FITCHBURG - Sentinel & Enterprise

Fitchburg Patrolman Rodney Conrad walks the beat along lower Main Street in June. Police Chief Ernest Martineau says training and an emphasis on community policing have helped reduce the overall rate of violent crime. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE FILE PHOTO

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FITCHBURG -- Though Police Chief Ernest Martineau is cautiously optimistic about the crime statistics in the department's 2016 Annual Report, moving forward he sees two major challenges: further addressing the opioid epidemic and changing the public perception of the city.

"Fitchburg is a safe city, but it is a city," he said.

It's also one that has been hit hard by the opioid crisis.

"Our biggest challenge ahead of us this year is dealing once again with this opioid crisis, because it's affecting every walk of life within our city," he said.

Last year, the department received 59,137 calls, marking a 10 percent increase over 2015 and a 11 percent increase over the five-year average, according to the 2016 Annual Report.

During the same period, arrests dropped below 1,000 for the first time since the department started recording this statistic, Martineau said. This coincided with a 10 percent drop from the five-year average in reports of Part I Offenses, or crimes categorized by the FBI as some of the most serious.

Violent offenses

Last year, the Fitchburg Police Department received 312 reports of violent Part I Offenses -- murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault -- according to the 2016 Annual Report released Tuesday.

The number marks a moderate decrease over the previous year, 8 percent, and a slight decrease over the five-year average, 2 percent.

Martineau said violent crimes are some of the hardest to prevent because of their unpredictability.

"Violent crime is dealt on emotion, so it's hard to control that," he said.

He believes the 16,639 hours of training officers received last year and an emphasis on community policing, which promotes taking time for positive interactions with residents, has helped reduce the overall rate of violent crime.

"There's [downward] trends in violent crime and we're very optimistically excited about it, but violent crime can happen at any time," Martineau said. "Our proactiveness has a drastic effect on that.

Ward 6 Councilor Jody Joseph said this type of involvement can prevent a wide variety of crime.

"I think working with the youth has paid off tenfold," he said.

The Dec. 4 death of 24-year-old Kevin Cabrera, who was reportedly beaten then burned in his Laurel Street apartment, was the only murder reported in Fitchburg last year, he said.

Reports of rape remained steady at 27, just one more than the number reported in 2016 and an 11 percent decrease from the five-year average.

According to the annual report, aggravated assaults were down 10 percent in 2016 to 222 cases.

Of these, over 35 percent are domestic violence-related.

The number of domestic aggravated assault cases saw about a 10 percent increase in 2016, meaning non-domestic reports are responsible for the overall decrease.

The rates of domestic violence described in the report, beyond just aggravated assaults, are almost exactly the same as the previous year though arrests have increased. One in five of the arrests made last year were for domestic violence-related crimes, up 2 percent from the past year.

Martineau said the department employs a full-time domestic violence advocate who works with victims.

"There's not a lot of agencies that approach domestic violence like we do in providing a full-time domestic violence advocate," he said.

The number of robberies saw a slight decrease, 6 percent, in 2016, but the total figure, 62, was still over 20 percent above the five-year average.

In the past three years, robberies showed a marked increase over previous years -- a trend Martineau attributes to the opioid epidemic.

"A lot of robberies are driven by the need of addiction," he said. "Robbery is a crime of convenience."

He said he the department tries to analyze robbery trends and put out extra patrols, especially during November and December, the holiday season.

"It's all about using the data driven approach to our advantage," he said. "It's something we do every month."

Drug offenses

The use of narcotics continues to plague the city.

"We're probably three years into really realizing that we are in some type of crisis," Martineau said. "The opiate epidemic has a direct correlation to our overall statistics."

Police responded to 322 suspected drug-related overdoses, up from 198 reported in 2015. The number of overdose deaths, which are not yet available for 2016, increased from 8 in 2014 to 18 in 2015.

Mayor Stephen DiNatale said education, especially among the youth, is essential to reducing drug abuse.

The department used a federal grant to hire two community engagement officers, who started this year, to increase the total number of officers to 78, according to Martineau.

The department focuses on high- and mid-level drug dealers, instead of arresting users, he said.

"It's awful seeing the amount of overdoses and the level of addiction in the city," he said.

"We're definitely approaching it on a different level at a different approach. You're trying to help out this person who has a health issue, an addiction."

In 2016, the Drug Suppression Unit executed 53 search warrants, arresting 55 people.

In total last year, the unit seized 2,043 grams of heroin, 289.8 grams of cocaine, four pounds of marijuana, 14 firearms and $104,435 in cash.

Martineau said the department plans to expand its scope this year through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, a $49,881 state grant that would fund overtime hours to investigate street level dealing.

Property offenses

Property crime, particularly burglaries, saw one of the largest decreases when compared to both 2016 and the five-year average.

In total, 847 property crimes were reported in 2016, marking a 20 percent decrease from the previous year and 28 percent decrease from the five-year average.

Martineau partially credits this downward trend to a city ordinance he wrote that was passed six years ago. It requires pawn shops, scrap metal stores and jewelry businesses to maintain records of who they buy from.

"It started getting out there: If you're stealing something don't sell it in Fitchburg," he said.

Residents have also become better at securing personal belongings, he said.

"We do a better job educating the public," he said.

Burglaries were historically low in 2016, according to Martineau.

"We're at 190 reported burglaries," he said. "That's an 11-year low."

It's also a 43 percent decrease from the five-year average.

Burglaries, like robberies, have a low rate of clearance, which is defined by the FBI as a suspect being arrested, charged and turned over to the district attorney for prosecution.

About 10 percent of burglaries were cleared last year in Fitchburg, 3 percent below the national average.

Robberies had a higher clearance rate of 16 percent, but 13 points below the national average.

Motor vehicle theft also decreased with 44 reported in 2016, a 30 percent drop from the five-year average.

Larceny -- which includes pickpocketing, theft, purse snatching and shoplifting -- decreased 10 percent from the five-year average.

DiNatale said the report demonstrates that the police department is on the "cutting edge," with a progressive approach to the challenges of midsized cities.

"Those all show significant decreases, so how can you not be impressed, thrilled, thankful for the efforts of the police department," he said.

He added that he hopes to see building and sanitary code enforcement, conducted by city offices, to be treated as a branch of law enforcement.

During the City Council meeting Tuesday night, Councilor At-large E. Thomas Donnelly said people looking to move often judge neighborhoods by small violations, such as parking. Enforcing these makes a neighborhood more appealing to prospective homeowners, he said.

"Those are the things that people see every time," he said.

DiNatale is hopeful shifting crime rates in Fitchburg will change opinions about the safety of the city.

"I'm just pleased beyond words," he said. "It's a step in the direction of positive perception in Fitchburg."

The report was compiled by Fitchburg Police Department crime analyst Kristie Fritscher and based on statistics submitted to the Massachusetts Crime Reporting Unit.

Follow Elizabeth Dobbins on Twitter @DobbinsSentinel

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