LUBBOCK, Texas — The Lubbock Police Department released its annual crime report, detailing the crime rates in Lubbock in 2022. The Chief Floyd Mitchell said although there is a slight increase in crime overall, he said they credit that to the growing population of the city.
“We did see an increase in regard to our dispatch time of 10 seconds and one of the things that we’re correlating that too is the training cycle, we are down dispatchers right now,” Chief Mitchell said. “We believe that if we can get those positions filled, that dispatch time will go down and it will bring our overall time.”
According to the report, the police presence grew on the streets of Lubbock, with a 17% increase in officer-initiated calls. There was also a decrease in calls made to the police in 2022.
Chief Mitchell said although homicides rose by 9%, case clearance is high.
“When you talk about a solvability rate in the 97 to 98% homicides, that is, that is really good,” Chief Mitchell said.
Chief Mitchell said he also credits the new patrol division stations that have helped officers not only respond faster but get out and involved in the community.
“They work there in those areas day in and day out, and when they’re not on calls for service, we are encouraging them to do self-initiated activity to be seen because when you’re seeing you, you hope it correlates to the reduction of criminal activity,” Chief Mitchell said.
However, there is a rise in crimes against persons including but not limited to homicides and sexual and simple assaults. Another increase was seen in property crime for vehicles, houses, and businesses.
“We did see, and I want to say it’s a 9% increase in our burglaries, this year because everyone’s back at work and that’s burglaries of businesses, burglaries of homes, and theft, so unfortunately we did see an increase in all property crimes this year,” Chief Mitchell.
Chief Mitchell said over 200 stolen firearms were also recovered in 2022, warning people to stop leaving valuables in their cars.
“Make sure they lock their cars, make sure they take their weapons and guns out of their cars,
use those cameras, contact us, call us if you see or hear suspicious activity,” Chief Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he is aware there is plenty of work to be done, and they’re ready to get started.
“Yes, crime has risen incrementally, there has not been a large explosion of crime within the city of Lubbock, and we’ll continue to work with our community partners, our city leaders, and our other law enforcement agencies,” Chief Mitchell said.
To view the report, visit here.
