Cape Girardeau witnesses lower crime of late

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Law enforcement agencies across the region continue to work around the clock to keep violent crimes under wraps.

“We’re looking at a decrease in crime rate from last year,” said Cape Girardeau Police Public Information Officer Bobby Newton.

Newton says he attributes the lower crime rates across the county to having state of the art equipment.

“Since we’ve implemented shot spotter, that’s helped out a lot.  We’ve actually had 61% increase on the number of shots fired called that citizens did not call in,” said Newton.

But gun violence wasn’t the only issue that plagued the region last year. 

“Car thefts were up last year.  That resulted mainly from folks leaving their keys in their vehicles, leaving the vehicles unlocked. A lot of those were recovered locally and quickly as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, over in Illinois, at state that deals with similar problems, Gov. J.B Pritzker signed House Bill 5471 into law, which bans many semi-automatic firearms that are used for personal protection.   

Williamson County, Ill., Sheriff Jeff Diederich says there are more than 90 sheriffs out of 102 across the state who believe the act is unconstitutional.

“We’re limiting the rights of our residents who have built a tradition and a culture upon gun ownership, and outdoorsmanship, sportsmanship.  we spend time with our children, and we teach values and responsibility throughout that process,” he said, which he believes has a negative effect on good people. 

“Lawful gun owners, traditionally, are not the people who are committing these crimes.  and so, we’re really targeting the wrong audience,” said Diederich.

Therefore, whether your you witness a crime or are looking to protect yourself from criminals, Newton has this piece of advice for all citizens. 

“If you see something, we’ve got several numbers.  you can remain anonymous.  you can all it in and say hey, this happened.  and we’ll check it out,” Newton said.