Wilmington Police Chief discusses 2022 crime numbers

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — According to Wilmington Police Chief Donny Williams, last year, the port city saw its lowest violent crime numbers in 13 years.

Williams presented the numbers to Wilmington City Council on Monday and says while it was mostly good news, 2022 did have some challenges.

“It didn’t end the way that I would have liked to have see it have ended, cause obviously you don’t want to see 15 people lose their lives in traffic crashes and 13 in homicides, but comparing it to other years and looking at other parts of the county, I don’t think it ended all bad for us,” said Williams.

When asked about how he and his team plan to keep the crime rates low, he says that have a few new plans in places to help improve certain areas.

“We are going to change up some of our response to some crimes just so a little bit and we’re going to try to put more of an emphasis on traffic safety” Williams explained.

Williams also wants pedestrians when near roads and use sidewalks if nearby.

“This past year we lost 15 people in traffic crashes, and we really want to get that number down and 7 of the people lost this past year were pedestrians and a lot of cases they were walking around with dark clothing on,”said Williams.

Chief Williams says he’s thankful to the community for the support and tips that helped police reduce crime in Wilmington.