By Jim Bloch
“We have a reduction in crime across the board for 2023,” said Port Huron Police Chief Joe Platzer.
Platzer presented the police department’s annual report to the city council at its regular meeting April 8.
Auto theft, arson, larcenies, home invasions, malicious destruction of property, robberies, charged domestic assaults, drug overdoses, mental health calls, accidents, fatal accidents, injuries during accidents, and traffic violations all fell in 2023.
Murders, criminal sexual assaults, driving under the influence and parking violations increased.
The statistics
Auto theft dropped 19.5 percent, from 41 in 2022 to 33 in 2023. The number of auto thefts have been trending gradually downward since 2018 when 56 were reported; in 2019, 53; in 2020, 51; 2021, 36.
Arson dropped 50 percent, from six incidents in 2022 to three last year. Arsons, too, are trending downward, from13 in 2018 to nine in 2019, 12 in 2020 and nine in 2021.
Larcenies declined 21.5 percent, from 428 in 2022 to 336 last year. The trend line has shown a gentle drop since 2018 when 525 larcenies were recorded; in 2019, it was 515; 2020, 481; and 2021, 406.
Home invasions dropped 26.9 percent, from 67 in 2022 to 49 last year. Home invasions have decreased in each of the last six years, with 160 in 2018; 97 in 2019; 87 in 2020; and 79 in 2021.
Malicious destruction of property decreased 8.7 percent, from 218 incidents in 2022 to 199 last year. Like most other major crimes, the trend line is headed in the right direction. In 2018, there were 310 incidents; in 2019, 257; in 2020, 290; in 2021, 227.
Robberies dropped 25 percent, from eight in 2022 to six last year, continuing a generally downward trend, from 18 in both 2018 and 2020; 26 in 2019; and 12 in 2021.
Charged domestic assaults fell 11.9 percent, from 354 in 2022 to 312 last year. But the numbers have shown basically no improvement over the past six years, with 311 incidents in 2018; 271 in 2019; 309 in 2020; and 340 in 2021.
Meanwhile, adult and juvenile arrests stayed roughly the same, dropping .9 percent from 1698 in 2022 to 1682 last year. There were1574 arrests in 2018, 1610 in 2019; and a drop to 1204 and 1308 during the Covid years of 2020 and 2021.
Platzer also talked about the number of arrests involving subject control efforts by police.
“What that is, is when somebody resists, or when somebody pulls away, or we have to go beyond mere handcuffing,” Platzer said, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on the city’s website. “It could be the display of a taser, it could be the display of a firearm, the fact that we have to muscle somebody’s arm behind their back, the use of (pepper) spray.”
The department used subject control measures 154 times out of 1682 arrests last year. In 2022, it was 190 out of 1698.
Drug overdoses dropped 46.1 percent, from 102 in 2022 to 54 in 2023; contacts declined from 44 to 25; 12 received services from Odyssey House in 2022, dropping to five last year. There were three overdose deaths compared to 12 last year.
Mental health calls saw a 2.8 percent decline, from 744 in 2022 to 723 last year, but remained high, with 731 in 2018; 702 in 2019; 786 in 2020; and 744 in 2021. Last year, the department started tracking follow-up contacts, 391, and referrals for services, 78.
Accidents dropped 5.3 percent, from 883 in 2022 to 836 last year, and have remained fairly constant since the start of the pandemic, when totals fell from 998 in 2018 and 1035 in 2019 to 803 in 2020 and 884 in 2021.
Fatal accidents fell to zero from five in 2022. There was a single fatal accident in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and two in 2020.
Injuries in accidents fell to 134 in 2023 from 139 in 2022, a drop of 3.6 percent. There were 154 in 2021; 87 in 2020; 106 in 2019 and 171 in 2018.
Traffic violations dropped 15.6 percent, from 5212 in 2022 to 4401 last year. There were 5021 in 2018; 5376 in 2019; 4002 in 2020; and 4,028 in 2021
Death of Josh Conant
There were some exceptions to the declines.
Murders jumped 100 percent, from one in 2022 to two in 2023; the city had one murder in 2018, two in 2019, three in 2020 and one in 2021.
“One category (Chief Platzer) left out was when you’re arresting a subject that’s unresponsive,” said Port Huron Township resident Curtis Karl, referring to the case of 26-year Josh Conant, who was killed outside the Roche Bar Nov.4. “He did not touch on that at all. Just curious about whether any of you guys have reached out to the attorney general’s office on the status of the investigation and the charges and anything that’s pending… (The) liquor license at the Roche – it sounds like that’s getting renewed. You guys had an opportunity to object to that. Nobody did. You want to make the city a better place, you have to step it up a notch.”
Crime increases
Criminal sexual conduct increased 9.3 percent over 2022, from 54 incidents to 59. But the six year totals have been trending downward after peaking at 138 in 2018.
“More crimes are being reported due to increased education and reduced stigma,” said Platzer.
Incidents of operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol increased 10.7 percent, from 122 in 2022 to 135 last year. The totals have remained relatively constant, with 132 in 2018, 148 in 2019; 143 in 2020; and 115 in 2021.
Parking violations jumped 35.3 percent, from 1699 in 2022 to 2298 last year, approaching the pre-pandemic high of 2718 in 2018 and surpassing 1812 in 2019; there were 968 in 2020 and 1187 in 2021.
“Great report,” said Mayor Pauline Repp. “Thank you for all you do and your department.”
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
