Mayor Tom Henry was joined by Fort Wayne police chief Steve Reed and fire chief Eric Lahey for a look back at public safety statistics and changes in 2019, while providing a look ahead to the coming year Tuesday morning.
The police department says 158,000 calls for service were answered in 2019. Overall violent crime was down 5% while non-fatal drug overdoses dropped 22%. Still, not all of the numbers were encouraging: 900 firearms were seized last year, an increase of 200 from the previous year while arrests for illegal handgun possession shot up 18%.
A recent jump in violent homicides has become a cause for concern for the police department. Since December 1, 12 individuals have been killed or placed in critical condition by gun (8) or stabbing (4).
Reed notes that violent homicide numbers in a city of Fort Wayne’s size will always ebb and flow, but says the department will remain unrelenting in working with federal partners to solve cases.
“Shooting in the homes, injuring innocent kids… it’s not going to be tolerated," Reed said. "I said it last week and I’m going to say it again, we will find you and we will arrest you.”
He noted that many of the crimes have been perpetrated by “teenagers,” while calling out parents to be more active in knowing where their kids are and who they’re spending time with.
The fire department responded to 25,000 calls for service, with a little more than 10,000 medical-related calls. A new training tower opened for the technical rescue team, along with a multi-story live burn training center. Additionally, four new replacement engines and a new technical rescue truck placed into service.
Lahey also touted the department’s free smoke detector program, which debuted last year courtesy of a fire prevention and safety grant. 750 smoke detectors and 1,750 Carbon Monoxide detectors were given out, with many installed in residents’ homes by the department.
The program will continue in 2020.
