Data shows decrease in overall crime in Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana – According to data shared during Tuesday’s State of Public Safety Report from the Nationwide Incident-based Reporting System, there was a 6.69 percent decline in overall crime in Bloomington.

In 2020, Bloomington Police Department Chief Michael Diekhoff said most forms of crime have decreased. However, last year, there were three more murder cases, with five in total.. There were also increases in burglary, fraud and motor vehicle thefts.

In both Bloomington and the U.S., gun violence continued to escalate last year. In crimes involving a firearm, there was a 52 percent rise and 77 weapons were stolen last year. The study also showed that in four out of five murders, a gun was used.

Diekhoff reported a drop in aggravated assault of nearly 15 percent and attributed it to bars being closed and students being away from the campus of IU for most of the year. In the past six years, records of aggravated assaults have been rising, Diekhoff said.

The BPD Training Division conducted more than 8,643 hours of in-service training in 2020 according to the report. This mostly virtual training was more than three times what is required by the state. BPD focused on de-escalation and anti-bias training in particular last year and will continue to do so Diekhoff said.

In the coming weeks, BPD will hire two more social workers in the coming weeks in hopes of integrating more non-police personnel on staff. BPD currently employs one social worker.

“We look forward to being able to interact with the public and return to those normal operations,” Diekhoff said.