Greenville keeps growing, but crime in the SC city is dropping, new statistics show. Here’s why

Greenville Police Chief Howie Thompson crunched the numbers and found crime had decreased by 55% over the past 25 years while the population grew by 35%.

In a presentation to Greenville City Council, Thompson said the decrease came about due to more staff and equipment as well as engaging with the community.

School resource officers, a re-vamped Citizens Police Academy, Coffee with a Cop and a Neighborhood Engagement Team have bettered the relationships with community members, he said.

“It has not always been this way and I’ve been on council for a long time,” Council member Lillian Flemming said. “We are excited about their relationship with the families and particularly the children.”

Thompson said he thinks crime decreases can be attributed as well to officers’ pay raises and cost-of-living pay increases, a night shift incentive, tuition reimbursement and bilingual compensation. Also, they have live-view body cameras, signal sidearm sensors and squad cars that have protective shielding and Automated External Defibrillators for enhanced first aid.

The department has expanded its use of data, including adding a shift from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. to match peak call times. Traffic enforcement was added at high-collision intersections.

In addition, the Police Department is using drones to find missing people and suspects.

“We want to get dangerous people in custody, get them off the street and prevent them from hurting other people,” he said.

Thompson wants to create a Real-Time Crime Center to analyze live data, monitor incidents in real time, track vehicles and detect crime patterns.

“It is game-changing,” Council member John DeWorken said.