Killeen: Crime down so far in 2018,police say

Killeen police Chief Charles Kimble presented the latest crime statistics to city council members during Tuesday's regular meeting.

In his year to date update, the numbers of murders, rapes, robbery, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larceny, and vehicle thefts decreased.

The statistics below reflect Chief Kimble's snapshot of crime as of March 18, 2018, compared to the same time last year.

Murder: 7 in 2017 vs. 1 in 2018

Rape: 25 vs. 29

Robbery: 62 vs. 40

Aggravated Assaults: 103 vs. 52

Burglary: 266 vs. 207

Larceny: 463 vs. 467

Vehicle Theft: 140 vs. 59

Chief Kimble became the chief of the Killeen Police Department in September of 2017.

Kimble told the council that his first 30 days in office back in were spent to assess the department.

After seeing an uptick in crime in October, he reached out the Department of Justice for help in finding solutions to crime.

"They're looking at crime from a data standpoint. They're looking at our call history, the types of crime, and see who's being arrested to dig down to the root of the problem," Chief Kimble said.

In the meantime, Chief Kimble says there are simple ways people can help cut down the crime.

"Something as simple as locking your car door will really have an impact on crime in our community. Good crime prevention can go a long way," Chief Kimble said.