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Police-Civilian Trust Helps Keep Crime Rates Low

sgcity.org

St. George Police Chief Marlon Stratton will be the featured speaker at a luncheon hosted by the city’s chamber of commerce on Wednesday. As the event’s ‘Chamber Connect’ speaker, Stratton will present a year in review concerning crime in St. George and how local residents can avoid becoming victims of crime.

According to national statistics, the crime rate in St. George is noticeably lower than average when compared to cities of a similar size. Great emphasis is placed on maintaining good relationships with local residents, said Sgt. Sam Despain of the St. George Police Department.

“Part of our mission is to encourage individual responsibility and community commitment,” he said. “As our officers go out and work every day, that’s one thing we really, really try to do in working with everybody within the community and create those good relationships. I think, in St. George, I can say that we have a great relationship with all of the citizens down here.”

The rate of violent crime is below average in St. George, with 56.2 violent crimes per 1,000 residents compared to the national rate of 223.2. The city’s law enforcement staff is smaller than average, as well, with 1.36 officers per 1,000 residents compared with 1.73 elsewhere. His department wants to help find solutions to a variety of local problems, Despain said.

“I think there’s an excellent relationship that our police department has with members of the community. We put together what we call ‘Community Action Teams’ which really focus on the officers and the community working together to solve problems within that community,” he said. “Whether it’s a police problem or not, we try to help come up with solutions to problems. Typically, the police department can be a resource to help find solutions to problems.”

The public is encouraged to attend the luncheon. Those who want more information on attending the event can follow this link.