Editing Savannah, Georgia (section)

=== Crime ===
[[File:SCMPD Precincts.jpg|thumb|alt=A map showing the 2009 precincts of Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.|Map showing precincts of Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department|left]]The total number of violent crimes in the Savannah-Chatham County reporting area ran just above 1,000 per year from 2003 through 2006. In 2007, however, the total number of violent crimes jumped to 1,163. Savannah-Chatham has recorded between 20 and 25 homicides each year since 2005.

In 2007, Savannah-Chatham recorded a sharp increase in home burglaries but a sharp decrease in thefts from parked automobiles. During the same year, statistics show a 29 percent increase in arrests for Part 1 crimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/SavannahGaGOV.nsf/0/5767a68bbbd20c48852573fb004d5896/$FILE/twnhl_020608_handout.pdf |title=City of Savannah Town Hall Report 02/08 |publisher=City of Savannah |access-date=2009-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325140741/http://www.savannahga.gov/cityweb/SavannahGaGOV.nsf/0/5767a68bbbd20c48852573fb004d5896/%24FILE/twnhl_020608_handout.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref> An additional increase in burglaries occurred in 2008 with 2,429 residential burglaries reported to Savannah-Chatham police that year. That reflects an increase of 668 incidents from 2007. In 2007, there were 1,761 burglaries, according to metro police data.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://savannahnow.com/node/665777|title=Burglaries soar in '08 for metro Savannah|date=2009-02-04|access-date=2009-02-04|publisher=Savannah Morning News and Evening Press|website=Savannahnow.com|first=Arek|last=Sarkissian|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718105157/http://savannahnow.com/node/665777|archive-date=July 18, 2012}}</ref> Savannah-Chatham police report that crimes reported in 2009 came in down 6 percent from 2008.

In 2009, 11,782 crimes were reported to metro police — 753 fewer than in 2008. Within 2009, there was a 12.2 percent decrease in violent crimes compared with 2008. Property crimes saw a 5.3 percent decline, which included a 5.2 percent reduction in residential burglary. In 2008, residential burglary was up by almost 40 percent. While some violent crimes increased in 2009, crimes like street robbery went down significantly. In 2009, 30 homicides were reported, four more than the year before. Also, 46 rapes were reported, nine more than the year before. In the meantime, street robbery decreased by 23 percent. In 2008, metro police achieved a 90 percent clearance rate for homicide cases, described as exceptional by violent crime unit supervisors. In 2009, the department had a clearance rate of 53 percent, which police attributed to outstanding warrants and grand jury presentations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://savannahnow.com/crime/2010-01-22/area-crime-drops-2009|title=2010-01-22|website=Savannahnow.com|publisher=Savannah Morning News and Evening Press|first=Arek|last=Sarkissian|access-date=2010-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915051411/http://savannahnow.com/crime/2010-01-22/area-crime-drops-2009|archive-date=September 15, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

The SCMPD provides the public with up-to-date crime report information through an online mapping service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scmpd.org/cityweb/SCMPDorg.nsf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701003046/http://www.scmpd.org/cityweb/SCMPDorg.nsf|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2012|title=Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department|date=1 July 2012}}</ref> The year of 2015 saw a dramatic increase in the number of violent crimes, including at least 54 deaths due to gun violence, a number not seen since the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|title = SCMPD addresses violent crime concerns|url = http://www.wtoc.com/story/30699444/scmpd-addresses-violent-crime-concerns|website = www.wtoc.com|access-date = 2015-12-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151219182657/http://www.wtoc.com/story/30699444/scmpd-addresses-violent-crime-concerns|archive-date = December 19, 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> The first quarter of 2018 saw crime trending downward, compared to 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wtoc.com/story/37945704/crime-trending-downward-in-city-of-savannah|title=Crime trending downward in City of Savannah|last=Evans|first=Sean|access-date=2018-05-17|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518125941/http://www.wtoc.com/story/37945704/crime-trending-downward-in-city-of-savannah|archive-date=May 18, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>