Canton Police: Car Crashes Down in 2023

Crime remained low in the city of Canton in 2023, and car crashes were down from the previous year, according to a report by the Canton Police Department.

Crime Analyst Alec Robles presented the department's 2023 Operational Report to the city council April 18.

Officers responded to 27,171 calls for police services from the Cherokee County 911 Center in 2023, a 7% increase from 2022, according to Canton PD’s annual report. From 2013 to 2023, total calls for service increased 3%. The city averaged about 2,264 calls per month.

"A lot of this can be accounted for due to the growth of the city, department, and our ability to answer calls — three percent is pretty much where we expected to be at," Robles said.

Beginning in 2023, Canton PD made the permanent change to its reporting system to use the National Incident-Based Reporting System, as per FBI guidelines, according to the report. This is different from the Summary Reporting System guidelines which were previously in place nationwide.

According to Canton PD, the new system captures details on each single crime incident, as well as on separate offenses in the same incident, allowing agencies to collect more information on crime data that could provide more context.

The department said that, because of the change in reporting, it could not accurately compare crime data from 2023 to previous years, though it can be compared to future data.

According to Canton PD’s data, total crimes against persons remained low, even with the changes in reporting. In 2023 the police department saw 51 aggravated assault cases, three robberies, two rape cases, and zero homicides, according to the report.

Under crimes against property, the department handled 250 larceny cases, 19 motor vehicle cases, and 18 burglary cases. Motor vehicle thefts and burglaries were “particularly low,” according to Canton PD.

In 2023, the department saw a 15% decrease in motor vehicle accidents: 1,395, down from 1,632 in 2022, per the report.

The department's Criminal Investigations Division was assigned 432 cases in 2023 - per the report, 143 cases were marked inactive during the year, 39 were still active and ongoing as of Dec. 31, 138 were cleared by arrest during the year, and 112 were closed or determined to be unfounded during the year.

According to the report, Canton PD has a strict “solvability factor policy” which places priority on cases that are more likely to be solved; when cases do not meet a certain threshold they are marked inactive or closed.

Canton PD reported a 57.9% closure rate for 2023 and an arrest rate of 32%.

The Canton Police Department completed 4,709 training hours - of those, 1,413 hours were in-house training hours delivered by Canton PD instructors, per the report.

The department's property and evidence room saw an intake of 818 pieces. Of that, 12% was recovered drugs and 5% was guns, according to the report. Of 523 pieces of evidence that were disposed of, 16% were returned to the owner.

Canton PD’s property and evidence room is audited multiple times per year, according to the department.

The department reported that it served 3,450 customers in 2023, issued 1,476 accident and incident reports, issued 971 alcohol permits, released 216 impound vehicles and conducted 132 background checks.

Also in 2023, the department saw the retirements of former Canton Police Chief Stephen Merrifield and former Deputy Chief Wendell Turner.

John Lummus, who has served Canton PD for over 25 years, was named interim chief in December, and later Marty Ferrell was hired as Canton PD's new chief of police. He was sworn in March 27.

In 2023, Canton PD also continued community outreach initiatives such as Read With a Cop, Coffee With a Cop, and the Canton Multicultural Festival.

For the full report, go to canton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and click on the April 18 city council agenda, and find item 4B.