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Crime report: RH 'one of safest cities around'
Billy Reynolds RH chief
Richmond Hill police Chief Billy Reynolds said he was pleased that the statistics had not gone up. - photo by File photo

The 2015 crime statistics for Richmond Hill stayed about the same across the board as 2014, according to information from the Richmond Hill Police Department.

The city had no homicides or arsons for the second straight year, and had slight decreases in burglaries, aggravated assaults and motor-vehicle thefts in 2015. The number of rapes went up one, from three to four, and larcenies also inched up, from 210 to 213.

Those crimes are considered Part I crimes in the Summary Reporting System, according to the Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics website.

Richmond Hill police Chief Billy Reynolds said he was pleased with the results.

“We’re really fortunate to have a limited number of Part I crimes in our community,” Reynolds said, adding that the department would “like to do better, and we will.”

Drug offenses were up slightly, at 155 in 2015, compared to 146 the year before, but still well down from 2013, which saw 251 offenses. DUIs were up to 113 from 93, but like drug offenses, still represented a decrease from 2013, which had 136.

Vandalism incidents were up to 130 from 111.

Warnings given were up more than 1,000 from 2015 — 4,737 last year from 3,372 in 2014. On the other hand, citations given were down more than 1,000 — 4,408 from 5,957. Arrests were down to 1,149 from 1,193.

In other RHPD statistics from 2015, there were 739 automobile accidents, an increase of 134 from 2014. Since 2009, when there were 488 accidents reported, the number has gone up each year except 2013, which had the same number as 2012.

Mayor Harold Fowler praised the low crime numbers and the work of the RHPD in making Richmond Hill “one of the safest cities around.”
“Citizens feel it’s a safe place to be,” he said.

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