Crime Drops Nearly 14 Percent Over Three Years, Police Reports Say

The number of reported criminal incidents in Riverhead over the last three years have dropped by 13.8 percent, the lowest total in five years, according to a series of monthly crime reports filed by the Riverhead Town Police Department.

Reported incidents are down from 3,223 through September in 2008 to 2,778 so far in 2011, according to the reports.

The yearly reports show a slight drop from 2010 to September 2011, by just 39 incidents for the year. Still, Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said he was glad to see that crime was going down.

"That's what we like to hear," he said. "Let's keep it up."

Hegermiller said he didn't know for sure what was causing crime to decrease, though he said he thinks it might have to do with having more police officers on patrol.

"I would think we have a better police presence out there over three years," he said, adding that the police department have added five more police officers to the force over the past five years.

"I think having the right amount of manpower does make a difference, [but] I really don't know," he said.

Hegermiller said he didn't notice a year-to-year change in crime from 2010 to 2011, calling any decrease in the one-year difference too insignificant.

Despite the decrease in overall criminal incidents over three years, reported larcenies continue to remain the most reported crime, with 765 incidents reported so far in 2011.