Chief: Erie police's efforts to curb gun violence leads to drop in shootings, homicides

Erie's police chief in early April touted the fact that no one had been wounded or killed by gunfire in the city in 16 weeks.

It was notable given that, over the previous 10 years, an average of at least 12 people were shot and two were fatally shot in the city during the first quarter of those years, according to Erie Times-News data.

This year's streak ended at 19 weeks when, in early May, a 17-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the foot.

But the numbers are still highly encouraging as, over the first six months of 2024, Erie police have investigated only eight incidents where a person was wounded or killed by gunfire and one homicide, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said in reviewing the city police bureau's mid-year crime statistics on Wednesday.

There were 27 people shot and seven homicides in the city at this point in 2023, according to Spizarny's data.

This year's numbers also show decreases over the previous year of aggravated assaults and robberies, as well as reported rapes and the number of firearms reported stolen, according to Spizarny's data.

More: Sixteen weeks and counting: Drop in Erie violent crime includes no one shot since December

Drop in gun violence

The gun crime data is even more encouraging when taking a closer look at the figures, Spizarny said.

Of the eight cases where a person was shot, two were determined to have been accidental self-inflicted shootings, two were determined to be justified self-defense and two are unknown due to a lack of cooperation from the person shot, Spizarny said.

The two other victims were shot, one of whom was killed and the other seriously wounded, in a May 7 shooting on West Fourth Street that Spizarny said was domestic-related. The accused shooter, Melvin D. Burnett Jr., is awaiting his formal arraignment on criminal homicide, first-degree murder and other charges in the death of Deonte Tate and the wounding of the 31-year-old woman.

More: Suspect held for court in May fatal shooting of Erie man, wounding of woman on West Fourth

Spizarny said probably the biggest takeaway from reviewing gun-related incidents in the city so far this year is that police are not seeing any gang-related shootings, as they have in recent years. Police also aren't seeing much in the way of gang activity, such as the defacing of streets in certain neighborhoods with suspected gang symbols as investigators had seen in the past.

Investigators have worked to curb the violence by identifying people and proactively going after those known to be involved in the violence, Spizarny said. And people are starting to realize that if they become a target, they will be at the top of the Erie police force's list, he said.

"It shows how effective targeted, proactive policing can be," Spizarny said.

Decreases in other crimes

Spizarny's data also shows that, over the past six months of 2024, the number of confirmed shots-fired incidents in the city dropped to 49 from 145 in 2022 and 76 in 2023.

Also down were the number of guns reported as stolen, which decreased by 26% from the previous year, and the number of guns recovered by police, which dropped 27%, according to Spizarny.

Erie police additionally saw a 48% decrease in reported aggravated assaults, a 4% drop in reported robberies, a 15% decrease in thefts from vehicles, a 37% decrease in reported sex offenses and a 50% decrease in reported rapes, according to city police data.

Spizarny said police became concerned last year over notable increases in reported rapes and sexual assaults and began monitoring those cases more closely. One step the police bureau took to better investigate those incidents was adding a third detective to the Children's Advocacy Center, which is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse.

"We realized crimes against children were rising, and a third detective would help work those investigations," he said.

Crimes on the rise

There wasn't all good news in the Erie Bureau of Police's crime statistics for the first half of 2024.

Among the offenses that increased over the previous year were burglaries, which increased by 17%, thefts, which increased by 22%, and motor vehicle thefts, which jumped by seven incidents, according to Spizarny's data.

Also up were incidents of driving under the influence, which jumped by nearly 18%, and arsons, which more than doubled from 10 in 2023 to 22 so far this year.

The arson cases include a June 13 fire in the 400 block of East 10th Street that destroyed two houses, heavily damaged two others and displaced more than two dozen people. Erie police charged a woman with setting the fire in one of the houses, which was vacant.

More: Erie woman accused of setting fire to couch in blaze that destroyed two homes, damaged 2

The Erie Bureau of Fire has completed investigations into 45 fires in the city so far this year. Of those, 28 were determined to have been accidental, eight were ruled incendiary, seven were of unknown origin, and two were ruled as natural, said Don Sauer, who heads the fire bureau's Fire Prevention and Investigation Unit.

Spizarny said a number of fires were caused by homeless people squatting in vacant houses, and community leaders need to continue their efforts to aid the homeless. The Erie Bureau of Police has officers dedicated to assisting the city's homeless population through the bureau's Crisis Unit and its specialized neighborhood patrols.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie police chief touts violence reduction work in drop in shootings