By Kris Leonhardt
Editor-in-chief
GREEN BAY – Recently-released statistics from the Green Bay Police Department (GBPD) showed that crime was down in the city for 2023.
Crimes against persons — which typically involve bodily harm or actions against a person’s will — reduced from 1,729 to 1,397.
“In 2023, crimes against persons fell just over 19% with 1,397 reported cases,” a GBPD release stated.
“Of those cases, there were six homicides, no change from 2022. Meanwhile, assault offenses decreased by 17%, which includes gun violence. In relation to this, the GBPD had 28 fewer shots fired cases in 2023, which is 48% less in the last three years.”
Offenses against property — burglary, arson and taking of money or property — dropped from 3,415 to 3,057.
“Crimes against property had nearly 10.5% fewer cases with 3,057 reported in 2023,” the release stated.
“We had a decline in theft/larceny cases with 1,124 last year compared to 1,463 in 2022, a 23% difference. The decrease even accounted for an increase in motor vehicle thefts with 285 in 2023 compared to 180 in 2022. There was a reduction in motor vehicle part thefts, which includes catalytic converters and license plates, which were down by 62% from 171 cases in 2022 to 65 in 2023. Also, fewer cases of shoplifting were reported in 2023 with 378 compared to 538 in 2022, a 30% difference.”
Crimes against society — gambling, prostitution and drug violations — fell from 1,912 to 1,688.
“Crimes against society dropped almost 12% with 1,688 cases reported in 2023,” the GBPD said.
“We had fewer weapons cases, which could be a felon in possession or concealed carried violations, with 114 in 2023 compared 150 cases in 2022, a 24% decrease. We also saw a 9% decrease in drug offenses from 1,654 cases in 2022 down to 1,503 cases in 2023. We had a 39% increase in overdoses with 172 in 2023 of which 32 were fatal whereas in 2022, we had 124 overdoses of which 31 were fatal.”
Overall reduction from 7,056 to 6,142 — a 13% — lower than the five previous years.
The year 2019 saw 6,490 crimes, while 2020 had 6,430 and 2021 had 6,241.
“I’m pleased to see that our crime reduction efforts are paying off. The decrease in crime in 2023 is the result of our community’s investment in public safety and a tremendous amount of hard work by our officers, detectives, supervisors, and professional staff,” said Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis.
In 2022, the city of Kenosha — which ranks just behind Green Bay in population numbers — had 4,321* offenses, with 1,182 crimes to person, 1,903 crimes to property and 1,236 crimes to society.
In Brown County, 2023 numbers show 2,375* offenses — 403 to persons, 1,417 to property and 555 to society.
*2023 numbers were not available for these municipalities