DOJ 10-7-19
U.S. Attorney Mark A. Klaassen announced today a significant reduction in violent crime affecting Wyoming communities over the past two years. The Uniform Crime Reporting Index for Wyoming, as compiled by the FBI, indicates violent crime in Wyoming dropped approximately 17% between 2016 and 2018. “This decrease in violent crimes is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement across the State of Wyoming. I appreciate their efforts and assistance these partners provide to our federal law enforcement agencies as we continue our Project Safe Neighborhoods program emphasis.” The reduction in Wyoming is consistent with a nationwide decrease in violent crime that has been occurring since 2017.
Law enforcement agencies throughout Wyoming submit reports on offenses, arrests, clearances, and other supplemental information to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. Those reports are processed and a yearly report is sent to the FBI for compilation and analysis. Violent crimes include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. During this two-year period, homicides in Wyoming dropped from 19 in 2016 to 14 in 2018. During the same time aggravated assaults dropped from 952 to 722 and robbery went down from 57 to 43.
Two years ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the department’s violent crime reduction strategy. PSN is an evidence-based program proven effective at reducing violent crime. The goal of PSN is for a broad spectrum of stakeholders to work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs with the goal of achieving lasting reductions in crime.
“Throughout the past two years, as part of our PSN efforts, we have been looking for ways to more effectively collaborate and partner with all levels of law enforcement, local organizations, and members of the community to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone,” said Klaassen.
According to FBI’s Uniform Crime Report released this week, the violent crime rate also decreased nationwide for the second consecutive year, down 3.9 percent from the 2017 numbers. “The revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods program is a major success,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “It packs a powerful punch by combining advanced data with local leadership, further reducing violence in communities across the country and improving overall public safety. U.S. Attorneys continue to focus their enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals and work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal police. The Justice Department’s relationships across the board have never been stronger.”