Dayton crime drops, but homicide rate too high for chief

Dayton’s overall violent crime rate this year declined the most in a decade, but homicides still remain high, the city’s police chief said.

“It’s very good news, generally speaking, in terms of increases in public safety,” Chief Richard Biehl said of the overall crime rate drop from 2016 to 2017. “It’s just that the homicide (number) is in opposition to that.”

Biehl’s office reports that the city had recorded 31 homicides with a few weeks left in 2017. That pace could give Dayton 33 at year’s end. Biehl said two of the 31 may be ruled justifiable and, therefore, not criminal.

The death toll was worse in 2016, when Dayton had 39 criminal homicides. That is not counting seven ruled justifiable, including the police-involved fatal shooting of Kisha Arrone.

Dayton had 27 criminal homicides in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014 and 30 in 2015.

Most Dayton crime falling

“We have a homicide trend, clearly this year, that’s in opposition to all of our crime data,” Biehl said, noting city crime data through Dec. 5. “This is a remarkable year.

“I don’t believe we’ve had a year in the 10 years I’ve been here where all four aggregate crime categories have declined double digits.”

Biehl said Part 1 violent crime (murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) is down 15 percent from 2016. He said Part 1 property crime (including arson, theft, burglary and others) is down 18 percent.

Biehl said Part 2 violent crime (including kidnapping, assault and some sex crimes) is down 10 percent. He said Part 2 property crime (including damage, vandalism and forgery) is down a whopping 28 percent.

Arrests made in most homicide cases

What police call the “cleared” rate was high at 80 percent in 2016, when 37 of 46 cases were considered solved. Biehl said 48 percent (15 of 31) of homicides this year are cleared, but he said that number will rise as cases progress.

Biehl also said arrests have been made in 78 percent of 2017 cases, but that some charges haven’t been for homicide.

During 2016, the months with the most homicides in Dayton were May with six and September with five. In October, the city had zero homicides, the first month without a homicide since April 2015.

Statistics from Dayton police show that of the 31 homicides in 2017, six are considered domestic related, four robbery related, three drug related and four fight related. Fourteen of the 31 haven’t yet had causes assigned.

Biehl said many of those 14 will move into the other categories. While he said it’s “too early to tell” if there’s any trend, he suspected the drug-related cases will increase.

As many as 9 ‘justifiable’ killings in two years

A year ago, Dayton’s homicide total for 2016 was an unofficial 42 with four justifiable incidents already backed out.

Since then, Dayton police said the killings of Dillon Ward, MarqAnthony Mooty and Leon Smith were ruled cases of self-defense.

The chief said that having six justifiable killings in 2016 was unusual, and that two such possible shootings in 2017 is closer to the norm.

“I wouldn’t read anything into (2016’s number) because it’s an anomaly, it’s an exception,” Biehl said. “If those kind of numbers persist this year or over multiple years, then I think we’ve got to say what’s driving the phenomenon.”

Lower number of homicides ‘positive’

Dayton Unit NAACP president Derrick Foward said the NAACP’s goal was for a 50 percent reduction in homicides from 30 in 2015. Instead, homicides went up to 39.

Foward said parenting was key to preventing the next generation of violent criminals.

This year, Foward again hoped Dayton would cut its homicides in half.

“While we didn’t meet our goal of 50 percent reduction, at the present time, we’re on course for a reduction,” he said, calling it “positive under the circumstances.”

Foward said the drug trade is a key factor and that job creation in neighborhoods would help change people’s minds.

Makeshift memorials ‘not worth a life’

“Living by the gun is not the way. Putting that teddy bear on a corner or a makeshift memorial, that’s not worth a life,” Foward said. “Any loss of life at the end of a bullet, at the end of a knife, at the end of a homicide, period, is just simply not the way that the Lord intended us to live. And we’ve got to get better.”

His sentiment was echoed by Biehl, who said it was a “civic duty” to help.

“We all have a responsibility to do our collective parts to make our environment safer, to reduce crime, and try to prevent it,” the chief said. “We would not be making the arrests we’re making, we would not be clearing the cases we’re clearing, without help from the community. It doesn’t work any other way.”

The chief said targeted deterrence initiatives and an improved gun violence reporting mechanism have helped police understand the challenges.

Many factors in homicides

Biehl said that whether someone dies of a gunshot wound depends on many factors, including the caliber of weapon, how many times they are shot, where they are hit, if they have pre-existing medical conditions and if they seek and receive prompt medical care.

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“Just those five alone are of significance,” he said. “So it’s very difficult to look at an increase or decrease in homicide and say well the reason is is because (of this or that).”

Biehl said he understands why the homicide total — what he calls “the tip of the tip of the iceberg” of violent crime — attracts attention:

“This is an irrevocable crime, deeply traumatizing for those victim survivors — the family members, friends and loved ones — who must deal with that loss always for the remainder of their lives.”

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Dayton homicides 2012-2017

2012: 27

2013: 27

2014: 27

2015: 30

2016: 39

2017: 31 (through Dec. 5)

Source: Dayton police statistics

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Dayton 2017 homicides by month