GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Green Bay Police say there was a decrease in shots fired cases in the city last year.
The police department says there were 61 recorded shots fired cases compared to 82 in 2021, a 25.6 percent decrease.
Police are crediting technology, crime control, special enforcement, and community connections for the drop in shots fired cases, including:
- Using National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which is imaging that allows the potential matching of shell casings to guns throughout the country
- Testing and leasing license plate reader cameras
- Starting a neighborhood response team
- Improving and reopening community police centers
- Growing a gun violence stakeholders group
"We understand that gun violence has been a big concern for our community," Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said in a news release. "The reductions that we are now seeing in some of the key indicators of gun violence are encouraging. They are a direct result of a lot of hard work by our police professionals and our community partners in this effort. We still have work to do, but our efforts so far are paying dividends and we are headed in the right direction."
“We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the men and women of the Green Bay Police Department who serve and protect our residents every single day,” Mayor Eric Genrich said in the release. “Our officers, under the leadership of Chief Davis and with the support of our community, have demonstrated real progress in reducing the threat of gun violence in the city, and I thank them for their great work.”
During a press conference Thursday, Davis said there was also a 43 percent drop in the number of rounds recovered in 2022.
Davis says the department looked hard at getting gunshot detection technology when there was a significant uptick in gun violence in 2021, but went forward with the license plate readers as a more cost-effective solution.
The chief noted gunshot detection is still very expensive, can be finicky, and doesn't cover as much ground, because gun violence in Green Bay is more spread out.
"Of course, we still have work to do, because any incidents of gun violence in a community is not acceptable," Davis said. "But at least, what we're seeing is that the numbers are headed in the right direction.
According to the police department, the number of shots fired incidents last year was on pace with 2020 (61 cases), but was significantly higher compared to 2019 (21 cases).
But Davis says that trend follows what many cities across the country were seeing with gun violence.
