In 2017, the Killeen Police Department enlisted the help of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs to assess the scope of violent crime in the area.
The report found the city's violent crime rate was high when compared to the rest of the state of Texas.
Police Chief Charles Kimble said since then, the numbers have changed.
"In all major categories of homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and auto theft, we're down in every category," said Kimble.
He said this time last year the number of homicides was only at 12.
This year they've only had 5 so far.
Chief Kimble believes community engagement has made a positive impact on crime rates.
"I think it's our engagement with the community that's made the difference.," said Kimble. "We looked at our stats. We looked at the areas of town where we were having issues and we really made an outreach to the community. Outreach along with our social media platforms I think has really made an impact in us engaging with the community and keeping crime down."
That's why he said it is so important for the public to attend the Killeen Police Department Community Forum on Thursday.
The forum is for the citizens of Killeen and will be held Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church.
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