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Crime is way down in Ogden, and it's being attributed to a special police unit and some new technology.
Crime in Ogden is at a 10-year low. Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner says crimes like homicide, burglary, robbery and aggravated assault are down for the first eight months of 2008. The only increase was with reported rapes, which rose 33 percent.
He says the crime reduction unit has done its job in the city's worst neighborhood. He said, "They've reduced it consistently now, for going on eight months, by more than 10 percent per month."
He says people are taking notice. Greiner says, "We've been on a couple of them where neighbors come out and they are cheering."
The other part of the equation is special software. A new computer program that tells the police which parts of the city are prone to certain crimes. That information is then used by the Crime Reduction Unit.
During the unit's first nine months, traffic stops in downtown Ogden increased by 60 percent and arrests were up by 38 percent.
Police officials say that at the same time, burglaries, thefts and robberies saw double-digit declines compared to the year before.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
(The Standard Examiner contributed to this story. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
