Major Crime Dropping In City of Yakima

Crime is down across the board in the city of Yakima. New statistics released by the Yakima Police Department show major decreases in the past two years in robbery, burglary, auto theft, rape, aggravated assault and larceny.

Police Chief Dominic Rizzi sees a variety of reasons for the dropping numbers.

"We've increased the presence of officers. The economy is improving. We're taking a more proactive approach with our crime analyst. I think when you put that all together you get positive results," the chief says.

The new stats show that from 2012 through October of 2014 robbery was down 41%, burglary down 43%, auto theft down 44%, rape down 20%, aggravated assault down 37% and larceny dropped 25%. And Rizzi says he expects the numbers to continue to drop in the future as the department works closer with federal authorities to clamp down on local crime.