Violent crime down in Cedar Rapids this year

CEDAR RAPIDS — November marked the first time in 32 months that no one was struck by gunfire in Cedar Rapids, according to a report presented this week to the City Council’s Public Safety and Youth Services Committee.

Interim Police Chief Tom Jonker on Monday evening presented this year’s crime statistics through November, highlighting that there have been fewer instances of gun violence and other violent criminal activity than in previous years.

There were eight shots-fired incidents in November in the city, but no people were hit by gunfire. The last time that happened was April 2021, according to Jonker.

So far this year, there have been 76 shots-fired incidents, down from 115 at the end of November 2022. The average for the last five years by the end of November is 117.

Jonker told the committee, made up of council members Dale Todd, Scott Overland and Ashley Vanorny, that the police department is predicting the year will end with 30 percent fewer shots-fired calls than last year.

“Short of a major event, God-willing, we should see a sharp decrease for this year,” Jonker told the committee.

Total violent crime in the city is down 8.7 percent from this time last year, at of the end of November, and the department predicts it will remain low until the end of the year, Jonker said.

Crimes against property and other non-violent crimes have trended mostly flat since last year, with a few increases in specific categories like shoplifting. Shoplifting is up 33.5 percent as of the end of November, Jonker said.

The committee members attributed the decrease in violent crimes to the city’s recent strategy to reduce gun violence through a group violence intervention program, which aims to engage those who are at risk of being offenders or victims of gun violence and provide them with community support.

“Looking forward and looking for opportunities to prevent things in our city is paying off. As I tell people, we have a safe city,” Overland said.

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