Hamilton Assistant Police Chief Brian Robinson said taking a deeper look into the data shows a truer sense of the story in some categories.
Most of the kidnapping reports, Robinson said, weren’t in the sense of unknown “grab and go” disappearances. The kidnapping category includes a variety of types, including alleged, attempted, or completed incidents related to unlawful restraint, child custody situations, domestic violence or suspected child enticement.
“Three quarters of the reports were related to domestic violence, assault and child incidents,” he said.
There were 767 drugs and narcotic offenses in the city in 2024, a 32% increase from the previous year. The three previous years, Hamilton averaged just more than 500 from 2021 to 2023.
Robinson said this increase is a result of the department’s focus on being people-centered and neighborhood-focused.
“Officers are focusing on quality-of-life issues and improving the safety of our community, and one measure and strategy is an increase in officer-initiated drug arrests in problem areas, which are included in these numbers,” Robinson said. “This is just one area of focus for us as we are also concerned with vehicular safety, pedestrian safety, and cyclist safety.”
Larceny and theft offenses, which historically are the most common crimes in the city, were down in 2024 compared to 2021 and 2022, but were a couple percentage points over 2023’s numbers.
According to the city’s strategic playbook, “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how many arrests or citations are issued. It matters how safe and secure our residents, visitors, and businesses feel based on their experiences.”
The number of alleged murders (4) in 2024 doubled compared to the previous year when there were two. The number was below the seven alleged murders the city saw in 2021 and 2022.
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