or a 450% increase year to year.
“We really put an emphasis with our officers here in Kinston, our patrol captains, our patrol sergeants really understood that we need to work hard on DWI arrests, and our officers have been more proactive with DWI arrests and that’s why the numbers are so much increased,” Chief Goyette said.
According to Chief Goyette, there have been many factors that factored into a drop in crime, including officers being out and active in the community, TIPS 411, an app where people can send tips about a crime too, and local support from the sheriff’s office.
As the year continues, Chief Goyette says the numbers may change, but the department hopes to be as transparent as possible to the community it serves. “We wanna put this out there, not as a victory, by no means is that what we’re trying to do. We want the community to know our officers are dedicated to our community and we want to provide a safe environment for people who live, visit, and work here.”