The New Iberia City Council heard some good news for the first meeting of the year as New Iberia Police Chief Todd D’Albor presented crime statistics for the first full year of the department’s existence.

D’Albor said during the meeting there was a decrease in both violent crime and property crime from 2018 to 2019. According to the NIPD’s statistics, New Iberia saw a 40 percent drop in violent crime. There were eight homicides in 2018 as opposed to four in 2019, and 41 shootings in 2018 and 16 in 2019.

Sexual assaults for the city saw a slight increase from five to 2018 to eight in 2019, and armed robberies had a decrease from 12 in 2018 to 11 in 2019.

For property crime, there was an overall decrease of 52 percent, with 66 business burglaries in 2018 falling to 34 in 2019. There were 242 vehicle burglaries in 2018 and 91 in 2019, as well as 223 residence burglaries in 2018 and 130 in 2019.

“It’s a credit to our community,” D’Albor said after presenting the statistics. “We knew when this journey started for bringing our department back it was all about community-oriented policing.”

“We still have a ways to go,” he added. “Our solve rates are good but we strive for perfection. I’m excited about the direction we’re going in and we want to continue that in 2020.”

The NIPD took over law enforcement duties in New Iberia in 2018 after a half-cent sales tax was passed by the voters to bring back the police department. The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office handled law enforcement in the city after the NIPD was originally dissolved in 2004.

City council members, who have taken part in the process of bringing the police department back, were pleased with the statistics.

“You can clearly see the statistics show what you’re doing, so thank you,” Councilwoman Sherry Guidry said.

“I want the public to understand how much we appreciate (the public) supporting this tax and what it has done, and the quality of service you really are giving,” Councilwoman Natalie Lopez said.

Mayor Freddie DeCourt said it’s been an honor in overseeing the department’s growth for the past few years.

“You go down through the ranks, we are very blessed to have the people we have,” DeCourt said. “They bust their butts every day for our community.”

40 percent reduction in violent crime from 2018 to 2019 in New Iberia.

52 percent reduction in property crime from 2018 to 2019 in New Iberia.

4 homicides in New Iberia in 2019.

8 homicides in the city in 2018.

16 shootings in the city in 2019.

41 shootings in the city in 2018.

8 sexual assaults in the city in 2019.

5 sexual assaults in the city in 2018.

34 business burglaries in the city in 2019.

11 armed robberies in the city in 2019.

12 armed robberies in the city in 2018.

66 business burglaries in the city in 2018.

91 vehicle burglaries in the city in 2019.

242 vehicle burglaries in the city in 2018.

130 residence burglaries in the city in 2019.

223 residence burglaries in the city in 2018.