Whitehall chief lays out plan to address crime

WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Whitehall Police Department is laying out its plan to tackle crime over the next three years. It’s a plan that builds on previous work and the goals include accountability, being proactive, and embracing new technology. According to Whitehall's Police Chief Mike Crispen, more than 80% of crimes committed in Whitehall [...]

WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Whitehall Police Department is laying out its plan to tackle crime over the next three years.

It’s a plan that builds on previous work and the goals include accountability, being proactive, and embracing new technology.

According to Whitehall's Police Chief Mike Crispen, more than 80% of crimes committed in Whitehall are done by people who don’t live in the city. On Wednesday, he showed how the department plans to tackle that number and other crimes.

"If you come in Whitehall and commit crimes and harm or victims, we're going to come find you," Crispen said. "That's something we've always said, we've said for eight years."

This plan will include more partnerships with surrounding police departments.

"Now what we're doing is we're going to have a little extra focus on how do we collaborate with our neighbors or our partners more than what we've done before," Crispen said. 

Another focus is on property crime. Since 2016, the number of theft arrests has increased 182%, Crispen said.

"We believe and still do that when you focus on those little things, the big things don't happen as much and our numbers prove that," he said.

Since 2016 in Whitehall, according to the chief, violent crime is down 16%. Robberies are down 25% and burglaries are down 58%. Those numbers had some positive reactions from the crowd at the town hall.

"I really, I feel very safe in Whitehall," longtime Whitehall resident Terry Roule said. 

The chief also took questions; one was about juveniles committing crimes. He said that many of those incidents come from kids outside of Whitehall.

"I was glad to hear that, at least within Whitehall, that those juvenile numbers are not high," Whitehall resident Micole Spicer said. "But we still need to work on those juveniles who are coming from outside of Whitehall, committing crimes in Whitehall. So that still is a challenge."

The chief plans to have more town halls moving forward so people can continue to give input about this plan.