Atlantic City saw a decrease in crime in the first six months of 2018.
Uniform Crime Report statistics released by the department show a 27 percent drop in violent crime over the same time frame last year and property crime down by a third.
The department is "very pleased" with the reduction, "however, we are not satisfied," said police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Fair. "Now, more than ever, our fight against crime must start with our community engagement."
Community Walks, programs like Coffee with Cop and Pizza with Police, along with things like the ability to anonymously text tips have helped bridge the gap that had existed between police and the community.
"We believe that these interactions will not only reduce crime, but if crime occurs, allow us to identify and arrest those responsible with the community's assistance," Fair said.
He also lauded the Risk Terrain Modeling, which looks at the landscape of high-crime areas to understand what causes it and to help predict trends.
Predictive policing was credited with last year's drop in violent crime.
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Homicides for the year are at five, just more than half of this time last year. Only rape has seen an increase, doubling to eight.
Burglaries saw the biggest drop from 191 for the first six months of 2017 to 69 for January through June of this year.
"We will continue to fight against the perception that Atlantic City is unsafe and continue to tout the many wonderful things that the city does," Fair said.
