According to the StarNews, Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous shared the following good news with the City Council on Tuesday:

[C]rime within city limits [fell] from 5,385 in 2016 to a record low 4,985 in 2017.

“That is the lowest raw crime number we’ve ever, ever — back for 30 years — have seen,” Evangelous told [the] City Council. …

Chief Evangelous admitted, however, that, the news wasn’t all good:

Homicides rose from 15 in 2016 to 19 in 2017, while assaults rose from 467 to 517, driving a six percent year-over-year increase in violent crime. …

“We still have too much violence, our aggravated assaults are still too high and we’ve got to continue to drive that down,” Evangelous said.

Even with regard to violent crime, however, there was something to celebrate:

The chief also gave credit to his homicide detectives, who have surpassed the national average clearance rate of 63 percent, bringing 95 percent of their 2017 cases to a close.

“That’s because the public has been cooperating with us,” Evangelous said, “that’s because the public has been talking with us.”

H/T: Christopher Tyner, UNC SOG