Robberies, shootings, vandalism, drug deals. All of these crimes, and more, can be found plastered over the morning newspaper or as a breaking report on the nightly news. To many, it seems as though crime is inescapable in our world.
How, then, is Bexley’s reputation of a safe community justified?
Sergeant Tony Martin of the Bexley Police Department said that there are statistics to support the feeling of safety in the community. There were 496 reported crimes in 2007 in the categories the police department must report to the FBI, Martin said. Those categories include aggravated robbery, arson, assault, breaking and entering, burglary, robbery, theft and auto theft, according to the Bexley Police Department offense reports.
In comparison, Columbus had 43,099 of these crimes reported, according to the Columbus city-data website.
Martin said the most common crime in Bexley is theft, specifically theft from cars. The offense reports show 312 reported cases of theft in 2007. The second most reported crime in 2007 was breaking and entering, with 81 reported cases.
However, Martin still feels that Bexley is a safe community and that community members are justified in feeling safe.
“We hold our own,” Martin said. “[Bexley] is a low crime area.”
Junior Paul Lisska, whose family had their garage broken into last summer, said although there is moderate crime in Bexley, he still feels safe.
“I have heard of crime that has taken place, but it hadn’t really affected me until [my garage was broken into],” Lisska said.
Martin credits the low crime rates in Bexley to the police department.
Lisska agrees that the police department is the reason he feels safe, despite his personal encounter with theft.
“Bexley is surrounded by some of the worst crime rates, but the fact that we have low crime rates is due to the police department,” Martin said.
Specifically, Martin explained that high visibility due to a high number of police cars contributes to the department’s success. He added that the ability for quick response contributes, as well.
While the crime rates are low, Martin explained that they could be lowered more with increased community attention to crime.
“People shouldn’t get complacent,” Martin said. “I would bet three fourths of car robberies were from unlocked cars. People don’t get really worked up until [theft] happens to them.”
Citizens could prevent crime by making sure their houses and cars are properly secured and by keeping valuables out of sight in their cars, Martin explained.
Lisska said his family locks their doors every night and has a security system with motion detecting lights.
The crime rates fluctuate every year, but never drastically, Martin said. In 2005 and 2006, 523 and 469 crimes were reported, respectively, according to the police department offense reports.
Martin added that as though community attention is necessary in keeping these rates low.
“If we could get all the residents to take crime prevention a little more seriously, crime could go down,” Martin said.
