WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Waco police report crime has dropped to historic levels, with overall crime decreasing 7% from last year and property crimes falling an additional 12%.
Since 2021, overall crime has decreased 30% in the city, according to Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian.
"Crimes against property actually decreased another 12% over the historic low that we had last year, and then overall crime decreased 7% again, which is still a historic low," Victorian said. "And since 2021, overall crime has decreased 30%, which is very significant here in the city of Waco."
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The department attributes much of this success to a major policy change in how violent crimes are investigated. Every shooting case now receives the same level of urgency as murder cases, even when no death is involved.
Victorian says increased police presence in the community has been crucial to the crime reduction efforts.
Residents are noticing the difference. Anne and Jim Patton, who moved to Waco from Bosque County about two years ago, say they feel safe in their new community.
"We feel very safe in Waco. We go wherever we want to and enjoy the people here and we feel very safe," Anne Patton said.
The couple are regulars at Common Grounds on Franklin Avenue, where coffee shop workers have nicknamed them "Grandma" and "Grandpa" and put those names on their cups each morning.
"We feel very, we've not encountered any situation where we were uncomfortable. We see the police a lot. We walk a lot and we see them, but we've not had any problems," Anne Patton said.
Waco PD is continuing to collect data on the new investigation policy as they approach the one-year mark, with a goal to continue decreasing crime rates.
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