Last month, West Chester Police Department quietly released its annual report which showed a decrease in both Part 1 and Part 2 crimes for the year. West Goshen Township Police Department also reported a decrease in both categories. For those not regularly policing crime data, Part I crimes are your serious crimes including homicide, rape, robbery, assault, and most thefts. Part II Crimes are all other incidents that get the police involved in your life in not a good way.

In the Borough and East Bradford, Part I crime was down two percent compared to 2022 – or 437 incidents compared to 445. Part II crime was down a more significant 13 percent or from 1324 incidents to 1155. In West Goshen, Part I Crime saw an applause-worthy 30 percent drop, while Part II was down a respectable 10 percent.

However, the news was not all positive. While on the whole numbers were down, specific categories saw significant increases. For example, WCPD reported a 250 percent increase in rape reports or up 10 over 2022. They also saw an increase in burglaries, robberies, and arson. Assaults, theft, and motor vehicle thefts were all down. West Goshen PD saw a decrease in all Part I crimes except for robberies which doubled from four reported in 2022 to nine reported in 2023.  

As far as nuisance crimes go, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct were up in the Borough while West Goshen saw an increase in drug violations and possession of stolen property. All other named offenses were down.

All things are not equal. According to the report, calls for service in West Chester’s downtown business district including traffic stops increased six percent in 2023. “There are reports of assaults and/or combative behavior in the early morning hours in the Central Business District,” the report reads. “With the popularity of our business establishments and the influx of patrons from throughout the tri-state area as well as West Chester University, the demand continues to increase. These issues, coupled with varying and often related neighborhood issues, presented the largest challenge to our department and community over this period.”

Driving offenses. Traffic violations have also spiked over the last year. West Chester PD reported a 37 percent increase in traffic arrests, a 13 percent increase in traffic warnings, and a 44 percent increase in verbal warnings. The only good news coming from the traffic statistics, and it is good news, was DUIs were down nine percent from 85 in 2022 to 77 in 2023.

You can read the full WCPD report here and the WGPD here.

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Originally published on Feb. 2, 2024

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