The city of Erie has experienced significant reductions in violent crime
Erie Mayor Joe Schember and Police Chief Dan Spizarny announced today that the city of Erie has experienced significant reductions in violent crime for the first half of 2025 and that ten year crime statistics from 2014-2024 also show declines.
The number of people shot and confirmed shots-fired have experienced drastic reductions over the same first half time periods from 2022 to 2025. Thus far in 2025, five people have been shot, compared to eight in 2024, 27 in 2023, and 29 in 2022. There were 31 shots fired in the first half of 2025, compared to 49 in 2024, 76 in 2023, and 145 in 2022.
Both the YEARLY TOTALS of the number of people shot and confirmed shots-fired have declined steeply over the past ten years. In 2014, 72 people were shot, compared to 18 in 2024. In 2014 there 379 shots fired, compared to 104 in 2024.
Shot Spotter technology has greatly assisted the Erie Police Department (EPD) to achieve these results. From January 1, 2024 to July 22, 2025, there was a 24.28 percent decrease in the incidents of shots of fired and a 30.15 precent decrease in the number of rounds fired. Shot Spotter helped the EPD locate five shooting victims and make six arrests.
The number of stolen firearms in the first half of 2025 was 25, compared to 25 in 2024, 34 in 2023, and 88 in 2022. The number of recovered firearms was 96 in 2025, 97 in 2024, 133 in 2023, and 186 in 2022.
There have been two homicides thus far in 2025. This rate remains within the normal range of homicides for the last five years, which for the first half of the years, saw one in 2024, seven in 2023, two in 2022, and two in 2021.
The average YEARLY homicide rate of 10.5 persons from 2014-2024 has held steady over time, with the exception of 2023 when 14 homicides were committed. By comparison, there were six homicides in 2024, seven in 2022, nine in 2021, and ten in 2020.
Aggravated assaults for the first half of 2025 remain steady compared to 2024 (45 versus 43) but are still down significantly from the 83 offenses committed during this same period in 2023.
The YEARLY TOTALS of aggravated assaults have consistently declined over the past ten years, from 242 in 2014 to 92 in 2024.
The number of first half of the year assault cases have been steady: 216 in 2025, 212 in 2024, 226 in 2023, 197 in 2022, and 206 in 2021.
There is no consistent pattern in first half of the year sex offense cases (117 in 2025, 81 in 2024, 130 in 2023, and 103 in 2022) or rapes (19 in 2025, 11 in 2024, 22 in 2023, and 12 in 2022).
The first half of the year rate of robberies remains flat: 41 in 2025, 41 in 2024, 43 in 2023, and 46 in 2022.
The YEARLY TOTAL robbery rate has also nearly consistently declined over the past ten years, from a high in 2014 of 259, to 84 in 2024.
YEARLY TOTAL Burglary cases have dropped from 803 in 2014 to 267 in 2024.
Reducing crime is central to the mayor’s vision of ensuring that everyone in Erie can live in a safe, vibrant, and welcoming neighborhood.
To achieve this vision, the City Administration and EPD have not only focused on enforcement, but on implementing strategies and programs that prevent crime.
Since 2018, thanks to grants and ARP funding, the City Administration and EPD have accomplished the following 12 things:
- Reinstated the Crisis Car and the Juvenile Unit
- Added community policing officers
- Reinstated the K-9 unit
- Increased the number of certified bicycle cops from 2 to 35
- Funded Crisis Team Co-Responders
- Acquired millions of dollars in equipment and technology
- Secured 2 SWAT regional command and response vehicles and a Bomb Squad Regional Response Vehicle
- Implemented Body-Worn Cameras
- Installed License Plate Readers on all 38 front-line vehicles and at 12 key intersections
- Installed ShotSpotter
- Grew the Police Athletic League and COP initiatives from 35 students in 1 school with 6 officers to more than 1,700 students in 28 locations with 120 Police Officers; and
- Purchased the former Koehler Brewery/Miller Brothers Building on State Street as the future home of the City’s new public safety complex and emergency operations center.
The City has also Increased the police complement to 194 officers and given its officers the tools they need to do their jobs safely, effectively, and efficiently. This has been the key to the successful prevention and enforcement strategy which is reflected in the statistics cited today.
