SAN ANTONIO – A big drop in crime from 2016 to 2017 was the takeaway in a press conference with police Chief William McManus, who released the 2017 Uniform Crime Report on Thursday.
Both McManus and Mayor Ron Nirenberg said they were happy with the numbers they announced.
McManus said there were 125 homicides last year, compared to 149 in 2016.
The men gave a huge tip of the hat to San Antonio police officers, who they said gave 110 percent to help make a dent in crime last year.
From 2016 to 2017, there was a 16 percent drop in homicides and a 6 percent drop in violent crimes, which include murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault vehicle theft and arson.
McManus attributed almost all of this success to the Violent Crimes Task Force, which was launched after a nationwide crime increase in 2016.
The task force combines local, state and federal agencies and has set up multiple big operations in San Antonio.
They specifically targeted the East Side this year after a spike in crime there.
“There was an operation where we targeted a group of specific gang members and we basically gutted them, and that was all based on federal charges and since then, that type of violent crime has dissipated,” McManus said.
McManus also said the success wouldn't have been possible without community crime watch groups, communication with SAFFE officers and community crime reporting.